Visual Storyteller

When you hear “storytelling,” you likely first think about the written word and then secondly oral traditions. But when it comes to local dancer Kirtana Kumar’s practice, storytelling takes not words, but movement.

A performer in the kathak style of traditional northern Indian dance, the term comes from the Sanskrit “katha,” which translates to “story.”

(Submitted Photo)

“In our dance form, there’s a lot of hand movement—a lot of very soft, gracious movements,” she said of the performance style, which also incorporates facial expression and complex footwork. “I almost feel like I go into some sort of trance. I really am very passionate about it, and that’s one of the things that gives me a lot of peace.

“It’s almost like another world for me. I can forget about everything around me and just concentrate on this one thing. To be able to tell a story about something that I want to tell people around me. I just love that.”

The Augustana University graduate grew up in India, a place she says cultivates artistry in all generations. “I think in my household we appreciated any sort of music, art or dance—it’s one of those things that’s very culturally embedded in Indian society,” Kumar said. “Ever since I was young, it was almost a set thing that everyone learns some sort of dance or music.”

Originally from the southern part of India, Kumar started in that region’s style of dance, which features more intense, sharper movements.

“It just didn’t fit my style as much,” she said. “I performed with my school once, and that’s when I got trained for the first time in a kathak composition. From there, it was no looking back.”

Her early interactions with kathak began by watching videos online of master of the style, the recently deceased Birju Maharaj. “It’s the way he taught dance that was really so amazing,” she said. “Every single step he would teach, not only his eyes and facial expressions were so strong, but also his entire body moved in different ways. I took up a lot of his teachings.”

A family admiration for the arts came by Kumar honestly, her father a lifelong singer and instrumentalist and her mother an early admirer of cultural festivals that were a hallmark of small-town life in India when she was young.

“I wasn’t gifted in instruments, but I managed to find my talent for dance.”

So what brought Kumar to Sioux Falls for school? A chance encounter with an admissions counselor helped her realize that not only would her time on Augustana’s campus give her a chance to see and explore a new culture, but it would also offer her the ability to share her own.

“I was able to share my culture, my experiences—everything that I’ve loved for so long—with this community,” Kumar said, the kathak style of dance being something not altogether familiar in the Sioux Falls culture. “I had to very mindfully think about what the community doesn’t know about, so I started integrating smaller aspects of dressing sense and what goes with the dance and the music.

“That grew to be my favorite part of living here in Sioux Falls—being able to share. And since it’s a smaller community than from where I come, it was almost like a clean whiteboard—being in a place where I can really interact with each person and hear their story while I tell a little bit about mine.”

And though she studied molecular biology at Augustana and has since started her career as a research specialist for Sanford Health, specifically in lung cancer research, Kumar can still see where her academic mind and her passion for dance intersect.

“It’s in connecting choreographing and experimentation,” Kumar said. “Especially with dance, you really need to come with movement that flows with the music. I listen to the music on repeat, every program, and just start dancing on my own freestyle before I start choreographing and getting to the point where every step is set.

“I almost plan my experiments the same way—I have a method to it, and I stick to that method, as it’s always worked well for me.”

Her scientific mind is something she hopes to one day more directly intersect with her artistic one. She has dreams of working in environmental science and perhaps using her kathak dancing in her efforts.

“Dance is something that gives me peace of mind,” Kumar said. “It gives me a space to think about problems. I’m hoping that I can continue learning dance and someday help in fundraising for the climate crisis. Any way I can put my artform to good use.”