About the Instructors

Instructor Gretchen Hayden

Gretchen Hayden

Artistic Director and Founder Gretchen Hayden is a senior disciple of the renowned and innovative kathak dance master, Chitresh Das (from Calcutta). She began her Kathak training in 1972 and became a principal soloist with the Chitresh Das Dance Co. (CDDC) at its inception in 1980. She has given solo recitals and workshops in North America, Europe and India. Ms. Hayden taught at the Chhandam School in California throughout the late 1970's and 1980's, and in 1987 was presented with a Senior Degree in Kathak Dance from the Nritya Bharati Academy in Calcutta, founded by Mr. Das' parents in 1942. In 1992, she moved to Boston with her husband, sarodist and musicologist George Ruckert, where she established an offshoot of Pandit Das’ Chhandam School which eventually became Chhandika. In addition to teaching at dance and arts centers throughout Greater Boston, Ms. Hayden has also initiated accredited kathak dance courses at Tufts University and Wellesley College, and is an adjunct faculty member at MIT. Through her work as a dancer and teacher, she has contributed significantly to fostering the art of kathak in the West.

Shelley Gupta Chhabra

Shelley began her Kathak studies with Gretchen Hayden in 1998, while a student at Tufts University. She has performed with the Chhandika Dance Ensemble at local outreach and community events, and has also played a key role in the formation of Chhandika as a non-profit organization. Her devotion to the art, gentle approach and natural grace lends itself to working with beginner levels of all ages.

Meenakshi Verma Agrawal

Meenakshi Verma Agrawal has been studying kathak for almost a decade with Gretchen Hayden. She assisted with the development of kathak classes in western Massachusetts, and presently teaches Chhandika’s children’s classes at the Dance Complex. She has many years of experience conducting dance presentations with children and young adults at cultural and educational events. In addition to her teaching and outreach activities, she assists with fundraising and development. She recently spent two years working with the underserved in India, at which time she was able to share the art and beauty of kathak with the children of Ma Niketan, a home for girls with no parents in Mumbai.

Mridula Pore

Mridula has studied with Gretchen Hayden since 2004, and with other kathak organizations since 1995. She assists with the children's classes in Cambridge and enjoys teaching kids of all ages, including those at MIT, where she is currently based.