About
Rani Khanam is an Indian Kathak dancer, choreographer and teacher, and the founder of the Aamad Kathak dance centre in Delhi. She is known for a distinctive body of work that brings Sufi, spiritual and socially engaged themes, including choreography set to Quranic verse, into the classical Kathak idiom.
Trained in Kathak in the classical tradition, Rani Khanam founded the Aamad dance centre in Delhi and built a career as a performer, choreographer and teacher. She has become known for pioneering Sufi and spiritually themed Kathak, including work set to Quranic verse, and for socially engaged productions, performing and teaching in India and abroad.
The artistry
Khanam works in the Lucknow gharana tradition while extending Kathak into new thematic territory, choreographing on Sufi poetry, spirituality and social themes with an inclusive sensibility. Her productions are noted for their thoughtful concept and for expanding the expressive and cultural range of the form.
[Atlas Perspective] Rani Khanam is a distinctive Kathak choreographer who has expanded the form's thematic range. For festivals and inter-faith or inclusive cultural programmes, she is a strong, differentiated choice.
Rani Khanam has widened the thematic and cultural range of Kathak, bringing Sufi, spiritual and socially engaged concerns into the form, and through Aamad has fostered an inclusive space for the tradition.