"Alone, they're captivating. Together, they're magic." - Allan Ulrich, Voice of Dance INDIA JAZZ SUITES (also called Fastest Feet in Rhythm), featuring Pandit Chitresh Das and Jason Samuels Smith, is an explosive collaboration between one of India’s foremost Kathak masters and one of the world’s fastest, Emmy-award winning tap dancers. The result is high entertainment which crosses all boundaries of age, race and culture — a blast of incredible speed and power, grace and beauty, epic storytelling and the pure joy of dance. After premiering in San Francisco in 2005, INDIA JAZZ SUITES has received extensive critical acclaim and has toured around the U.S. and India. It was chosen as the #1 Dance Performance of 2005 by the San Francisco Chronicle and won the prestigous Isadora Duncan Dance Award (Izzie) for Best Ensemble Performance of the year. Reviews The Asian Age - India, 2010 Write-up by a presenter in Honolulu - 2009 The Telegraph - Calcutta, India, 2007 American Dance Festival, 2006 San Francisco Chronicle, #1 Dance Performance of 2005 Voice of Dance, 2005 Preview, The Times of India, 2008 Preview, San Francisco Chronicle, 2005 Tour Dates 2010 January 2 - Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, India January 29 - National Center for Performing Arts, Mumbai, India January 30 - Shaniwarwada Festival, Pune, India January 31 - UB City Ampitheatre, Bangalore, India March 20 - Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, California May 1 & 2 - Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, Boston, MA May 8 - Egyptian Theater, Ogden, Utah May 21 - Wortham Center, Houston, Texas Past Tours 2009 January 18 - National Center for Performing Arts, Mumbai, India January 19 - Charity Performance for Seva Sadan, Mumbai, India January 20 - Luxury Fest, Turk Club, Mumbai January 24 - 50th Anniversary Festival, IIT Kharagpur, India January 30 - Birla Sabhaghar, Kolkata, India March 14 - Leeward Community College, Oahu, Hawaii March 19 - Maui Arts and Cultural Center, Maui, Hawaii March 21 - Kahilu Theater, Waimea, Big Island, Hawaii April 3 - Kirkland Center, Washington 2008 January 18 & 20 - Mumbai Festival, Mumbai, India January 23 - US Consulate 50th Anniversary, Mumbai, India February 14 & 15 - Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania August 23 & 24 - National Folk Festival, Bangor, Maine December 21 - Mood Indigo Festival, IIT Mumbai, India 2007 October 13 & 14 - National Folk Festival, Richmond, Virginia October 12 - Denver University Convocation, Denver, Colorado October 10 & 11 - Lakewood Cultural Center, Denver, Colorado October 4 - CSU Monterey Bay World Theater January 29 - Kolkata Consulate/American Center, India (LecDem) January 28 - Birla Sabhagar, Kolkata, India January 25 - Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi, India January 24 - New Delhi Embassy/American Center (LecDem) January 20 - Calcutta Club, Kolkata, India January 8 - Mumbai Consulate/American Center, India (LecDem) January 6 - Mumbai, India 2006 December 3 - La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, Los Angeles, California November 18 & 19 - Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Chicago, Illinois November 17 - The Egg, Albany, New York November 15 - Parc International, Lafayette, Louisiana (Workshop and Performance) November 9-12 - New Orleans, Louisiana (Workshops and LecDems at local schools) June 15-17 - American Dance Festival, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina Download Artist Biographies Pandit Chitresh Das (.doc) Jason Samuels Smith (.doc) Photos/Video Performance Photos by Marty Sohl For high resolution photos, email darlene@kathak.org View Performance and Outreach Activities' Photos from Louisiana Excerpt of India Jazz Suites Premiere in San Francisco, 2005 Technical Specifications Contact darlene@kathak.org for technical rider Booking Inquiries For booking information in North America, contact Cathy Pruzan, 415-789-5051, cpruzan@aol.com For booking information in India and internationally, contact Seema Mehta, 011-91-9952403711, seema@kathak.org What the Press says “India Jazz Suites called for a standing ovation and the audience rose to the occasion, en masse, and clapped till their hands were sore.” –The Hindustan Times, India “ Pandit Das and Smith ... got on top, beneath, around and even inside the rhythm and took the audience along in an amazing performance that had the Page Auditorium audience on its feet.” –Herald Sun, American Dance Festival “ Both of them traditionalists, both of them innovators, they brought the house down.” –Dance View Times, Rita Felciano “ A performer who has opened new avenues for his form, it is easy to see why Das has been acknowledged as a phenomenon.” –The Hindustan Times, Kathakali Jana “Possibly the next greatest.” –Gregory Hines on Jason Samuels Smith