Pandit Chitresh Das, an Indian classical dance master who was part of the Indian artistic community in Marin County that blossomed around the Ali Akbar College of Music in the 1970s, died unexpectedly Sunday in San Rafael. He was 70.
The cause of death was acute aortic dissection, according to a statement from his Chitresh Das Dance Company. A rare disorder, it strikes about three in 10,000 people, usually older men.
Pandit Das was stricken at his San Rafael home, where he lived with his wife and two daughters, and died at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Terra Linda. The dance company said he “did not suffer and was surrounded by family and loved ones.”
A performer, choreographer, composer and educator, Pandit Das is credited with helping introduce Kathak, a form of Indian classical dance that means “the art of storytelling,” to American audiences.
His death was particularly shocking to his many students and disciples because he was renowned for his youthful energy and vitality.
Antonia Minnecola of San Anselmo, a Kathak dancer who studied under Pandit Das early in her career, described him as “a dynamo.”
“This is a terrible loss to the Indian dance and music community,” she said. “We’re shocked and sad. I feel so sorry for all his disciples and students all over the country and in India, too.”
A child prodigy born in Calcutta in 1944, he became a world-renowned Kathak dancer famed for his athletic style. In 1971, he was invited by sarod master Ali Akbar Khan to establish a Kathak dance program at Marin’s Ali Akbar College of Music.
A decade later, he established the Chitresh Das Dance Company, which tours internationally, and the Chhandam School of Kathak Dance in San Francisco. Some 700 students are enrolled in branches worldwide. He also formed the first accredited Kathak course in the U.S. at San Francisco State University.
“He was such a serious teacher and built a huge machine of Kathak dance in the Bay Area,” said Mary Kahn, a former student who is now director of the Ali Akbar College. “He’s been hugely instrumental in keeping this music and dance moving forward.”
Chhandam School Director Rachna Nivas said his teachers would carry on the work Pandit Das started.
“Legacy was his biggest investment,” she said. “His vision was always to create something much larger than himself.”
He received the National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor the U.S. can bestow on a traditional artist.
Pandit Das is survived by his wife, Celine Schein, two daughters, Shivaranjani and Saadhvi, of San Rafael, and by a brother, Ritesh Das, of Toronto, Canada.
A public memorial will be at 11:30 a.m. Friday at Mount Tamalpais Cemetery and Mortuary, 2500 Fifth Ave., San Rafael.
