> **About the Author:** **JANAKI PATRIK received her dance training from two Twentieth Century legends of the international dance world - Merce Cummingham and Birju Maharaj. Her initial training with Pandit Birju Maharaj (1967 to 1969 at Kathak Kendra, New Delhi) was followed by eight years of twice-daily classes in technique, choreography and repertoire at the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio in New York City (1971 to 1978). She continued to go to India for training in Kathak, regularly, through the 1980s and 1990s. Janaki founded her dance company, the Kathak Ensemble & Friends in 1978. Living a dual life in India and the United States, Janaki has created a large body of choreography reflecting her eclectic training in Kathak and modern American dance. Her unique voice as an international choreographer and writer has also been created through study of foreign languages and literature (Russian, Hindi,