For the sixth consecutive year, a three-day (December 24-26) Kathak Dance Festival '17 will begin this evening at 6:05pm at the main auditorium of Chhayanaut Sangskriti Bhaban. Organised by the Kathak Dance Community (KDC), Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed, Founder, Bishwo Sahitya Kendra, will inaugurate the festival.

The organisers will confer Zeenat Zahan Memorial Award this year to eminent dancer Sharmila Banerjee, director of Nritya Nandan. Noted dance exponents Amanul Haque, Laila Hassan and Anisul Islam Hero will attend the festival as guests. Director of the KDC Saju Ahmed will deliver welcome address at the event.

Artist of KDC will perform 'Bhabnaye Shat Aboyob' (Seven contemplative forms of Kathak Dance) at the event with live music by Mostak Ahmed on vocal, Yusuf Khan on sarod and Zakir Hossain on tabla.

The festival will have a seminar on “The diversity of dance forms found on the terracotta of Bengal region”, at 10:05am tomorrow. Dr. Sheikh Mehedi Hassan will present the keynote at the seminar. Hosted by Saju Ahmed, the seminar will have discussants including Nritya Sarathi Laila Hassan, Professor Nigar Chowdhury, Munmun Ahmed and MR Wasek.

Solo and group dance presentations by national award-winning young artistes and promising dancers from outside Dhaka will follow in the evening session where renowned dancers and cultural personalities Minu Haque, Golam Kuddus, Nilufar Wahid Papri and Fatema Kashem will attend as guests.

Celebrated and upcoming dancers from different troupes will perform solo and group performances highlighting mishra chhanda and geet malika on the concluding evening (December 26) of the festival. Renowned dancers Golam Mostafa Khan, Deepa Khandakar and Tamanna Rahman and instrumentalist Hasanur Rahman Bachchu will attend as guests.