Anita Katakkar has studied tabla with composer and musician Ritesh Das and in California and Kolkata with the pre-eminent exponent of the Lucknow style tabla, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. She pursues her art as it provides a link to her heritage while allowing her to connect with others through music. Having observed that there is so much depth to learning Hindustani music, she sees herself as a lifetime student of tabla though she is an admirer and proponent of music rooted in many traditions, genres and cultures. Anita began her teaching career at the Toronto Tabla Ensemble studios over 10 years ago and has continued to teach out of community centres in the Greater Toronto Area and in downtown Toronto.
She has performed, toured internationally and recorded with the Toronto Tabla Ensemble and Jeff Martin and has toured nationally with The Tea Party. Anita has had the honour of sharing the stage with the late legendary Kathak dancer Chitresh Das, Toronto Kathak dancer Joanna De Souza, flamenco dancer Esmeralda Enrique, sitar virtuoso Anwar Khurshid, Toronto based composer Lisa Patterson and Paris based singer/songwriter Melissa Laveaux. In her project “Rakkatak”, Anita merges rhythms and melodies influenced by classical Indian music with western instrumentation and a pop music aesthetic. In her yoga accompaniment project, Anita has created “Yoga Trax”, music to link breath and movement inspired by sounds from the city and nature.
