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NEW DELHI, INDIA, September 24, 2004: Spectacular spins, rhythmic footwork, graceful detailed movements, this Kathak dancer has it all. Meet Masako Sato, a Japanese chemical engineer, who has dedicated herself to Indian classical dance, her passion and now her life. “Since childhood I was interested in dance, but my family couldn’t afford it. My mother taught me Japanese classical dance and Ikebana, flower arrangement. I also learned piano,” says Sato who lived in countryside town of Niigata, 200 kilometres from Tokyo. When Sato was nine years old she saw a Russian Ballad for the first time, but could not express her desire to her parents, for fear of being refused. At the age of 15 during her final year in engineering, Sato went to Spain where she started learning Flamingo dance during her holidays. She joined Toshiba company in Tokyo as a chemical engineer. Her visit to India in 1996 changed Sato’s life forever. “In February 1996, on an official trip to New Delhi, I saw Kathak dance for the first time at Kathak Mahautsav,” recalls Sato. “It was amazing, the graceful and crisp movements fascinated me,” says Sato. “I stayed back for three-four months and learned Kathak from Marutishyam and Saswat Sen, the two dancers whose performance hooked me to this classical dance form,” she adds. (HPI adds: The Spanish Flamingo dance was brought to Spain by the Gypsies or Romana people, originally of India, and has ties to Kathak.)

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