HAND IN LOVE Kathak and bharatanatyam dance styles partner up in Ritu by Natya Dance Theatre.

If you think bharatanatyam, kathakali or kathak are tasty dishes, you're almost right.
Those are the names of elaborate traditional-dance forms from the Indian subcontinent—dances and theatrical spectacles that take years to master. Lucky for all of us, there have been plenty of opportunities to enjoy these delicacies in the last two weeks. For a grand dessert, savor the Natya Dance Theatre program on Sunday 8 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. Natya, led by Hema Rajagopalan and her daughter Krithika, is presenting a new work, Ritu: The Four Seasons. This piece, which bridges the cultural divides between North and South India, was created by Rajagopalan in collaboration with Sandhya Desai of the Anila Sinha Foundation. The program includes a very special treat: Kathakali dancers from some of the most prestigious schools of dance in India will perform an excerpt of the Hindu epic the Mahabharata, with the accompaniment of live Indian music.—Asimina Chremos