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Dana has been a senior student of Ustad Zakir Hussain and his father Ustad Alla Rakha for over forty years. She has performed with Zakir-ji in over 75 classical and contemporary concerts in the US, Canada and Europe and continues to perform on tabla and percussion with the contemporary music ensemble Obiba.
As a disciple of Ustad Zakir Hussain for over forty years, she has studied with him privately and attended his annual workshops where he taught the complex and rich traditions of the art of tabla.
A founding member of the band Zakir Hussain and the Rhythm Experience, Dana toured with the band for seventeen years. She continues to perform with many classical musicians, dancers, jazz musicians and contemporary artists.
Dana is dedicated to teaching the tabla repertoire of the Punjab Gharana she has learned from her gurus Ustad Zakir Hussain and Ustad Alla Rakha to beginners as well as more advanced students. She has assisted Zakir-ji in his tabla workshops, delighted school children with her lecture demonstrations and taught private and group tabla classes.
For over 40 years, Dana has been dedicated to teaching tabla, guiding students from diverse backgrounds through the rich world of Indian classical percussion and the beauty of rhythm.
"Pandey’s tabla spun tightly concentrated rhythms within Oda’s gentler, cyclic sarod patterns, each player stretching out and snapping back with elastic agility."
- Forrest Dylan Bryant, Jazz Observer
"I also have had the pleasure to perform with Dana and find her a very sensitive spirit who feels the music deeply and responds with loving support to each musical phrase."
- Terry Riley, Musician, Composer, Educator