PERHAPS THE BIGGEST contribution Kathak dancer Chitresh Das has made to Bay Area dance is that he opened our eyes and ears to new ways of seeing and listening. Kathak dance is rhythm dance; it's music made visual. It's also highly formal and abstract, yet it's spontaneously shaped; it embraces virtuosity and bravura but is imbued with a spirit of playfulness. Das, who this year celebrates his 60th birthday (and a three-decades-plus dance career), remains a powerful performer. His enthusiasm and ability to communicate with audiences – who have become increasingly knowledgeable about Das's Islam-influenced, North Indian art – are infectious. Through his teaching, he has raised a second generation of formidable performers, some of whom join him for these performances. One is Florida-born Charlotte Moraga, who got hooked on Kathak almost accidentally when a jazz dance class she wanted to take at San Francisco State University was full. Performing with the dancers in Das's world premiere of Sampurnam are frequent guest musicians Abhijit Banerjee (on tabla), Swapnamoy Banerjee (on sarod), and vocalist Mala Ganguly. 8 p.m., Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna, S.F. $18-$27. (415) 345-7575, www.ticketweb.com. (Rita Felciano)