Chitresh Das, a mesmerizing Kolkata-born performer of the North Indian classical Indian dance form Kathak and a great educator in the form throughout the Bay Area and the United States, died of an aortic dissection Sunday in Marin County. He was 70.

Mr. Das was the most familiar figure on the busy Bay Area Indian dance scene and frequently performed locally, as recently as September.

In 1979, he started the Chhandam School of Kathak to instruct a younger generation in the art of Kathak, a semi-narrative form of movement. In 2002, he founded the Chhandam Nritya Bharati in his native India. Today, there are 10 branches of his school worldwide.

Mr. Das’ parents, who were both dancers, established one of India’s first Kathak institutions, and he often referred to his mother as his “first guru.”