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Mangala Bhatt is a Kathak dance exponent. She is the senior disciple of Kathak maestro Pt. Durga Lal Ji of Jaipur Gharana. She has performed at many festivals in India. She is also the founding director of Aakruti Kathak Kendra. [1]
Mangala was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra and received her initial education in Kolhapur. She applied to the prestigious Kathak Kendra institute in New Delhi, India and got through on a national scholarship. [ citation needed ]
At Kathak Kendra, New Delhi, Mangala initially trained under late Shri Kundanlal Gangani Ji and later took advanced training under the Kathak Maestro late Pandit Durga Lal Ji, from whom she absorbed his brilliant technique and mastered the dazzling cadence and subtle nuances of Kathak. Her work and sincere efforts received praise and took her to major productions choreographed by Guru Pt. Durga Lal Ji and Pt Birju Maharaj Ji. She also took guidance from Guru Smt Rohini Bhate Ji much later. Mangala's abhinaya has been particularly appreciated because of her nuanced expression and inherent precision [ citation needed ] . She is particularly known to combine Kathak with other distinct art forms such as jazz drums, flamenco, qawwali, ghazals, performance poetry, kalaripayatu, modern dance, ballet, painting among others. [2]
Mangala Bhatt is married to Kathak dancer and artist Raghav Raj Bhatt, [3] whom she met while training at Kathak Kendra. Raghav Raj Bhatt is a prime disciple of Padma Bhushan Pt Birju Maharaj Ji. [4] After their marriage, Mangala moved to Hyderabad, India to continue her work in Kathak. The dance duo is synonymous with Kathak. [5] They bring together the confluence of two distinct styles of Kathak, representing Jaipur Gharana and Lucknow Gharana. [6]
In 1990, Mangala along with her husband started Aakruti Kathak Kendra in Hyderabad, to take forward their mission of promoting, popularising and propagating classical Kathak dance. Where numerous students engage with Kathak through a range of activities such as weekly dance classes, workshops, lecture - demonstrations as well as research into the interfacing of Kathak with other Indian and Western art forms. [7]
Mangala along with her husband have received many state, national and international accolades and awards for her enormous contribution in the field of arts and culture, [8] and has also been conferred the prestigious Telangana State Award by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. Mangala is an empanelled artist of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Doordarshan and has been associated with Sangeet Bharti, Kathak Kendra and ICCR for national and international projects. She has also proactively been a part of initiatives by organisations such as SPICMACAY, Heal a Child, Rotract and others, which integrate art and culture into the upliftment of the society. She regularly features in guest lectures at schools, institutions and bodies like the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT). Besides this, Mangala also is the director and curator and host of Antarang, [9] a music and dance festival held in Hyderabad every year.
Mangala & Raghav Raj Bhatt have been conferred with the prestigious Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for their lifetime contribution to the field of Kathak.
Pandit Birju Maharaj was an Indian dancer, composer, singer, and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance in India. He was a descendant of the Maharaj family of Kathak dancers, which includes his two uncles, Shambhu Maharaj and Lachhu Maharaj, and his father and guru, Acchan Maharaj. He also practised Hindustani classical music and was a vocalist. After working along with his uncle, Shambhu Maharaj at Bhartiya Kala Kendra, later the Kathak Kendra, New Delhi, he remained head of the latter, for several years, until his retirement in 1998 when he opened his own dance school, Kalashram, also in Delhi.
Satya Narayana Charka is a Kathak dancer, teacher, and choreographer. He was taught by Pundit R.K. Shukla, Dr. Nataraja Ramakrishna, Dr. Maya Rao, Pandit Bhagwandas Varma, Pundit Shambhu Maharaj, Shrimati Maya Rao and Birju Maharaj. Among his many awards is the first prize in the All-India Dance Competition. In 1981, he became the director of the East-West School of Dance in Monroe, New York.
Damayanti Joshi was a noted renowned exponent of the Kathak dance form. She believed Kathak is the art of storytelling. She began in the 1930s dancing in Madame Menaka's troupe, which travelled to many parts of the world. She learnt Kathak from Sitaram Prasad of Jaipur Gharana and became an adept dancer at a very young age, and later trained under from Acchan Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj of Lucknow gharana, thus imbibing nuances from both the traditions. She became independent in the 1950s and achieved prominence in the 1960s, before turning into a guru at her dance school in Mumbai.
Prerana Deshpande is a recognized Indian exponent of Kathak dance.
Pandit Shambhu Maharaj was a Guru of the Lucknow Gharana (school) of the Indian classical dance form, Kathak..Padma Shree Award -1958 Sangeet Natak Academic Award -1967
Pandit Durga Lal was a renowned Kathak dancer of the Jaipur Gharana. He was born in Mahendragarh, Rajasthan. He is known for playing the main role in the 1989 dance drama Ghanashyam, the music of which was composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar and was produced by Birmingham Opera Company. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1984.
Arunima Kumar, Sangeet Natak Akademi Yuva Puraskar awardee for the year of 2008 for Kuchipudi. As a young girl of 9, Arunima acted in the ballet Amrapali. The Kuchipudi Dance Academy formally launched her in 1995 where she performed her Arangetram at the Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi.
National Institute of Kathak Dance, also known as Kathak Kendra, is the premier dance institution for the Indian classical dance form of Kathak, and a unit of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, situated in New Delhi. Established in 1964, the institution is primarily dedicated to Kathak, though it also offers courses in Hindustani classical music (Vocal) and Pakhawaj and Tabla.
Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (SBKK) is an Indian cultural institution which runs a school for music, dance and performing arts in New Delhi. It was founded by Sumitra Charat Ram in 1952, and imparts training in Indian classical dance styles and music, including Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Chhau, Hindustani Classical music, both Vocal and Instrumental. Its associated organisation is the Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts at Safdar Hasmi Marg, in the Mandi House area, the cultural hub of Delhi, the centre includes a theater for the performing arts, a theatre repertory company and an acting school.
Sumitra Charat Ram was a noted Indian arts patron, impresario and the founder of Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (SBKK) established in 1952. She played a key role in the revival of performing arts, especially Kathak, in the post-independence era, for which she received a Padma Shri Award.
Véronique Azan was a French Kathak dancer known for beauty and grace. During her active years of dance, she traveled the world performing in various dance festivals.
Manisha Gulyani is a Kathak dancer from India. She is a disciple of Pt. Girdhari Maharaj and has been taking advanced training under the able guidance of Guru Prerana Shrimali. An ICCR Kathak artiste and teacher cum performer for ICC centres at abroad. She has presented her art on various eminent platforms in India and abroad.
Maya Rao was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and educator, in Kathak dance. She is known for her pioneering work in Kathak choreography, especially in dance ballets, and is credited for bringing Kathak, a North Indian-dance style to South India, when she opened her dance school, Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography (NIKC) in Malleswaram, Bangalore in 1987. She was also the founder director of her dance company, "Natya and Stem Dance Kampni", an amalgam of NIKC and the STEM Dance Kampni based in Bangalore. After her early training under Guru Sohanlal of Jaipur Gharana, followed by Guru Sunder Prasad also of the Jaipur Gharana, and went to train under Guru Shambhu Maharaj of Lucknow Gharana at National Institute of Kathak Dance in Delhi.
Rani Karnaa was an Indian classical dancer, known for her proficiency in the Indian dance form of Kathak, and regarded by many as one of the greatest exponents of the art form. She was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, by bestowing on her the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her services to the field of dance.
Shobha Deepak Singh is an Indian cultural impresario, photographer, writer, classical dancer and the director of Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, a Delhi-based cultural organization which promotes music and performing arts, through its schools and stage shows. She is known for her contributions for the revival of Mayurbhanj Chhau, a tribal martial dance form from Odisha. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian award of the Padma Shri in 1999, for her contributions to Arts and culture.
Sushmita Banerjee is a Kathak exponent, choreographer and dance researcher from India. Sushmita has been under the guidance of Pandit Vijay Shankar and Smt. Maya Chatterjee briefly learned from Pandit Birju Maharaj.
Uma Dogra is an Indian exponent of Kathak, an Indian Classical Dance form. She is the senior most disciple of Pt. Durga Lal, the Kathak Maestro from Jaipur Gharana. She is a Kathak soloist, a choreographer and a teacher. She has been performing in India and abroad for more than 40 years.
Nandkishore Kapote is Kathak Classical dancer, of Indian origin. He is a distinguished guide for a PhD programme in Tilak Tilak Maharashtra University and Sri Sri Centre for Kathak Research (SSCARK) at Sri Sri University.
Raghav Raj Bhatt is a renowned Kathak dancer, sketch artist and folk and tribal arts expert. He is the prime disciple of Padma Vibhushan Pt Birju Maharaj Ji. His solo, duet and group productions have been staged at numerous prestigious festivals in India and abroad.