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.
Kathak is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance form from Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern India known as Kathakars or storytellers. The term Kathak is derived from the Sanskrit word Katha which means "story", and Kathakar which means "the one who tells a story", or "to do with stories". Wandering Kathakars communicated stories from the great epics and ancient mythology through dance, songs and music. Kathak dancers tell various stories through their hand movements and extensive footwork, their body movements and flexibility but most importantly through their facial expressions. Kathak often has a strong beat, and can be dance in many taals. Kathak evolved during the Bhakti movement, particularly by incorporating the childhood and stories of the Hindu god Krishna, as well as independently in the courts of north Indian kingdoms. During the period of Mughal rule, the emperors were patrons of Kathak dance and actively promoted it in their royal courts. Kathak performances include Urdu Ghazals and commonly used instruments brought during the Mughal period. As a result, it is the only Indian classical dance form to feature Persian elements.
Sitara Devi was an Indian dancer of the classical Kathak style of dancing, a singer, and an actress. She was the recipient of several awards and accolades, and performed at several prestigious venues in India and abroad; including the Royal Albert Hall, London (1967) and at the Carnegie Hall, New York (1976).
Shubha Mudgal is an Indian musician, composer, singer, and multi instrumentalist known for her works in Hindustani classical music, Indian pop, and Tamil cinema. Her repertoire includes the genres of khyal, thumri, dadra. She has received the Padma Shri in 2000.
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.
Uma Sharma is a kathak dancer, choreographer and teacher. She is also runs the Bharatiya Sangeet Sadan, Delhi, a classical dance and music academy, situated in New Delhi, founded by her father in 1946. She is most known for reviving the old classical dance form of Natwari Nritya or the Raslila of Brindavan, which later evolved into the Kathak.
Manjari Chaturvedi is an Indian Kathak dancer. She belongs to the Lucknow Gharana.
Chitra Visweswaran is an Indian Bharata Natyam dancer who runs a dance school, the Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts, in Chennai.
Madhavi Mudgal is an Indian classical dancer known for her Odissi dance style. She has won several awards, including the Sanskriti Award, 1984, President of India's award of Padma Shri, 1990, the Orissa State Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 1996, Grande Medaille de la Ville by Govt. of France, 1997, Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 2000, Delhi State Parishad Samman, 2002 and the title of Nritya Choodamani in 2004.
Rohini Bhate was among the senior most Kathak dance exponents in India, who developed as a performer, teacher, writer, researcher and critic this Indian classical dance. During her career, she was awarded with several recognitions, such as the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, and the Kalidas Samman.
Gauri Jog is a Kathak dancer, Choreographer and research scholar from Chicago. She has been practicing Kathak dance and considered as an exponent of Lucknow and Jaipur Gharana. Her creations include Krishna Leela, Shakuntala, Jhansi Ki Rani, Kathak Yatra, East meets West, Fire - the Fiery Tale among others. She brings to life traditional "art of storytelling" through the technical elements in Kathak. She is very popular especially among younger generation due to her unique approach to combine some Bollywood steps and Yoga into the Kathak while taking care not to cross the boundaries of tradition. Her experiments with combining Kathak with Flamenco, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Mexican and American Ballet have won many accolades. Since 1999 Gauri Jog and her group have performed more than 325 dance shows in North America and India.
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.
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.
Uorfi Javed, is an Indian television actress and social media personality. Known for her unique fashion sense and social media presence, Javed began her career with roles in soap operas and rose to fame in 2021 after appearing on Voot's reality show Bigg Boss OTT 1.
Nighat Chaudhry was born on 24 February, in Lahore, Pakistan. She moved to London with her parents when she was one year old. She is a trained Sufi & Mystique Kathak classical dancer. She started her journey from London and has been active as a professional Kathak dancer for over three decades. She studied ballet and contemporary dance. She met Nahid Siddiqui aged 14, regarded as one of the greatest Kathak dancers, and trained under her guidance. Inspired to learn the classical forms of her own culture, she abandoned ballet to understand and absorb the nuances of the style. This required her to be closer to its origins and she moved back to Pakistan.
Ustad Faiyaz Khan is an Indian vocalist, Sarangi artiste and a tabla player who sings Hindustani music. He is well known for rendering Khyal music & sarangi solos and also well known for Kannada Dasar pada & vachanas
Madhu Nataraj is an Indian classical, contemporary dancer and choreographer who lives in Bangalore. She is the director of the Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography and founded its performing wing STEM (Space.Time.Energy.Movement) Dance Kampni.
Puru Dadheech is a Kathak dancer. He is a choreographer and educator of Indian classical dance, and is known for his pioneering work in the field of Kathak. At the oldest Kathak department which was formed in 1956 at Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya Public University located in Khairagarh, Puru Dadheech instated the first Kathak syllabus in 1961. He is the holder of the first Doctorate in Kathak Classical Dance and emphasizes the relevance of Shastras in the Kathak repertoire. He was awarded Padma Shri, the 4th highest civilian award of India He is currently serving as the Director of the world's first dedicated Kathak research Centre at the Sri Sri University, Cuttack called Sri Sri Centre for Advanced Research in Kathak.
Seema Kaushik Mehta is an Indian Kathak expert and designer of jewellery. She received the Nari Shakti Puraskar award for her dancing advocacy in 2019 after working with under-privileged children in Mumbai.
