Shobha Koser is an Indian Kathak dancer, writer and teacher. Koser hails from the Jaipur Gharana. [1] Koser is the recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2019) [2] She taught various actors including Poonam Dhillon. [3]
Dr. Shobha is a registrar of the organization named Pracheen Kala Kendra, the organization is founded by her late husband, Madan Lal Kosar who was a Tandav dancer in Chandigarh to promote classical music and dance. [3]
Shobha was the third child amongst her seven sibling born to a doctor father. Her mother was a student of science. Shobha trained under Guru Kanhiya Lal and she performed at Rashtrapati Bhavan before Rajendra Prasad when she was in class 8. She also trained later under Guru Kundan Lal Gangani. [3] Shobha started performing on stages and studying classical dance when she was 15. She was married to M. L. Koser at the age of 17. [4] [5]
Shobha is a first-class first in Masters of Arts (MA) in dance from the Punjab University, Chandigarh. She had completed Nritya Alankar from the Akhil Bhartiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Mandal (Mumbai), and Nritya Praveen from Prayag sangeet Samiti, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. [4]
She has been entitled as Nritya Surabhi, Nritya Shree, Nritya Urvashi, Nritya Sharda, Abhinaya Samaragi, Shreekshetra Nati, etc. [6]
Other Awards received by Shobha Kosar :-
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.
Kumudini Lakhia is an Indian Kathak dancer and choreographer based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, where she founded Kadamb School of Dance and Music, an institute of Indian dance and music in 1967.
Munna Shukla was a Kathak guru and choreographer of Lucknow Gharana based in New Delhi, India. Born to a family who has been involved in dance for generations, Munna Shukla specialized in Kathak, a classical dance form of North India. He was a grandson of the noted Kathak Maestro, Late Achhan Maharaj, and a nephew of Birju Maharaj.

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.
Rajkumar Singhajit Singh, is a leading exponent, choreographer and a guru of Indian classical dance form of Manipuri, including the Pung cholom and Raslila. He was awarded with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1984 and the Padma Shri in 1986 for his contribution to the Manipuri dance. In the year 2011, Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's The National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, awarded him with its highest award, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for his contribution to Indian Dance. In 2014 he was also conferred with the Tagore Award.

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 had also received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for the year 1984.
Shashi Sankhla,, is an exponent of the Jaipur gharana of Kathak dance in India. She is a Senior Disciple of Guru Pt. Kundan Lal Gangani Ji. She has been awarded by Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2008 in Kathak dance. She was the principal of Jaipur Kathak Kendra. She founded Geetanjali music Society an institute devoted to Kathak.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Prerana Shrimali is a senior dancer of Jaipur Gharana of Kathak. Born in Banswara in Rajasthan, Shrimati Prerana Shrimali was initiated in Kathak dance by Guru Shri Kundan lal Gangani in Jaipur. Later, she was groomed in the art at Kathak Kendra, New Delhi, under the same Guru late Shri Kundan Lal Gangani of the Jaipur gharana. She has also choreographed several productions and has participated in several international dance seminars and conferences. She has also imparted training to young dancers at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra. She has served as Repertory Chief of the Kathak Kendra, Delhi from the year 2007 to 2009, and later served as a senior guru in Kathak kendra Delhi from 2012 to2017. Shrimati Prerna Shrimali has been awarded the Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the Rashtriya Ekta Award of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. Her dance has been featured in the film The Far Pavilions produced by BBC. Shrimati Prerana Shrimali was awarded central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for the year 2009 by the president of India for her contribution to Kathak dance. Now she is based in Jaipur, Rajasthan and started her own institute 'KALAAVART' Prerana Shrimali centre of Kathak in 2021.

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.
Roshan Kumari Fakir Mohammad is an Indian classical dancer, actor and choreographer, considered by many as one of the foremost exponents of the Indian classical dance form of Kathak. She follows the Jaipur Gharana and is the founder of Nritya Kala Kendra, Mumbai, an academy promoting Kathak. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1975, she received the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri from the Government of India in 1984.
Jatin Goswami is an Indian dancer and choreographer, known as one of the prominent exponents of the classical dance form of Sattriya. He is the founder director of Sattriya Akademi, Guwahati, a sitting member of its Advisory Committee, and a former member of the General Council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. He is also the founder of Alok Shilpi Sangha, a dance academy and Pragjyoti Kala Parishad, a cultural organization, and is a recipient of the 2004 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2008, for his contributions to Sattriya dance.
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.
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.
Vibha Dadheech is an Indian classical dancer in the Kathak dance form. She began learning Kathak from Raigarh Court dancer Pt. Firtu Maharaj, and later in Guru Shishya Parampara from Pt. Shambhu Maharaj as a ganda bandh shagird, living and learning at her guru’s home. She is also the senior-most disciple and wife of Puru Dadheech. Together they founded the Natavari Kathak Nritya Academy, Indore. Currently, Vibha Dadheech is serving as Professor Emeritus at world’s first dedicated Kathak Research centre at the Sri Sri University, The Sri Sri Centre for Advanced Research in Kathak.
Geetanjali Lal is an Indian Kathak dancer and choreographer.