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Shovana Narayan | |
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| Born | 2 September 1950 |
| Occupation | Dancer |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Spouse | Herbert Traxl |
| Career | |
| Dances | Kathak |
Shovana Narayan is a recognised Indian Kathak dancer and a career officer with Indian Audit and Accounts Service. She performs in India and internationally, and has been awarded the Padma Shri. [1] She trained under Birju Maharaj. [2]
Sadhna Bose in Kolkata and Guru Kundal Lal in Mumbai initiated Narayan into Kathak at the age of four. [3]
She studied at Miranda House in Delhi, India, graduating with a master's degree in physics in 1972. She completed M.Phil. in Defence and Strategic Studies from University of Madras in 2008 and MPhil in Social Sciences from Punjab University in 2001. She also worked as a career officer for the Indian Audits & Accounts Service [4] and retired in 2010. She is married to Dr. Herbert Traxl, Austrian Ambassador to India (retired). [5]
As a "performer and guru," Shovana Narayan has performed widely in several prestigious national and international festivals and before several heads of state and governments and has trained several Kathak artists of the young generation. [6]
As a "choreographer-performer," Shovana Narayan has spearheaded and produced international collaborative works with leading dancers of western classical ballet, flamenco, tap dance, Buddhist chants with Buddhist monks, as well as dancing the compositions of western classical composers.[ citation needed ] She was the creative director-producer-dancer of the first-ever trilogy involving western classical dance-Kathak-flamenco in "The Dawn After" in 1994.[ citation needed ] She was also the creative director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 6th abylimpics 2003, held at New Delhi.[ citation needed ] She delivered the opening & closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games Delhi in 2010.[ citation needed ] She has spearheaded and produced several collaborative works with leading dancers of several Indian classical dance styles.[ citation needed ] She was also the creative director-producer for:
Some of her choreographies are:
As an "organiser," Shovana Narayan organises annually:
Shovana has researched and discovered 8 Kathak villages near Gaya with documentary and official records. She collaborated with Sanskrit & epigraphy scholar KK Mishra, who discovered Prakrit inscription in Asokan-Brahmi script relating to Kathak dated to the 4th century BC.[ citation needed ] She is the first dancer to have conceived, conceptualised and brought out a dance video on the philosophy and legend of the immortal Khajuraho temples entitled ‘Dance of the Temples’.[ citation needed ] She is the leading actor in films "Akbar’s Bridge" (Hindi) and "Das Geheimnis des Indisches Tanz" (German).[ citation needed ]
Over 80 articles with in-depth research were published in several national newspapers, recognised journals, etc. such as the Times of India, the Tribune, the Asian Age, in journals of Sangeet Natak Akademi, Rajasthan University, UNESCO, and several others.[ citation needed ]
In 2016, Documentary film maker Beenu Rajpoot made a film “Born to Dance” on the life of Shovana Narayan. [7] [8]
In 2022, documentary film maker Beenu Rajpoot directed a film "Kathak Log of Kathak Villages" on the life of Shovana Narayan. The film took four years to complete and it is based on a deeply researched book Kathak Lok; the film unearths little-known facts of the pre-Christian era roots of Kathak. The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in Delhi first screened the documentary on April 30, 2022. [9] [10]
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 nine major forms of Indian classical dance. Its origin is attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern India known as Kathakar ("storyteller"), who communicated stories from the Hindu epics and mythology through dance, songs and music. Its name derives from the Sanskrit word katha which means "story", and kathakar which means "the one who tells a story", or "to do with stories".
Sattriya, or Sattriya Nritya, is a major Indian classical dance. It was initially created as part of Bhaona which are performances of Ankiya Nat, one-act plays, originally created by Sankardev, a 15th-16th century polymath from Assam. These dances are part of the living traditions today of Sattra, which are communities of live-in devotees belonging to the Ekasarana Dharma, a Hindu sect established by Sankardev.
Indian classical dance, or Shastriya Nritya, is an umbrella term for different regionally-specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindu musical theatre performance, the theory and practice of which can be traced to the Sanskrit text Natya Shastra. The number of Indian classical dance styles ranges from six to eight to twelve, or more, depending on the source and scholar; the main organisation for Indian arts preservation, the Sangeet Natak Academy recognizes eight: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Sattriya, Manipuri and Mohiniyattam. Additionally, the Indian Ministry of Culture includes Chhau in its list, recognising nine total styles. Scholars such as Drid Williams add Chhau, Yakshagana and Bhagavata Mela to the list. Each dance tradition originates and comes from a different state and/or region of India; for example, Bharatanatyam is from Tamil Nadu in the south of India, Odissi is from the east coast state of Odisha, and Manipuri is from the northeastern state of Manipur. The music associated with these different dance performances consists many compositions in Hindi, Malayalam, Meitei (Manipuri), Sanskrit, Tamil, Odia, Telugu, and many other Indian-Subcontinent languages; they represent a unity of core ideas and a diversity of styles, costumes, and expression.
Dance in India comprises numerous styles of dances, generally classified as classical or folk. As with other aspects of Indian culture, different forms of dances originated in different parts of India, developed according to the local traditions and also imbibed elements from other parts of the country.
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.
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
Samta Prasad was an Indian classical musician and tabla player from the Benares gharana. He played tabla in many Hindi films including, Meri Surat Teri Ankhen (1963) and Sholay (1975), and film music composers Rahul Dev Burman and Bappi Lahiri were his disciples.
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.
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.
Aparna Sanyal is an Indian director and producer. She has directed multiple films, and produced several international documentary-series. She runs Mixed Media Productions, a production house based in Delhi, and is one of the co-founders of The Carbon Union, a creative collective.
Nighat Chaudhry is a Kathak classical dancer who was born on 24 February 1959, in Lahore, Pakistan. She moved to London with her parents when she was one year old. She studied ballet and contemporary dance; but when she was 14, she met Nahid Siddiqui, one of the greatest Kathak dancers, and began training with her. Inspired to learn the classical forms of her own culture, she abandoned ballet. In order to understand and absorb the nuances of the Indian style, she wished to be closer to its origins; and she moved back to Pakistan. She eventually became a trained Sufi & Mystique Kathak classical dancer and has been active as a professional Kathak dancer for over three decades.
Nandkishore Kapote is a Kathak classical dancer of Indian origin. He is a distinguished guide for one of the PhD programmes at the Tilak Maharashtra University, as well as at the Sri Sri Centre for Kathak Research (SSCARK) at Sri Sri University.
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.
Beenu Rajpoot is an Indian film director and producer. She has directed multiple films and produced several national and international documentary films. She is the founder of Beenu Rajpoot Films, a production house based in Delhi.
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