Kumudini Lakhia | |
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| Born | (1930-05-17)17 May 1930 |
| Died | 12 April 2025(2025-04-12) (aged 94) |
| Occupation(s) | Founder-Director, Kadamb School of Dance and Music |
| Known for | Kathak dance andchoreography |
| Awards | Padma Vibhushan |
Kumudini Lakhia (17 May 1930 – 12 April 2025) was an IndianKathak dancer and choreographer based inAhmedabad, Gujarat,[1] where she founded Kadamb School of Dance and Music, an institute of Indian dance and music in 1967.[2]
A pioneer in contemporary Kathak dance, she was credited with moving away from the solo form ofKathak starting in the 1960s, by turning it into a group spectacle, and also innovations like taking away traditional stories and adding contemporary storylines into Kathak repertoire.[3][4][5]
Lakhia started her Kathak training with Sohanlal from the Bikaner Gharana at age seven. This was followed by Ashiq Hussain of Benaras Gharana and Sunder Prasad of the Jaipur school. Encouraged by her mother, Leela, herself a classical singer, she was sent to further her training under the tutelage of Radheylal Misra, himself a disciple of Jai Lal. As a result, she completed her schooling in Lahore and college in Allahabad.[6]
Lakhia started her career dancing withRam Gopal as he toured the West, bringing Indian dance to the eyes of people abroad for the first time, and then became a dancer and choreographer in her own right. She learned first from various gurus of Jaipurgharana, and then fromShambhu Maharaj.
She was particularly known for her multi-person choreographies. Some of her most famous choreographies includeDhabkar (Pulse),Yugal (The Duet), andAtah Kim (Where Now?), which she performed at the annual Kathak Mahotsav in Delhi in 1980. She was also a choreographer in theHindi film,Umrao Jaan (1981), along withGopi Krishna.[7][8]
Lakhia was a guru to many disciples, includingKathak dancersAditi Mangaldas, Vaishali Trivedi, Sandhya Desai, Daksha Sheth, Maulik Shah, Ishira Parikh, Prashant Shah, Urja Thakore and Parul Shah amongst others.
Kumudini Lakhia married Rajnikant Lakhia, who was studying law at the Lincolns Inn and was a violinist with the Ram Gopal company before moving to Ahmedabad in 1960. She had a son, Shriraj, and a daughter, Maitreyi.
Lakhia died in Ahmedabad on 12 April 2025, at the age of 94.[9]
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