Uma Sharma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1942 (age 82–83) |
| Occupation(s) | Classical Dancer, choreographer, teacher |
Uma Sharma (born 1942) is akathakdancer, choreographer and teacher. She also runs the Bharatiya Sangeet Sadan, a classical dance and music academy, situated inNew Delhi, founded by her father in 1946. She is most known for reviving the old classical dance form ofNatwari Nritya or theRaslila ofBrindavan, which later evolved into the Kathak.[1][2][3]
Kathak is based on devotional Krishna poetry of the medieval centuries and the highly cultivated court poetry of the 18th and 19th centuries which celebratedshringara, the sentiment of love.
Uma Sharma's family hails from Dholpur in Rajasthan. Born in Delhi in 1942, Uma Sharma received her dance training from Guru Hiralalji and Girvar Dayal of the Jaipur gharana, and subsequently she became a student of Pandit Sunder Prasad of theJaipurgharana who emphasised rhythmic footwork and its permutations.Shambhu Maharaj andBirju Maharaj noted gurus of the Kathak tradition of theLucknow gharana, known for the art ofabhinaya, subsequently Uma Sharma sought to achieve a creative fusion of the two.[1]Uma went toSt. Thomas' School (New Delhi) for schooling, and then graduated fromLady Shri Ram College for Women, also in New Delhi.
After having learnt the presentation of traditional items, she has widened the repertoire of Kathak by composing new dance numbers and full length dance-dramas on a variety of themes. Her dance dramaStree (Woman), has been known its powerful thematic content and artistic presentation. As a one-woman exposition Stree Kathak gives emotive thrust in depicting the position of Woman down the centuries and her search for an independent identity.
Uma has performed all over the country and participated in many a national and international festivals. She has been on performance tours to USSR, New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada, Middle East, Japan and China, both on invitation from organizations abroad and as a representative of the Department of Culture and theIndian Council for Cultural Relations.
Uma Sharma runs her own School of Music and Dance in the capital and has trained a whole new generation of younger dancers.
However, veteran dance critic and scholar Sunil Kothari of New Delhi, has criticized her dance as always being very Bollywood oriented in nature. He has also accused her of misusing her connections with various government officials to gain awards and publicity. Uma hasn't commented on such allegations.
In 1973 she became the youngest dancer be conferred upon with thePadma Shri byGovernment of India,[4] andPadma Bhushan 2001.[5] She was awarded theSangeet Natak Akademi Award and also theSahitya Kala Parishad Award. On 27 January 2013, she was honoured with titleSrijan Manishi byAkhil Bhartiya Vikram Parishad, Kashi for her great contribution to Indian Kathak Dance.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
