2016-12-08 Thu

Everything in the universe has rhythm. Everything dance
-- Maya Angelou
Uday Shankar is famous for his fusion of both Classical and western forms of dancing. He is a fine example that a dancer is not just tied to one style of dancing but can adopt any style and flow in it like water.

Uday Shankar was born in Udaipur in 1900. He began his art training in Bombay (Mumbai) in 1917 and two years later studied at the Royal college of Art in London. He created two forms of dance - the Hindu wedding dance and a duet of Radha-Krishna.

Between 1930-1932 his troupe toured Europe and until the 1960s appeared regularly in the United States. He founded The Indian Cultural Centre (School of Drama, dance and Music) in Almor, Uttar Pradesh. Uday Shankar with his brother, sitarist Ravi Shankar explored classical and folk dance and created dance dramas that included a social message.

Uday Shankar was awarded the "Padma Vibhushan" by the Government of India and the Desikottama by the Visva-Bharati University. Uday Shankar's work was criticised but Rabindranath Tagore was his great Supporter. To honour and respect, this great artist, India post issued a stamp in 1978 of 25 paise.

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