Damayanti Joshi
| Damayanti Joshi | |
|---|---|
dancing
|
|
| Born |
5 September 1928 Mumbai, India |
| Died | 19 September 2004 (aged 76) Mumbai, India |
| Occupation | dancer, choreographer, dance instructor |
| Dances | Kathak |
Damayanti Joshi (5 September 1928 – 19 September 2004) was a noted Indian classical dancer in the Kathak dance form. 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.
She received the Padma Shri in 1970, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Dance in 1968, and had remained Director of the U.P. Kathak Kendra in Lucknow.
Born in a Hindi family in Mumbai in 1928, she grew up in the household of General Dr Sahib Singh Sokhey and his wife Leila Sokhey (born Roy) who became known as Madame Menaka. Manaka had lost her own child and she had decided to adopt Joshi. Joshi's mother Vatsala Joshi would not give up her daughter and they agreed to be joint guardians. In Manaka's troupe she learnt about Kathak from Pandit Sitaram Prasad as she toured in Menaka's troupe. After ten years, when she was 15 she had performed in European major cities. The Sokheys employed Damayanti's mother and Joshi received an education.
She was the first student at Mumbai's Sri Rajarajeswari Bharata Natya Kala Mandir, where she learned Bharat Natyam from Guru T. K. Mahalingam Pillai, doyen among nattuvanars.
After the mid-1950s, Damayanti established herself as a successful solo Kathak dancer, taking training from Pandits, Achhan Maharaj, Lachhu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj of the Lucknow gharana and Guru Hiralal of the Jaipur gharana. Particularly, at Kathak Kendra, Delhi, she trained under Shambhu Maharaj. She was the first person to introduce "Saree" as a costume in Kathak dance.
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