Uma Sharma
| Uma Sharma | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1942 (age 74–75) Dholpur |
| Occupation | Classical Dancer, choreographer, teacher |
Uma Sharma (born 1942) is a kathak dancer, choreographer and teacher. She is also runs the Bharatiya Sangeet Sadan, Delhi, a classical dance and music academy, situated in New Delhi, founded by her father in 1946. She is most known for reviving the old classical dance form of Natwari Nritya or the Raslila of Brindavan, which later evolved into the Kathak.
Kathak is based on devotional Krishna poetry of the medieval centuries and the highly cultivated court poetry of the 18th and 19th centuries which celebrated shringara, 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 the Jaipur gharana who emphasised rhythmic footwork and its permutations., Shambhu Maharaj and Birju Maharaj noted gurus of the Kathak tradition of the Lucknow gharana, known for the art of abhinaya, subsequently Uma Sharma sought to achieve a creative fusion of the two. Uma went to St. Thomas' School (New Delhi) for schooling, and then graduated from Lady 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 drama Stree (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 the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
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