Uday Shankar
Encyclopedia
Uday Shankar , the pioneer of modern dance
in India, and a world renowned Indian dancer and choreographer, was most known for adapting Western theatrical techniques to traditional Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian classical, folk, and tribal dance, thus laying the roots of modern Indian dance, which he later popularized in India, Europe, and the United States in 1920s and 1930s and effectively placed Indian dance
on the world map.
In 1962, he was awarded by Sangeet Natak Akademi
, India's The National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, with its highest award, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
for lifetime achievement, and in 1971, the Govt. of India, awarded him with its second highest civilian award the Padma Vibhushan
.
, to a Bengali
family with origins in Narail
(present Bangladesh
). His father Shyam Shankar Chowdhury, a noted barrister, was employed with the Maharaja
of Jhalawar
in Rajasthan at the time of his eldest son's birth, while his mother Hemangini Devi, descended from a Bengali zamindari family. His father was conferred the title, 'Harchowdhury' by the Nawab
s, but he preferred to use surname 'Chowdhury' minus 'Har.' His younger brothers were Rajendra Shankar, Debendra Shankar, Bhupendra Shankar and Ravi Shankar
, born in 1920, out of them Bhupendra died young in 1926
His father was a Sanskrit scholar, graduated with honours from the Calcutta University and later studied at the Oxford University, where he became a Doctor of Philosophy. Since his father moved a lot on the account of his work, the family spent much time in Uday's maternal uncle's house at Nasratpur with his mother and brothers. Uday's studies also took place at various places including Nasratpur, Gazipur
, Varanasi
, and Jhalawar. At his Gazipur school, he learnt music and photography, from Ambika Charan Mukhopaddhay, his Drawing and Crafts teacher.
In 1918, at the age of eighteen, he was sent to Mumbai, to train at the J. J. School of Art and then to Gandharva Mahavidyalaya
. By now, Shyam Shankar had resigned his post in Jhalawar and moved to London, here he married an English woman and practiced law , before becoming an amateur impresario
, introducing Indian dance and music to Britain. Subsequently, Uday joined his father in London, and on 23 August 1920, joined the Royal College of Art
, London
to study paintings under Sir William Rothenstein
. Here he danced at a few charity performances that his father had organized in London, and one such occasion, noted Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova happened to be present, this was to have lasting impact on his career.
Uday Shankar didn't have any formal training in any of the Indian classical dance forms, his presentations were creative. Though from a young age, he was exposed to both Indian classical and folk dances, as he was to ballet
, during his stay in Europe, much impressed he decided to bring elements of both the styles together to create a new for dance,m which called hi-dance. He went on to translate classical Indian dance forms and their iconography
to dance movements, which he studied the Rajput painting
and Mughal painting
styles at the British Museum. Further during his stay in Britain, he came across several performing artistes, subsequently when he left for Rome on the 'Prix de Rome
' scholarship of French Government, for advanced studies in art.
Soon his interaction with such artists grew and so did the idea to Indian dance in a contemporary form. The turning point came his way as a meeting with legendary Russian ballerina
Anna Pavlova. She was looking artists to collaborate on India based themes. This led to the creation of ballets based on Hindu themes, 'Radha
-Krishna
', a duet with Anna, and 'Hindu Wedding', for inclusion in her production, 'Oriental Impressions'. The ballet was presented at the Royal Opera House
, Covent Garden
, in London. Later he continued to conceive and choreograph ballets, like one based on Ajanta Caves fresco
es, and performed across USA, along with her., and in time his style of dance came to be known as 'hi dance' in those days, though later he called it 'Creative dance '.
He worked with Anna for one and a half years, before starting out on his own in Paris.
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Shankar returned to India, in 1927, along with by a French pianist, Simon Barbiere, who was now his disciple and dance partner, and a Swiss sculptres :nl:Alice Boners, Alice Bonner , who wanted to study Indian art history. He was welcomed by Rabindranath Tagore
himself, who also persuaded him to open a performing arts school in India.
On his returned to Paris in 1931, he founded Europe's first Indian dance
company, along with Swiss sculptress Alice Boner, a former disciple. There along with musicians Vishnu Dass Shirali and Timir Baran, he created a new template for music to accompany his newly devised movements. His first series of dance performances was held on March 3, 1931, at the Champs-Elysees Theatre in Paris, which was to become his base as he toured through Europe and also felicitated his interaction with French dancers and choreographer .
Soon he embarked on seven-year tour through the western world
- Europe and America, along with his own troupe, titled - 'Uday Shankar and his Hindu Ballet', under the ageis of impresario
Sol Hurok
and Celebrity Series of Boston
of impresario, Aaron Richmond
. He performed in US for the firm time, in January 1933, along with his dance partner Simkie, a French dancer, in New York, before setting out on a 84 city tour with his troupe.
His adaptation of western theatrical techniques
to Indian dance made his art hugely popular both in India and the West, and he rightly credited for ushering in an era of renaissance
into traditional Indian temple dances, till now known for their strict interpretations, and which were also going through their own revival, while his brother Ravi Shankar
helped popularize Indian classical music
in the West.
In 1936, he was invited by Leonard Knight Elmhirst, who had earlier assisted Rabindranath Tagore
in building Sriniketan
, close to Shanti Niketan, to visit Dartington Hall
, Totnes, Doven for a six month residency, with his troupe and lead dancer, Simkie. Also present there, in those days where Michel Chekhov, nephew of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, the German modern dancer-choreographer, Kurt Jooss
and another German Rudolf Laban
who invented the dance notation
, this experience only added more exuberance to his expressionist dance
.
In 1938, he made India his base, and established 'Uday Shankar India Cultural Centre', at Simtola, 3 km from Almora
, in Uttarakhand
Himalayas
, and invited Sankaran Namboodri for Kathakali
, Kandappa Pillai for Bharatanatyam
, Ambi Singh for Manipuri
and Ustad Allauddin Khan for music. Soon, he had battery of artists and dancers including, Guru Dutt
, Shanti Bardhan, Simkie, Amala, Satyavati, Narendra Sharma, Ruma Guha Thakurta
, Prabhat Ganguly, Zohra Sehgal
, Uzra, Lakshmi Shankar
, Shanta Gandhi
; his own brothers Rajendra, Denbendra and Ravi also joined him as students. The centre however closed after four years of existence in 1942, due to paucity of funds. As his students dispersed, he regrouped his energies and headed South, where made his only film, Kalpana
(Imagination) in 1948, based on his dance, in which both he and his wife, Amala Shankar danced, the film was produced and shot at Gemini Studios
, Madras.
Uday Shankar settled in Ballygunge
, Kolkata
in 1960, where the "Uday Shankar Center for Dance" was later opened in 1965. In 1962 he was awarded, the highest award of the Sangeet Natak Akademi
, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
for lifetime contribution to Indian dance
in 1942, and a daughter Mamata Shankar
born in 1955. While Ananda Shankar was a musician and music composer who trained with Dr. Lalmani Misra
rather than his uncle, Ravi Shankar, and in time became known for his fusion music, encompassing both Western and Indian music styles. Mamata Shankar, a dancer like her parents, became a noted actress, working in films by Satyajit Ray
and Mrinal Sen
, she also runs 'Udayan Dance Company' in Kolkata, and travels extensive through the world.
in 1991. His son, Ananda Shankar's wife Tanushree Shankar also continues to teach and perform, his style of Indian modern dance, under 'Tanushree Shankar Dance Company' also based in the city. Years after, his school at Almora was disbanded, his followers and associates continued to propagate his innovative style of dancing and his aesthetic through their own work. Many went on to form their companies, thus creating an everlasting legacy of his immense body of work and influence on the dancers of his generation. Amongst them, were Shanti Bardhan were who create Ramayana
ballets presentations using human beings performing like puppets, and also introduced the Panchatantra
tales into dances, by creating movements of the birds and the animals. Guru Dutt
, who attended his school went on to one of India's finest film director. A student, Lakshmi Shankar
later changed stream and became noted classical singer, later married Rajendra Shankar, the younger brother of Uday Shankar. Zohra Segal made a career for her in stage, television and cinema, both in India and Britain. Satyavati later danced with Ram Gopal at The Royal Festival Hall in London and at the Edinburgh festival in 1956. She taught Indian dance to thousands of young girls in Bombay through her classes in several of the convent schools in the city during a teaching career that spanned more than four decades.
In December 1983, his younger brother, sitar
player Ravi Shankar
organized a four-day festival, Uday-Ustav Festival in New Delhi, marking the 60th anniversary his professional debut in 1923, highlighted by performances by his disciples, films, an exhibition and orchestral music composed and orchestrated by Ravi Shankar himself. His birth centenary celebrations formally launch at the UNESCO headquarters, Paris, on April 26, 2001, where dancers, choreographers and scholars from all over the world assembled to pay homage to the master.
Modern dance
Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...
in India, and a world renowned Indian dancer and choreographer, was most known for adapting Western theatrical techniques to traditional Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian classical, folk, and tribal dance, thus laying the roots of modern Indian dance, which he later popularized in India, Europe, and the United States in 1920s and 1930s and effectively placed Indian dance
Indian dance
Dance in India covers a wide range of dance and dance theatre forms, from the ancient classical or temple dance to folk and modern styles.Three best-known Hindu deities, Shiva, Kali and Krishna, are typically represented dancing. There are hundreds of Indian folk dances such as Bhangra, Bihu,...
on the world map.
In 1962, he was awarded by Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India.-History:...
, India's The National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, with its highest award, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also, Sangeet Natak Akademi Ratna Sadasya is an honour for the performing arts in India...
for lifetime achievement, and in 1971, the Govt. of India, awarded him with its second highest civilian award the Padma Vibhushan
Padma Vibhushan
The Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award in the Republic of India. It consists of a medal and a citation and is awarded by the President of India. It was established on 2 January 1954. It ranks behind the Bharat Ratna and comes before the Padma Bhushan...
.
Early life and education
Born Uday Shankar Chowdhury, in Udaipur, RajasthanUdaipur, Rajasthan
Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...
, to a Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
family with origins in Narail
Narail District
Narail is a district in South-western in Bangladesh. It is a part of the Khulna Division.-Geography:Narail District with an area of 990.23 km², is bounded by Magura District on the north, Khulna District on the south, Faridpur District and Gopalganj District on the east, and by Jessore...
(present Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
). His father Shyam Shankar Chowdhury, a noted barrister, was employed with the Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...
of Jhalawar
Jhalawar
Jhalawar is a city in southeastern Rajasthan. It was the capital of the former princely state of Jhalawar, and is the administrative headquarters of Jhalawar District. Jhalawar was once known as Brijnagar .-Jhalawar town:...
in Rajasthan at the time of his eldest son's birth, while his mother Hemangini Devi, descended from a Bengali zamindari family. His father was conferred the title, 'Harchowdhury' by the Nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
s, but he preferred to use surname 'Chowdhury' minus 'Har.' His younger brothers were Rajendra Shankar, Debendra Shankar, Bhupendra Shankar and Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
, born in 1920, out of them Bhupendra died young in 1926
His father was a Sanskrit scholar, graduated with honours from the Calcutta University and later studied at the Oxford University, where he became a Doctor of Philosophy. Since his father moved a lot on the account of his work, the family spent much time in Uday's maternal uncle's house at Nasratpur with his mother and brothers. Uday's studies also took place at various places including Nasratpur, Gazipur
Ghazipur
Ghazipur , or Ghazipur City, previously spelt Ghazeepore, is a city/town and a municipal corporation and headquarter of Ghazipur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghazipur Division and Sub-division...
, Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
, and Jhalawar. At his Gazipur school, he learnt music and photography, from Ambika Charan Mukhopaddhay, his Drawing and Crafts teacher.
In 1918, at the age of eighteen, he was sent to Mumbai, to train at the J. J. School of Art and then to Gandharva Mahavidyalaya
Gandharva Mahavidyalaya
Gandharva Mahavidyalaya is an institution established in 1939 to popularize Indian classical music and dance.The Mahavidyalaya came into being to perpetuate the memory of Pandit Vishnu Digamber Paluskar, the great reviver of Hindustani classical music, and to keep up the ideals set down by him....
. By now, Shyam Shankar had resigned his post in Jhalawar and moved to London, here he married an English woman and practiced law , before becoming an amateur impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
, introducing Indian dance and music to Britain. Subsequently, Uday joined his father in London, and on 23 August 1920, joined the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to study paintings under Sir William Rothenstein
William Rothenstein
Sir William Rothenstein was an English painter, draughtsman and writer on art.-Life and work:William Rothenstein was born into a German-Jewish family in Bradford, West Yorkshire. His father, Moritz, emigrated from Germany in 1859 to work in Bradford's burgeoning textile industry...
. Here he danced at a few charity performances that his father had organized in London, and one such occasion, noted Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova happened to be present, this was to have lasting impact on his career.
Career
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
, during his stay in Europe, much impressed he decided to bring elements of both the styles together to create a new for dance,m which called hi-dance. He went on to translate classical Indian dance forms and their iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
to dance movements, which he studied the Rajput painting
Rajput painting
Rajput painting, also known as Rajasthani Painting, is a style of Indian painting, evolved and flourished during the 18th century in the royal courts of Rajputana, India, flowing from the style of Mughal painting, itself derived from the Persian miniature. Each Rajput kingdom evolved a distinct...
and Mughal painting
Mughal painting
Mughal painting is a particular style of South Asian painting, generally confined to miniatures either as book illustrations or as single works to be kept in albums, which emerged from Persian miniature painting, with Indian Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist influences, and developed largely in the court...
styles at the British Museum. Further during his stay in Britain, he came across several performing artistes, subsequently when he left for Rome on the 'Prix de Rome
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...
' scholarship of French Government, for advanced studies in art.
Soon his interaction with such artists grew and so did the idea to Indian dance in a contemporary form. The turning point came his way as a meeting with legendary Russian ballerina
Ballerina
A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...
Anna Pavlova. She was looking artists to collaborate on India based themes. This led to the creation of ballets based on Hindu themes, 'Radha
Radha
Radha , also called Radhika, Radharani and Radhikarani, is the childhood friend and lover of Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gita Govinda of the Vaisnava traditions of Hinduism...
-Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
', a duet with Anna, and 'Hindu Wedding', for inclusion in her production, 'Oriental Impressions'. The ballet was presented at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, in London. Later he continued to conceive and choreograph ballets, like one based on Ajanta Caves fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es, and performed across USA, along with her., and in time his style of dance came to be known as 'hi dance' in those days, though later he called it 'Creative dance '.
He worked with Anna for one and a half years, before starting out on his own in Paris.
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
himself, who also persuaded him to open a performing arts school in India.
On his returned to Paris in 1931, he founded Europe's first Indian dance
Indian dance
Dance in India covers a wide range of dance and dance theatre forms, from the ancient classical or temple dance to folk and modern styles.Three best-known Hindu deities, Shiva, Kali and Krishna, are typically represented dancing. There are hundreds of Indian folk dances such as Bhangra, Bihu,...
company, along with Swiss sculptress Alice Boner, a former disciple. There along with musicians Vishnu Dass Shirali and Timir Baran, he created a new template for music to accompany his newly devised movements. His first series of dance performances was held on March 3, 1931, at the Champs-Elysees Theatre in Paris, which was to become his base as he toured through Europe and also felicitated his interaction with French dancers and choreographer .
Soon he embarked on seven-year tour through the western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
- Europe and America, along with his own troupe, titled - 'Uday Shankar and his Hindu Ballet', under the ageis of impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
Sol Hurok
Sol Hurok
Sol Hurok was a world-famous 20th century American impresario.-Biography:...
and Celebrity Series of Boston
Celebrity Series of Boston
The Celebrity Series of Boston is a non-profit performing arts presenter established in Boston, Massachusetts by Boston impresario Aaron Richmond in 1938 as Aaron Richmond's Celebrity Series....
of impresario, Aaron Richmond
Aaron Richmond
Aaron Richmond was an American performing arts manager, pianist, impresario, and educator, based in Boston, Massachusetts, who managed the careers of numerous classical musicians and founded Celebrity Series of Boston, a performing arts presenting organization that still operates today.-Early...
. He performed in US for the firm time, in January 1933, along with his dance partner Simkie, a French dancer, in New York, before setting out on a 84 city tour with his troupe.
His adaptation of western theatrical techniques
Theatre technique
Theatre techniques are procedures that facilitate a successful presentation of a play. They also include any practices that advance and enhance the understanding the audience brings to the action and the acting by the caston stage.-The playwright's craft:...
to Indian dance made his art hugely popular both in India and the West, and he rightly credited for ushering in an era of renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
into traditional Indian temple dances, till now known for their strict interpretations, and which were also going through their own revival, while his brother Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
helped popularize Indian classical music
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
in the West.
In 1936, he was invited by Leonard Knight Elmhirst, who had earlier assisted Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
in building Sriniketan
Sriniketan
Sriniketan is a town in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Geography:Sriniketan is located at . It has an average elevation of .-History:...
, close to Shanti Niketan, to visit Dartington Hall
Dartington Hall
The Dartington Hall Trust, near Totnes, Devon, United Kingdom is a charity specialising in the arts, social justice and sustainability.The Trust currently runs 16 charitable programmes, including The Dartington International Summer School and Schumacher Environmental College...
, Totnes, Doven for a six month residency, with his troupe and lead dancer, Simkie. Also present there, in those days where Michel Chekhov, nephew of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, the German modern dancer-choreographer, Kurt Jooss
Kurt Jooss
Kurt Jooss was a famous ballet dancer and choreographer mixing classical ballet with theatre; he is also widely regarded as the founder of dance theatre or tanztheater...
and another German Rudolf Laban
Rudolf Laban
Rudolf von Laban aka Rudolf Laban was a dance artist and theorist whose work laid the foundations for Laban Movement Analysis and other more specific developments in dance notation...
who invented the dance notation
Dance notation
Dance notation is the symbolic representation of dance movement. It is analogous to movement notation but can be limited to representing human movement and specific forms of dance such as Tap dance...
, this experience only added more exuberance to his expressionist dance
Expressionist dance
Expressionist dance is a European dance form that is part of the German Expressionist movement. Although considered a part of the modern dance movement, it is separate from modern dance per se. Other names for it that have fallen out of use include Moderner Tanz, Absoluter Tanz, Freier Tanz,...
.
In 1938, he made India his base, and established 'Uday Shankar India Cultural Centre', at Simtola, 3 km from Almora
Almora
Almora is a municipal board, a cantonment town in the Almora district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Almora was founded in 1568.It is a town bustling with activity and a rich cultural heritage and history. It is considered the cultural heart of the Kumaon region of...
, in Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, and invited Sankaran Namboodri for Kathakali
Kathakali
Kathakali is a highly stylized classical Indian dance-drama noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion...
, Kandappa Pillai for Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam
Bharata Natyam or Chadhir Attam, is a classical dance form from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, practiced predominantly in modern times by women. The dance is usually accompanied by classical Carnatic music...
, Ambi Singh for Manipuri
Manipuri dance
Manipuri dance is one of the major Indian classical dance forms. It originates from Manipur, a state in north-eastern India on the border with Myanmar . In Manipur, surrounded by mountains and geographically isolated at the meeting point of the orient and mainland India, the form developed its own...
and Ustad Allauddin Khan for music. Soon, he had battery of artists and dancers including, Guru Dutt
Guru Dutt
Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone , popularly known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer and actor. He is often credited with ushering in the golden era of Hindi cinema...
, Shanti Bardhan, Simkie, Amala, Satyavati, Narendra Sharma, Ruma Guha Thakurta
Ruma Guha Thakurta
-Early life:She was born in 1934 as Ruma Ghosh. She hails from a Brahmo Bengali family. Her father was Satyen Ghosh and her mother was Sati Devi, a singer. Sati Devi's younger sister Bijoya married film director Satyajit Ray. Thakurta had her formal education in many places including Santiniketan...
, Prabhat Ganguly, Zohra Sehgal
Zohra Sehgal
Zohra Segal is an Indian stage and film actress, who started her career as dancer with dancer Uday Shankar in 1935 and worked with him for the next eight years. She has appeared in many Bollywood films as well as English language films and television series...
, Uzra, Lakshmi Shankar
Lakshmi Shankar
Lakshmi Shankar is a Hindustani classical vocalist of the Patiala Gharana. She is known for her performances of khyal, thumri, and bhajans.Born in 1926, Lakshmi started her career in dancing...
, Shanta Gandhi
Shanta Gandhi
Shanta Gandhi was an Indian theatre director, dancer and playwright. She was a founder-member of the central ballet troupe of the Indian People's Theatre Association , and toured the country widely through the 1950s...
; his own brothers Rajendra, Denbendra and Ravi also joined him as students. The centre however closed after four years of existence in 1942, due to paucity of funds. As his students dispersed, he regrouped his energies and headed South, where made his only film, Kalpana
Kalpana (1948 film)
Kalpana is a 1948 dance-drama Hindi film written and directed by noted dancer, Uday Shankar, his only film, and story revolves around young dancer’s dream of setting up an academy, a reflection his own, which he eventually did at Almora....
(Imagination) in 1948, based on his dance, in which both he and his wife, Amala Shankar danced, the film was produced and shot at Gemini Studios
Gemini Studios
Gemini Studios was launched when Thiruthuraipoondi Subramanian Srinivasan bought a film distribution concern at an auction and renamed it as Gemini Pictures also known as Gemini Studios. Gemini Studios served as a breeding ground for innumerable artists and technicians for the south Indian Film...
, Madras.
Uday Shankar settled in Ballygunge
Ballygunge
Ballygunge is an upmarket and elite locality in South Kolkata, India. It is flanked by Park Circus in the north, Kasba and the Eastern Railway south suburban line in the east, Dhakuria and the Lakes in the south, and the localities of Bhowanipore and Lansdowne in the west...
, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
in 1960, where the "Uday Shankar Center for Dance" was later opened in 1965. In 1962 he was awarded, the highest award of the Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India.-History:...
, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also, Sangeet Natak Akademi Ratna Sadasya is an honour for the performing arts in India...
for lifetime contribution to Indian dance
Indian dance
Dance in India covers a wide range of dance and dance theatre forms, from the ancient classical or temple dance to folk and modern styles.Three best-known Hindu deities, Shiva, Kali and Krishna, are typically represented dancing. There are hundreds of Indian folk dances such as Bhangra, Bihu,...
Personal life
He had married Amala Shankar and they had a son Ananda ShankarAnanda Shankar
Ananda Shankar was a Bengali musician best known for fusing Western and Eastern musical styles. He was married to Tanusree Shankar.-Early life:...
in 1942, and a daughter Mamata Shankar
Mamata Shankar
Mamata Shankar is an actress in the Bengali language film industry of India. She has acted in films by renowned film directors including, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadev Dasgupta and Gautam Ghosh...
born in 1955. While Ananda Shankar was a musician and music composer who trained with Dr. Lalmani Misra
Lalmani Misra
Lalmani Misra , M.A., Ph.D., D. Mus. , M.Mus. , B.Mus. , Dean & Head, Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, was an eminent Indian classical musician known as much for his art as for his scholarship.-Initiation into music:Lalmani learnt Dhruvapada Dhamar in the...
rather than his uncle, Ravi Shankar, and in time became known for his fusion music, encompassing both Western and Indian music styles. Mamata Shankar, a dancer like her parents, became a noted actress, working in films by Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
and Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen is a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the...
, she also runs 'Udayan Dance Company' in Kolkata, and travels extensive through the world.
Legacy
After his death in 1977, Amala Shankar took over the Kolkata school, which continues to offer training in training in folk and classical dance, improvisation, costume design etc. She was awarded the Padma BhushanPadma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
in 1991. His son, Ananda Shankar's wife Tanushree Shankar also continues to teach and perform, his style of Indian modern dance, under 'Tanushree Shankar Dance Company' also based in the city. Years after, his school at Almora was disbanded, his followers and associates continued to propagate his innovative style of dancing and his aesthetic through their own work. Many went on to form their companies, thus creating an everlasting legacy of his immense body of work and influence on the dancers of his generation. Amongst them, were Shanti Bardhan were who create Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
ballets presentations using human beings performing like puppets, and also introduced the Panchatantra
Panchatantra
The Panchatantra is an ancient Indian inter-related collection of animal fables in verse and prose, in a frame story format. The original Sanskrit work, which some scholars believe was composed in the 3rd century BCE, is attributed to Vishnu Sharma...
tales into dances, by creating movements of the birds and the animals. Guru Dutt
Guru Dutt
Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone , popularly known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer and actor. He is often credited with ushering in the golden era of Hindi cinema...
, who attended his school went on to one of India's finest film director. A student, Lakshmi Shankar
Lakshmi Shankar
Lakshmi Shankar is a Hindustani classical vocalist of the Patiala Gharana. She is known for her performances of khyal, thumri, and bhajans.Born in 1926, Lakshmi started her career in dancing...
later changed stream and became noted classical singer, later married Rajendra Shankar, the younger brother of Uday Shankar. Zohra Segal made a career for her in stage, television and cinema, both in India and Britain. Satyavati later danced with Ram Gopal at The Royal Festival Hall in London and at the Edinburgh festival in 1956. She taught Indian dance to thousands of young girls in Bombay through her classes in several of the convent schools in the city during a teaching career that spanned more than four decades.
In December 1983, his younger brother, sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
player Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
organized a four-day festival, Uday-Ustav Festival in New Delhi, marking the 60th anniversary his professional debut in 1923, highlighted by performances by his disciples, films, an exhibition and orchestral music composed and orchestrated by Ravi Shankar himself. His birth centenary celebrations formally launch at the UNESCO headquarters, Paris, on April 26, 2001, where dancers, choreographers and scholars from all over the world assembled to pay homage to the master.
Awards
- 1960: Sangeet Natak Akademi AwardSangeet Natak Akademi AwardSangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award consists since 2003 of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram , and a tamrapatra...
- 'Creative Dance' - 1962: Sangeet Natak Akademi FellowshipSangeet Natak Akademi FellowshipThe Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also, Sangeet Natak Akademi Ratna Sadasya is an honour for the performing arts in India...
- 1971: Padma VibhushanPadma VibhushanThe Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award in the Republic of India. It consists of a medal and a citation and is awarded by the President of India. It was established on 2 January 1954. It ranks behind the Bharat Ratna and comes before the Padma Bhushan...
- 1975: Desikottama, Visva-Bharati UniversityVisva-Bharati UniversityVisva Bharati University is a Central University for research and teaching in India, located in the twin towns of Santiniketan and Sriniketan in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India...
Discography (not complete)
The Original Uday Shankar Company Of Hindu Musicians, Recorded During The Historic 1937 Visit To The United States (all tracks from this album are included in "Ravi Shankar:Flowers of India" a release by El records in 2007)Further reading
- Uday Shankar and his art, by Projesh Banerji. Published by B.R. Pub. Corp., 1982.
- His Dance, His Life: A Portrait of Uday Shankar, by Mohan Khokar. Published by Himalayan Books, 1983.
- Uday Shankar, by Paschimbanga Rajya Sangeet Akademi. Published by West Bengal State Sangeet Academy, Information & Cultural Affairs Dept., Govt. of West BengalWest BengalWest Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, 2000. - Uday Shankar, by Ashoke Kumar Mukhopadhyay. 2008. ISBN 8129102651.
- Honoring Uday Shankar, by Fernau Hall. Dance ChronicleDance ChronicleDance Chronicle is a peer-reviewed academic journal focusing on dance. It was established in 1977 and published by Marcel Dekker. In 2003, the journal was transferred to Routledge. It is currently edited by Joellen Meglin and Lynn Matluck Brooks....
, Volume 7, Issue 3 1983 , pages 326 - 344. - Who Remembers Uday Shankar?, Prof. Joan L. Erdman