Shovana Narayan

Sreyashi Dey

Bharati Shivaji

Chitra Visweswaran

Swapna Sundari

Shovana Narayan has acquired fame the world over as one of India's premier Kathak dancers. Performing extensively over the past three decades both as a soloist and as a lead dancer in her own choreographic works, Shovana has constantly displayed a penchant for extending the frontiers of her classical art by portraying innovative themes and participating in inter-disciplinary ventures with other dancers and musicians, without forsaking the purity of her own tradition.

She has been described as grace personified, and her stage persona has the allure of a Mughal miniature come alive. Her style is marked by sophistication and vivacity and represents a crystallisation of combined techniques acquired from the elegance of the Lucknow school and the precision of the Jaipur school of Kathak. Her approach also bears the stamp of a mind influenced by the cultures of the world, projecting an individualistic attitude to the dance form that brings new images to the mind. Mastery over layakari (complicated rhythmic patterns and improvisations) and sensitive abhinaya (mime or expressional sequences) are two facets of her prodigious talent.

Shovana's journey in dance began at the early age of 4 and was shaped by renowned masters of the Lucknow and Jaipur gharanas -- two of the major schools recognized within the genre of Kathak. She is one of the best known alumni to emerge from the portals of New Delhi's Kathak Kendra, India's national institute for Kathak dance. Among others, one of the foremost gurus who shaped her art is the doyen Birju Maharaj, a most illustrious teacher and performer who is credited with bringing to Kathak a new impetus and refinement and largely shaping its identiy as a proscenium art over the last four decades.

As a teacher in her own right, Shovana imparts to her pupils not only the nuances of the art but also her concerns for life's problems and her committment to make a constructive contribution to society, along with a message of love & trust, which make an artist human.

Shovana's canvass includes films like "Akbar's Bridge" (hindi) and " Das Geheimnis des Kathaks" (German), as well as research work on the development of dance in general & particularly Kathak. Two of her works, Rhythmic Echoes & Reflections and Dance Legacy of Patliputra are presently being published.

Shovana's innovative stage performances include the soliloquy to "Shakuntala" and other works based on diverse literary sources. She has also successfully acted in some unusual films.

Shovana Narayan's creativity and contribution to the art has been admired and appreciated through numerous awards such as:

Parishad Saman Awards,
Indira Pryadarshini award,
Bihar nirman awards,
Bharat Nirman Puraskar ,
Rajiv Smriti puruskar,
Oisca award (Japan) and
President of India's award of "Padamshri"

Indian Dances Andhra pradesh Dances