1. Nighat Chaudhry is a Kathak classical dancer who was born on 24 February 1959, in Lahore, Pakistan.
41 Facts About Nighat Chaudhry
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Nighat Chaudhry moved to London with her parents when she was one year old.
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Nighat Chaudhry studied ballet and contemporary dance; but when she was 14, she met Nahid Siddiqui, one of the greatest Kathak dancers, and began training with her.
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Nighat Chaudhry belongs to a literary family on her father's side and to the business world on her mother's side.
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Nighat Chaudhry's grandfather from her maternal side owned a renowned business by the name of Chaudhry Hosiery Mills before partition in Dacca, Ludhiana, Lahore, and Faisalabad, while her father Abdur-Rehman Chaudhry was a professor who taught mathematics at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, eventually moving on to becoming a professor at Government College University.
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Nighat Chaudhry received an Asian Achievement Award for his work as a performer in 1988.
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In 2000, Farooq Chaudhry co-founded the Akram Khan company, with Akram Khan, and became the company producer.
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Nighat Chaudhry has had leadership roles as a producer for the English National Ballet in October 2013, and as an international executive director for China's National Dance icon Yang Liping since 2016.
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Nighat Chaudhry completed her formal education in London, where she completed O- and A-levels, and received certification from a Dance Foundation Course at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance, Goldsmiths College, London.
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Nighat Chaudhry acquired a master's degree in professional practice in dance technique pedagogy from Middlesex University London and a Certified Skill Diploma In Choreography from Jain University in Bangalore.
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In 1985, Nighat Chaudhry became an air hostess with British Airways.
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Nighat Chaudhry choreographed and danced, in Larkana, in a ballet evoking the life of the late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, on the anniversary of his death, and gained tremendous recognition for her outstanding talent.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed at all the World Performing Arts Festival in Pakistan hosted by Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop, from 1995 to 2013.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed at Gala Evening Pakistan Chest Society, with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, IBEX Club Lake View, Islamabad.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed at the South Asia Labour Conference at Hazuri Bagh, Lahore, Pakistan.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed in a tribute to the poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz's book launch in Sindhi by the Government of Sindh, Karachi, Pakistan and performed at the 5th Alhamra International Conference at the Al-hamra Cultural Complex.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed in Raqs Mein Hai Sara Jahan as "Dancing Away Differences", celebrating International Dance Day at the Art Council, Karachi.
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Nighat Chaudhry presented Nuqta, a special Sufi dance performance with live music and poetry on the occasion of the 14th Daniel Pearl World Music Day 2015, in collaboration with Kuch Khaas and the US embassy.
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Nighat Chaudhry was chosen to represent Pakistan at the Asian Advertising Congress in Seoul, South Korea, in 1985 and at the Great hall of China in 1987.
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Nighat Chaudhry has performed in places such Japan, China, Sicily, Rome, Singapore, India, England, Austria, France, Germany, Mauritius, and the United States.
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The 1996 Cricket World Cup was hosted in Pakistan, and Nighat Chaudhry was chosen to present a cultural festival in all the major cities.
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Nighat Chaudhry choreographed for a group of 35 dancers where she acted and danced the character Sassi and the legendary Anarkali in a dance ballet that was televised on Pakistan Television.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed raising funds for many charities in Pakistan such as the Cancer Society, Association for Children with Emotional and Learning Problems, SOS Children's Villages and UNICEF.
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Nighat Chaudhry has performed to great acclaim in many festivals around the world as well as International Dance and Theatre Festivals in Pakistan.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed in the American Dance Festival Duke University North Carolina and Faiz Ahmad Faiz Mela Karachi in 1991.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed in the Young Dancer's and Raindrops festival at the Iskon Hare Rama Hare Krishna center Mumbai India in 1992.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed a Kathak Solo in the first National Dance Festival Held by the Rafi Peer Theatre Karachi in 1995.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed in the Mauritius Festival of solidarity for children in the Indian Ocean in 1996.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed in the International Mystic Music Sufi Festival in Karachi Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop in 2007.
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In 2010, Nighat Chaudhry was invited by the Engendered Dance Festival New York to present her new dance work on women called Purdah.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed at the Lincoln Centre and Symphony Space.
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Nighat Chaudhry's performance was reviewed by the ballet review as the most intense dance performance to come out from a country like Pakistan.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed at the Wief Johor Bahru Malaysia 8th World Islamic Economic Forum 2012.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed in the 2nd National Dance Festival, Lahore Rafi Peer Theatre workshop in 2013.
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Nighat Chaudhry performed in a 5-day festival of music, poetry, literature, and dance celebrating Amir Khusro's work Jamal-E-Khusro in 2014.
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Nighat Chaudhry was awarded best actress award for her role in this drama.
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Nighat Chaudhry choreographed and danced in a fusion of Kathak and Modern Dance to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's song "Mera Piya Ghar Aya".
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Nighat Chaudhry appeared in an interview on "Weekend Masala" on NTM.
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Nighat Chaudhry acted in a serial called Ma shot in Scotland, which showcased poetry by Pakistan's renowned poet and philosopher Muhammad Iqbal.
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Nighat Chaudhry wants to establish performing arts as education, to document and preserve cultural heritage, to prevent the decaying of its presence among society.
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The Nighat Chaudhry Foundation is meant to guide the people of Pakistan towards a true ownership of cultural heritage.