Uday Shankar was an Indian dancer and choreographer, best known for creating a fusion style of dance, adapting European theatrical techniques to Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian classical, folk, and tribal dance, which he later popularised in India, Europe, and the United States in the 1920s and 1930s.
21 Facts About Uday Shankar
2.
Uday Shankar was a pioneer of modern dance in India.
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Uday Shankar Chowdhury was born in Udaipur, Rajasthan, the eldest son of an Brahmin family with origins in Narail.
4.
Uday Shankar's father was granted the title, 'Harchowdhury' by the Maharajas, but he preferred to use the surname 'Chowdhury' minus 'Har.
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Uday Shankar's father was a Sanskrit scholar, who graduated with honours from the University of Calcutta and later studied at Oxford University, where he became a Doctor of Philosophy.
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Uday Shankar's studies took place at various locations including Nasratpur, Gazipur, Varanasi, and Jhalawar.
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Subsequently, Uday Shankar joined his father in London, and on 23 August 1920, joined the Royal College of Art, London to study painting under Sir William Rothenstein.
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Uday Shankar danced at a few charity performances that his father had organized in London, and on one such occasion, noted Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova happened to be present.
9.
Uday Shankar did not have any formal training in any of the Indian classical dance forms.
10.
Uday Shankar decided to bring elements of both styles together to create a new dance, which he called Hi-dance.
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Uday Shankar went on to translate classical Indian dance forms and their iconography to dance movements, after studying the Rajput painting and Mughal painting styles at the British Museum.
12.
Uday Shankar was looking for artists to collaborate on India-based themes.
13.
Uday Shankar worked with Anna for one and a half years, before starting out on his own in Paris.
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Uday Shankar returned to India in 1927, along with a French pianist, Simon Barbiere, who was now his disciple and dance partner, and a Swiss sculptor, Alice Boner, who wanted to study Indian art history.
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Uday Shankar was welcomed by Rabindranath Tagore himself, who persuaded him to open a performing arts school in India.
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Uday Shankar performed in the United States for the first time in January 1933 in New York City, along with his dance partner Simkie, a French dancer.
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Meanwhile, his brother Ravi Uday Shankar was helping to popularise Indian classical music in the outside world.
18.
Uday Shankar settled in Ballygunge, Kolkata in 1960, where the "Uday Shankar Center for Dance" was opened in 1965.
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Uday Shankar married his dance partner, Amala Shankar, and together they had a son, Ananda Shankar, born in 1942, and a daughter, Mamata Shankar, born in 1955.
20.
Ananda Uday Shankar became a musician and composer who trained with Dr Lalmani Misra rather than with his uncle, Ravi Uday Shankar, and in time became known for his fusion music, encompassing both European and Indian music styles.
21.
In December 1983, his younger brother, sitar player Ravi Shankar organised a four-day festival, Uday-Ustav Festival in New Delhi, marking the 60th anniversary of his professional debut in 1923, highlighted by performances by his disciples, films, an exhibition and orchestral music composed and orchestrated by Ravi Shankar himself.