7 Timeless Female Kathak Dancers & their Iconic Legacies

By: WE staff

Shovana Narayan  

Shovana Narayan, born on 2nd September, 1950, is a well-known Kathak dancer and an Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer. She has trained under the guidance of master Pandit Birju Maharaj and has showcased her brilliance on both Indian and international ground.

She has also gained popularity with her experimental dance productions such as The Dawn After 1994, a commissioned ballet that incorporates Western classical dance with Kathak and Flamenco. She choreographed the opening and closing ceremonies of high-profile events such as the 6th Abilympics of 2003 and the Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010. Shovana worked with India's best dancers for other traditional dances.

Besides acting, she has also worked a great deal in research. She found eight Kathak villages around Gaya and collaborated with scholar KK Mishra to locate a 4th-century BCE inscription associating Kathak with the ancient past. She was the first one to shoot a dance video on the Khajuraho temples titled 'Dance of the Temples'.

Shovana was awarded Padma Shri as a prize for her contribution to art.