Uma Sharma

Uma Sharma is a noted Indian exponent of the Kathak form of Indian classical dance. She is also running the Bharatiya Sangeet Sadan, Delhi, a classical dance and music school, situated in New Delhi, founded by her father in 1946. She is most known for reviving the old classical dance form of Natwari Nritya or the Raslila of Brindavan, which later evolved into the Kathak. Kathak is based on devotional Krishna poetry of the medieval centuries and the highly cultivated court poetry of the 18th and 19th centuries which celebrated shringara, the sentiment of love. Born in Delhi in 1942, Uma Sharma received her dance training from Guru Hiralalji and Girvar Dayal of the Jaipur gharana, and subsequently she became a student of Pandit Sunder Prasad of the Jaipur gharana who emphasised rhythmic footwork and its permutations. She also learnt from Shambhu Maharaj and Birju Maharaj, noted gurus of the Kathak tradition of the Lucknow gharana, known for the art of abhinaya; subsequently Uma Sharma sought to achieve a creative fusion of the two. After having learnt the presentation of traditional items, she has widened the repertoire of Kathak by composing new dance numbers and full length dance-dramas on a variety of themes. Her dance creation ‘Stree’ (Woman) has been known for its powerful thematic content and artistic presentation. As a one-woman exposition, ‘Stree’ gives Kathak an emotive thrust in depicting the position of woman down the centuries and her search for an independent identity. Uma has performed all over the country and participated in many national and international festivals. She has been on performance tours to USSR, New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada, Middle East, Japan and China, both on invitation from organizations abroad and as a representative of Indian dance sponsored by the Department of Culture and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.