Guru Shovana Narayan (Padmashri) is today, a venerated Kathak Maestro of India and an outstanding dancer ‘par excellence’. She has also become a living legend, a virtuoso who has blazed a trail in Kathak, re-defining the ethos and vocabulary of Kathak bestowing it with dignity and enriching it with a deeper and wider canvas of expression and dimensions. Every fibre of her body lives and breathes dance. A consummate artiste and choreographer, a revered guru to her disciples and an intellectual, she combines artistry with keen observation and humanism.
In her career spanning several decades that has seen her virtuous dances mesmerizing audiences all over the world in several prestigious national and international festivals, she has been conferred with numerous awards, outstanding among which are the Padmashri Award for excellence and outstanding contribution to dance by the President of India in 1992 and yet again the Sangeet Natak Akademi award by the President of India in 1999-2000. Some of the other awards won by her include Delhi Govt’s Parishad Samman, Rajiv Gandhi Puraskar, Bihar Gaurav Puraskar, Indira Priyadarshini Samman, Kelvinator’s GR8Award, Rotary International Award and Japan’s Oisca Award.
Shovana is a guru of standing whose disciples are adorning the world of classical dance. She has also worked in collaborations with nationally and internationally known Indian and western dancers and musicians. However, Shovana’s palette contains other media, including films and operas as well as research works on the development of dance in general and particularly Kathak. Among the films is ‘Dance of the Temples’ based on Khajuraho.
Shovana has authored several (10) books on the subject of dance and is also a visiting lecturer to several Universities in India and abroad. She also holds two annual festivals 2 well known annual Festivals for the past several years, one featuring the famous maestros and the other Festival ‘Arpan’ providing a platform to the young, unknown but talented future torch-bearers of the tradition. Shovana’s Asavari group is credited with many path-breaking works.
Shovana Narayan is a classical example of a true Kathak, multi-faceted and dynamic, and presents a challenge to today’s spectator. Her life and her works have made her a role model and peer for millions of girls of the younger generation of today.
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