Narendra Sharma (dancer)

Narendra Sharma (1924-2008) was an Indian dancer and choreographer. He was trained in Uday Shankar's school of modern dance. He is regarded as a pioneer in modern Indian dance.[1] For his contributions to the field, he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Contemporary Choreography in 1976.[2][3]

This article is about the dancer and choreographer. For the Hindi writer and lyricist, see Pandit Narendra Sharma.

Narendra Sharma
Born(1924-09-21)21 September 1924
Bulandshahar, Uttar Pradesh, India
Died14 January 2008(2008-01-14) (aged 83)
Delhi
NationalityIndian
OccupationDancer and Choreographer
AwardsSangeet Natak Akademi Award

Early life

Narendra Sharma was born on 21 September 1924 in Bulandshahar, Uttar Pradesh. He ran away from home at a young age to enrol in Uday Shankar's cultural centre at Almora, where he was mentored by Uday Shankar and Zohra Sehgal.[1] He was initially denied admission due to his young age. In a 2002 interview, Sharma recalled: "They asked me to get the consent of my guardian, but I had closed all doors behind me. When that night I was sitting on a footpath, Dada (Pt Uday Shankar) called me over. He registered my zeal and accepted me as a student. I was the youngest in Dada’s first batch of students who were taught contemporary Indian ballet at Almora."[4]

Career

Sharma started his career in Bombay, where he came under the influence of the Indian People's Theatre Association. His early experiments in choreography were in collaboration with Sachin Shankar, a nephew of Uday Shankar's. In 1954, he moved to Delhi and started his long association with Modern School, New Delhi, as full-time dance teacher. Sharma's move to Delhi was the result of an invitation from the school at the express desire of principal M. N. Kapur.[5] Working with children and adolescents, he cboreographed over 300 productions.

During the early years in Delhi, Sharma also worked with the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra and helped to create the Ramlila.[1] In the late 1960s, he taught dance for two years at the University of Washington.[6] In 1972, he set up an independent dance group, Bhoomika.[7]

In the 1980s he choreographed several major public performances, e.g. at the opening ceremony of the 1982 Asian Games.[8]

After his retirement from Modern School, Sharma continued to train students and choreograph productions, and remained active as a dancer even in his late seventies.[4] He died on 14 January 2008.[1]

Awards and honours
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References
  1. Khokar, Ashish Mohan. "Narendra Sharma (1924-2008)". narthaki.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  2. "SNA: List of Awardees". Sangeet Natak Akademi. Government of India. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  3. "Narendra Sharma". Sangeet Natak Akademi. Government of India. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  4. Tandon, Aditi (21 September 2002). "ARTISTES WHO INSPIRE: A celebrated choreographer". The Tribune. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  5. Rajan, Anjana (24 September 2010). "Growing up with Delhi". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  6. "Narendra Sharma brings new concept in entertainment for children". INDIA TODAY. 31 December 1975. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  7. "BHOOMIKA: ON FOUNDER DIRECTOR, NARENDRA SHARMA". bhoomikadance.blogspot.com. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  8. Sethi, Sunil (15 December 1982). "IX Asiad opening day ceremony in New Delhi leaves die-hard critics speechless". India Today. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  9. Katrak, Ketu H. (July 2011). Contemporary Indian Dance: New Creative Choreography in India and the Diaspora. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 40–42. ISBN 978-1-349-32633-4. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
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