Benazir Salam is an Indian classical dancer from

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Career

Benazir is the daughter of Md. Abdus Salam and Kohinoor Salam. She began her dance career at the dance school of ''Abdul Hasib Panna'' called ''Nikkon Shilpi Goshthi'' in 1983 in

Rajshahi Rajshahi ( bn, রাজশাহী, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major urban, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi District ...

. She was considered the national child of the years 1986, 1988 and 1989 through a competition organized by the

Shishu Academy Bangladesh Shishu Academy ( bn, বাংলাদেশ শিশু একাডেমি) is the national academy for children in Bangladesh. It was established in 1976 for promoting cultural development of children, and nurturing their tale ...

of Bangladesh. In those competitions she performed

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

and folk dance. She was awarded gold medals in

Manipuri dance , image = , alt = , caption = An illustration of the ''Manipuri Raas Leela'' dance, being depicted in a stamp from Armenia; transliterations of "Jagoi Raas" and "Manipuri Raas Leela", the terms in Meitei language (offi ...

, Modern Dance and Katthak Dance in Dhaka Junior Art and Music Festival 1988, sponsored by

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

and

ANZ Grindlays Bank The historic overseas bank was established in London in 1828 as Leslie & Grindlay, agents and bankers to the British army and business community in India. Banking operations expanded to include the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and elemen ...

. She won the first Prize in Classical Dance (Katthak) in the National Education Week,

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

, Bangladesh in 1990. She also won

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Clubs Cultural Award, Bangladesh in the same year. She received a scholarship from the

Indian Council for Cultural Relations The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India's global cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their people. It was founded on 9 Apri ...

(ICCR) for her undergraduate (honors) degree in

Odissi Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temple, temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.Rabindra Bharati University Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on May 8, 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. ...

between 1996 and 1999. She secured the first position among her class and received the university gold medal. Benazir subsequently completed her master's degree in Odissi dance from the university securing the first position and the gold medal. During her stay at the university, she was a disciple of renowned dancer Muralidhar Majhi and Poushali Mukherjee. Currently she teaches Odissi dance at her own school in Bangladesh, ''Nupur''. She also is a dance teacher at Bangladesh Shishu Academy in

."Alumni/Data Bank of ICCR Scholarship holders from Bangladesh." Accessed 10 September 200

.

References

Living people 1979 births Bangladeshi female dancers Dance teachers Rabindra Bharati University alumni Odissi exponents Performers of Indian classical dance Bangladeshi choreographers {{dance-bio-stub