''Sujata and Asoka'' were a pair of

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

s specialising in performing

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

and various

Oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

dances to Western audiences. They were Sujata, (3 February 1918 in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

– 2 January 1993 in

Coconino County, Arizona Coconino County is a County (United States), county in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff, Arizona, Flagstaff. The count ...

) and Asoka Rubener (26 October 1910 in

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

– 7 June 1997 in Yavapai County, Arizona).

Background

Asoka studied dance in Europe under

Harald Kreutzberg Harald Kreutzberg (December 11, 1902 – April 25, 1968) was a German dancer and choreographer associated with the Ausdruckstanz movement, a form in which the individual, artistic expression of feelings or emotions is essential. Though largely fo ...

and later in Asia, eventually becoming a Buddhist. In 1939 whilst in India, in the Himalayas he was interned as an enemy alien by the British authorities from 1939 to 1944. Sujata, a Christian, was born in Bombay and as a child moved with her family to the south of India. She began studying dance at the age of 10, eventually becoming a solo dancer. Sujata met her husband when they were both dancing in

Mussoori Mussoorie is a hill station and a municipal board, near Dehradun city in the Dehradun district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is about from the state capital of Dehradun and north of the national capital of New Delhi. The hill st ...

, Dehradun district, in 1946; the two were married in 1947. They made their first performance in the West in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, then made appearances in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

."Indian Dancers, Sujata and Asoka Regarded as Authentic in India"; ''The Montreal Gazette'' - Oct. 8, 1949 In addition to their dancing performances, the two appeared in several Hollywood films and acted as

technical adviser In film production, a technical advisor is someone who advises the director on the convincing portrayal of a subject. The advisor's expertise adds realism both to the acting and to the setting of a movie. Nipo T. Strongheart Nipo T. Stronghear ...

s. Their final film appearance was together in ''

Juliet of the Spirits ''Juliet of the Spirits'' ( it, Giulietta degli spiriti) is a 1965 fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and starring Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo, Mario Pisu, Valentina Cortese, and Valeska Gert. The film is about the vi ...

'' (1965). They became American citizens in 1955. Following their retirement, they taught dance in

Sedona, Arizona Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. It is within the Coconino National Fo ...

Filmography

Sujata roles

*''

Aladdin and His Lamp ''Aladdin and His Lamp'' is a 1952 film directed by Lew Landers and starring Johnny Sands and Patricia Medina. Plot A poor young man finds a lamp with a genie trapped inside. The genie promises to grant the man three wishes if he frees him fro ...

'' (1952) - Dancing Slave *''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

'' (1952) - Gypsy Girl *'' Caribbean Gold'' (1952) - Dancer in duet #1 *'' Fair Wind to Java'' (1953) - Dancer *''

Desert Legion ''Desert Legion'' is a 1953 American adventure film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Alan Ladd. Plot Ladd stars as a soldier in the French Foreign Legion who stumbles across a lost city in the desert mountains of Algeria in North Africa. C ...

'' (1953) - Dancer #1 *''

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

'' (1953) - Oriental Dancer *''

Flame of Calcutta ''Flame of Calcutta'' is a 1953 American historical film directed by Seymour Friedman and starring Denise Darcel, Patric Knowles and Paul Cavanagh. It was one of a number of historical films made by Sam Katzman's production unit for Columbia Pic ...

'' (1953) - Exotic Dancer #1 *'' The Diamond Queen'' (1953) - Oriental Dancer #1 *''

King of the Khyber Rifles ''King of the Khyber Rifles'' is a novel by British writer Talbot Mundy. Captain Athelstan King is a secret agent for the British Raj at the beginning of the First World War. Heavily influenced both by Mundy's own unsuccessful career in India ...

'' (1953) - Native Dancer *''

Bengal Brigade ''Bengal Brigade'' is a 1954 American adventure war film directed by Laslo Benedek and starring Rock Hudson, Arlene Dahl and Ursula Thiess. The film was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, based on the 1952 novel ''Bengal Tigers'' by ...

'' (1954) - Indian Dancer #1 *'' I pirati della Malesia'' (1964) - Dancer #1 *''

'' (1965) - Bhisma's helper #2 *''Tum Haseen Main Jawan'' (1970) *''Sharmeelee'' (1971) *''Do Yaar'' (1972) *'' Phir Kab Milogi (1974)'' *''

Maya Miriga ''Maya Miriga'' (English ''The Mirage'') is a 1984 award-winning Odia film directed by Nirad N. Mohapatra. Story The story is of a family, where three generations live under a decaying roof. The widowed grandmother is the titular head, her son ...

'' (1984) - Tutu's Wife (final film role)

Asoka roles

*'' Caribbean Gold'' (1952) - Dancer in duet #2 *''

'' (1953) - Dancer #2 *''

'' (1953) - Exotic Dancer #2 *''

'' (1953) - Oriental Dancer *'' The Diamond Queen'' (1953) - Oriental Dancer #2 *''

'' (1954) - Indian Dancer #2 *'' I pirati della Malesia'' (1964) - Dancer #2 *''

'' (1965) - Bhisma's helper #1

Notes

External links

* *{{IMDb name, 0039595, Asoka Rubener American dance groups Indian expatriates in the United States Indian emigrants to the United States American artists of Indian descent