Uma Dogra (born 23 April 1957) is an Indian exponent of

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 ...

, an Indian Classical Dance form. She is the senior most disciple of Pt.

Durga Lal Pandit Durga Lal (1948 - 21 January 1990) was a renowned Kathak dancer of the Jaipur Gharana. He was born in Mahendragarh, Rajasthan. He is known for playing the main role in the 1989 dance drama ''Ghanashyam'', the music of which was composed ...

, the Kathak Maestro from

Jaipur Gharana The Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana (also known as Jaipur Gharana, Atrauli-Jaipur Gharana, and Alladiyakhani Gayaki) is an Hindustani music apprenticeship fraternity ('' gharana''), founded by Alladiya Khan in the late-19th century. Evolved from the dhru ...

. She is a Kathak soloist, a choreographer and a teacher. She has been performing in India and abroad for more than 40 years.

Early life

She was born to Motiram and Shakuntala Sharma in Malviya Nagar in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

. Uma began to dance at the age of 7. She initially trained under Guru Bansilal and then Reba Vidyarthi at

Kendra new Delhi. Later she joined

, Pt.

. She was trained in Hindustani Classical Vocal under her father Pt. Motiram Sharma who was a

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...

player and a disciple of Pt.

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

Career

Uma Dogra is a ganda bandh shagird of Pt.

. She learned Kathak under Reba Vidyarthi and Pt.

Birju Maharaj Pandit Birju Maharaj (born Brijmohan Nath Mishra; 4 February 1938 – 16 January 2022) was an Indian dancer, composer, singer, child molester and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance in India. He was a descendant o ...

from 1969 to 1972. From 1972 to 1984 she learned

under guru Pt.

and danced in productions SBKK, Ramleela, Surdaas, Shah-ne-Mughal. She moved to Bombay in 1984 and worked with

Hema Malini Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. Known for starring in both comic and dramatic roles, she is one of the most popular and successful ...

in Nritya Bharati, Nupur serial and Ballet Meera. She worked with

Asha Parekh Asha Parekh (born 2 October 1942) is a retired Indian actress, film director, and producer who appeared in many commercially successful films throughout her career. She was the highest paid actress of her time and was one of the most successful ...

in serial Jhankaar. Uma Dogra established the Sam Ved Society for Performing Arts in 1990 to promote Indian performing arts. Under its banner, for the last 25 years she has been organizing two festivals in Mumbai's cultural calendar. The first one, the Pt. Durga Lal Festival, takes place in the first half of the year. It has seen the who's who from the field of music, dance and theater perform. In the year 2020, the Festival completed 30 years. The second, the Raindrops Festival of Indian Classical Dance is held in July with the aim to give a platform to the upcoming soloists. She has participated in many other festivals such as

Khajuraho Dance Festival The Khajuraho Dance Festival (''IAST:Khajuraho Nritya Samaroh''), organised by the Madhya Pradesh Kala Parishad, is a one-week festival of classical dances held annually beside the Khajuraho temples in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh st ...

, Margazhi festival. She conducts classes in

at the Uma Dogra School of Kathak in Mumbai. She has trained several students, including Kathak soloist Tina Tambe,

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

actress

Sonam Kapoor Sonam Kapoor Ahuja (; born 9 June 1985) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She has won a National Film Award and a Filmfare Award, and from 2012 to 2016, she appeared in ''Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list based on her income and ...

, and television actress

Rachana Parulkar Rachanaa Parulkkar is an Indian actress who works in Hindi television. She made her acting debut in 2009 with '' Saat Phere - Saloni Ka Safar'' portraying Savri Singh. Parulkar is best known for her portrayal of Kalpana Jadhav Singhania in ''Ek M ...

. She has won several local, regional and national awards, including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2014. On 18 May 2016, Uma performed with Indian Folk exponent Geetanjali Sharma in a monthlong cultural festival

Ujjain Simhastha Ujjain Simhastha is a Hindu religious mela held every 12 years in the Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh, India. The name is also transliterated as ''Sinhastha'' or ''Singhastha''. In Hindi, the fair is also called ''Simhasth'' or ''Sinhasth'' (due ...

Personal life

Uma Dogra is married to National Award-winning Director Chitrartha Singh. They have one daughter, Suhani Singh writer & journalist in

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new o ...

and a son Manas Singh an actor. Uma is settled in Mumbai, where she had a dispute with the society for alleged illegal use of her house for commercial purpose without society's permission. "The neighbours are disturbed because of the noise and have given us written complaints," said the society chairman.

Books

She has written a book "In Praise of Kathak" about her journey as a dancer and the techniques of

. This book was released by

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

on 30 January 2015 at Samved's Rajat Jayanti Mahotsav.

Discography

Nirvana Through Dance – A film which was produced to celebrate the life and achievements of Uma's Guru Pt.

School of Kathak

Uma Dogra's School of Kathak is run by Uma Dogra in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

. Its activities include classroom teaching, workshops, master classes, performances, seminars and festivals.

References

External links

Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dogra, Uma Indian female classical dancers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Living people Kathak exponents Performers of Indian classical dance 1957 births Dancers from Delhi Women artists from Delhi 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian women artists