This list of Indian women in dance includes women from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

or of Indian parentage who are notable for their involvement with modern or traditional

Indian dance Dance in India comprises numerous styles of dances, generally classified as classical or folk. As with other aspects of Indian culture, different forms of dances originated in different parts of India, developed according to the local tradi ...

, as dancers or

choreographers Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who c ...

. This list is not for women whose involvement with dance is not central to their careers, as is the case with many

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 ...

actresses.

Choreographers

* Rukmini Devi Arundale *

Saroj Khan Saroj Khan (born Nirmala Nagpal; 22 November 1948 – 3 July 2020) was an Indian dance choreographer in Hindi cinema. She was born in Bombay State (present day Maharashtra), India. She was best known for the dance form mujra and the firs ...

Chitra Visweswaran Chitra Visweswaran is an Indian Bharata Natyam dancer who runs a dance school, the Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts, in Chennai. She was awarded the Padma Shri, one of the top civilian honours given by the Government of India, in 1992 ...

* Oopali Operajita *

Farah Khan Farah Khan Kunder (born 9 January 1965) is an Indian film director, film producer, actress, dancer and choreographer who works predominantly in Hindi films. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 films, w ...

Vaibhavi Merchant Vaibhavi Merchant (born 17 December 1975) is an Indian dance choreographer working in Bollywood films. She won National Film Award for Best Choreography for the song ''Dholi Taaro Dhol Baaje'' from ''Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'' in 1999. Career ...

* Kala *

Geeta Kapoor Geeta Kapoor is an Indian choreographer and television personality. Currently she is judging “India’s Best Dancer”, a dance reality show on Sony TV along with Malaika Arora and Terence Lewis. Career Kapoor started her career when she join ...

* Brinda * Pony Verma * Gauri Jog * Chandralekha * Savitha Sastry

Dancers

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ( Rai; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil films. The winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant, she has established herself as one of the most popular celebriti ...

* Alarmel Valli * Anila Sunder *

Baisali Mohanty Baisali Mohanty (born 5 August 1994) is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer, author, columnist and analyst of foreign and public policy. She is a regular contributor on foreign policy and strategic affairs to several prestigious inter ...

* Balasaraswati T * Bhanupriya * Deepti Omchery Bhalla *

Esha Deol Esha Deol Takhtani (born 2 November 1981) is an Indian actress and model who predominantly appears in Hindi films. The daughter of actor-politicians Dharmendra and Hema Malini, Deol made her debut in '' Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe'' (2002), which ...

Gauhar Jaan Gauhar Jaan (born Angelina Yeoward; 26 June 1873 – 17 January 1930) was an Indian singer and dancer from Kolkata. She was one of the first performers to record music on 78 rpm records in India, which was later released by the Gramophone Compa ...

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 ...

* Jugnu Ishiqui * Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma *

Kumari Kamala Kumari Kamala (born 16 June 1934) is an Indian dancer and actress (also known as Kamala Lakshman). Initially featured as a child dancer, Kamala appeared in almost 100 Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films throughout her career. In the 1970s, she ...

* Kanak Rele *

Kasturi Pattanaik Kasturi Pattanaik is a pioneering Odissi dance exponent, performer, choreographer, teacher, trainer and music composer from India. Profile Kasturi Pattanaik’s compositions and choreographies in Odissi Dance are well acclaimed for their origi ...

Leela Samson Leela Samson (born 6 May 1951) is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor, writer and actress from India. As a soloist, she is known for her technical virtuosity and has taught Bharatanatyam at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in Delhi f ...

Madhavi Mudgal Madhavi Mudgal is an Indian classical dancer known for her Odissi dance style. She has won several awards, including the ''Sanskriti Award'', 1984, President of India's award of Padma Shri, 1990, the ''Orissa State Sangeet Natak Akademi Award' ...

Mallika Sarabhai Mallika Sarabhai (born 9 May 1954) is an activist and Indian classical dancer and actress from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Daughter of a classical dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai and space scientist Vikram Sarabhai, Mallika is an accomplished Kuchip ...

Mamata Shankar Mamata Shankar (born 7 January 1955) is an Indian actress and dancer. She is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has acted in films by directors including Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Gautam Ghosh. I ...

* Manisha Gulyani *

Manju Bhargavi Manju Bhargavi (born 1955) is an actress and dancer, best known for her performance in the Telugu blockbuster film Sankarabharanam (1979) and Nayakudu Vinayakudu (1980). Early life Manju Bhargavi parents originally hailed from Andhra Pradesh ...

Manju Warrier Manju Warrier (; born 10 September 1978) is an Indian actress, producer, classical dancer and playback singer who primarily appears in Malayalam language films. She is the recipient of several awards including one National Film Award, one Kera ...

* Medha Yodh *

Meenakshi Seshadri Meenakshi Seshadri (; born 16 November 1963) is a former Indian actress, model and dancer who worked primarily in Hindi films, with a few films in Telugu and Tamil. She made her debut with the film '' Painter Babu'' (1983) produced by Manoj K ...

* Meenakshi Srinivasan *

Mrinalini Sarabhai Mrinalini Vikram Sarabhai (11 May 1918 – 21 January 2016) was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. She was the founder and director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, ...

Mukti Mohan Mukti Mohan is an Indian dancer and actress. She participated in Star One's dance reality show '' Zara Nachke Dikha 2'' and emerged as the winner. She also appeared on the comedy show '' Comedy Circus Ka Jadoo'' on Sony Entertainment Television ...

Mumaith Khan Mumaith Khan (born 1 September 1985) is an Indian actress and model. She has appeared in numerous item numbers in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali and Odia language films. Early life Khan was born on 1 September 1985. She was born and ...

Murugashankari Leo Murugashankari Leo is an accomplished Bharatanatyam artiste, teacher of Bharatantyam, theatre actor and research scholar. Bharatantyam is an ancient Indian classical dance form which is known for its beauty, grace and uniqueness. Murugashankar ...

* Mythili Kumar * Mythili Prakash * Oopali Operajita * Padma Subramanyam * Padmini * Pali Chandra *

Prachi Shah Prachee Shah Paandya, also known as Prachi Shah, is an Indian actress and Kathak dancer who appears in Hindi films and television. She is known for her roles in television shows like '' Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'' and '' Ek Shringaar-Swab ...

Prerana Deshpande Prerana Deshpande is a recognized Indian exponent of Kathak dance. She started to study Kathak under Sharadini Gole when she was seven years old. Her first performance was when she was fifteen years old. Then she studied Kathak under Guru-Sh ...

Protima Bedi Protima Gauri Bedi (12 October 1948 – 18 August 1998) was an Indian model turned Odissi exponent. In 1990, she established Nrityagram, a dance school in hesarghatta Bangalore. Early life Protima was born in Delhi,''Time Pass: The Me ...

Rajee Narayan Guru Smt. Rajee Narayan (1931-2020) was a Bharatanatyam dancer, musician and composer living in Mumbai, India. She was a rare combination of guru, musician, composer and choreographer, with the unique distinction of teaching not only Bharatanaty ...

* Rekha Raju * Rukmini Devi Arundale * Sanjukta Panigrahi *

Saroja Vaidyanathan Saroja Vaidyanathan (born 19 September 1937) is a choreographer, guru and a notable exponent of Bharatanatyam. She was conferred the Padma Shri in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013 by the Government of India. Early life and education Saroj ...

Saswati Sen Saswati Sen is an Indian dancer and choreographer, and an exponent of Kathak, an Indian classical dance form. She was a senior disciple of Pandit Birju Maharaj, and still teaches and performs at his Kalashram Institute in the Jor Bagh distric ...

* Savitha Sastry *

Shakti Mohan Shakti Mohan is an Indian dancer, choreographer and television personality. She is the winner of Zee TV's dance reality show '' Dance India Dance 2''. She is a judge and captain of Indian Reality shows like '' Dance plus season' Career Follow ...

Sharada Srinivasan Sharada Srinivasan (born 16 January 1966) is an archaeologist specializing in the scientific study of art, archaeology, archaemetallurgy and culture. She is associated with the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India, and an Hon ...

* Sharmila Biswas *

Shashi Sankhla Shashi Sankhla, (born 28 October 1948), is an exponent of the Jaipur gharana of Kathak dance in India. She is a Senior Disciple of Guru Pt. Kundan Lal Gangani Ji. She has been awarded by Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2008 in Kathak dance. She wa ...

* Shobhana Chandrakumar *

Shobha Naidu Sobha Naidu (1956 – 14 October 2020) was among the foremost Kuchipudi dancers of India and a disciple of the renowned master Vempati Chinna Satyam. She mastered the technique of Kuchipudi and began dancing lead roles in dance-dramas at a you ...

* Shovana Narayan * Smitha Rajan *

Sneha Kapoor Sneha Kapoor is an Indian salsa dancer, choreographer, and instructor. She is popularly known as "The Indian Salsa Princess". Kapoor is based in Mumbai, she began her career with a dance company in Bangalore. It was the beginning of a career th ...

Sonal Mansingh Sonal Mansingh (born 30 April 1944) is an Indian classical dancer and Guru Bharatanatyam and Odissi dancing style. She has been nominated by the President of India to become a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. She is the youngest recipient of ...

* Sreelakshmy Govardhanan *

Sudha Chandran Sudha Chandran (born 27 September 1965) is an Indian Bharatanatyam dancer and actress who appears in Indian television and films. In 1981, she hurt her leg in a road accident near Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu while coming back from Madras with h ...

Sujata Mohapatra Sujata Mohapatra (born 27 June 1968) is an Indian classical dancer and teacher of Odissi dancing style. Early life and background Sujata Mohapatra was born in Balasore in 1968. She started learning Odissi at an early age from Guru Sudhakar Sa ...

* Sunanda Nair * Swati Bhise * Tanusree Shankar * Vasundhara Doraswamy *

Vibha Dadheech Vibha Dadheech is an Indian classical dancer in the Kathak dance form. She began learning Kathak from Raigarh Court dancer Pt. Firtu Maharaj, and later in Guru Shishya Parampara from Pt. Shambhu Maharaj as a ganda bandh shagird, living and lea ...

* Viji Prakash *

Vyjayanthimala Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen wit ...

* Yamini Reddy

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indian women in dance Dance, women Dance Lists of female dancers

Choreographers

Dancers

See also

References