Uday Shankar

Uday Shankar (born Uday Shankar Chowdhury; 8 December 1900 – 26 September 1977) was an Indian dancer and choreographer. He is known for developing a hybrid dance style that blended European theatrical methods with Indian classical, folk, and tribal dance traditions. This fusion gained popularity across India, Europe, and the United States during the 1920s and 1930s, and he is regarded as a pioneer of modern dance in India. In 1962, the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's national academy for music, dance, and drama, awarded him its highest honor, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, for lifetime achievement. The Government of India later gave him the Padma Vibhushan, the country's second-highest civilian award, in 1971.

Shankar was born in Udaipur, Rajasthan, as the eldest son in a Bengali Brahmin family originally from Narail, now in Bangladesh. His father, Shyam Shankar Chowdhury, was a noted barrister working for the Maharaja of Jhalawar at the time of his birth, and his mother, Hemangini Devi, came from a zamindari family. His father held the title 'Harchowdhury' but preferred the surname 'Chowdhury'. Uday's younger brothers included Rajendra, Debendra, Bhupendra, and Ravi Shankar; Bhupendra died young in 1926. His father, a Sanskrit scholar who graduated with honors from the University of Calcutta and later earned a PhD at Oxford, moved frequently for work. As a result, Uday, his mother, and his brothers often stayed at his maternal uncle's house in Nasratpur. His education took place in several locations, including Nasratpur, Gazipur, Varanasi, and Jhalawar. At his school in Gazipur, he learned music and photography from his drawing and crafts teacher, Ambika Charan Mukhopaddhay.

At eighteen, in 1918, he was sent to Mumbai to train at the J. J. School of Art and later at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. By then, his father had resigned his post in Jhalawar and moved to London, where he married an English woman, practiced law, and became an amateur impresario promoting Indian dance and music in Britain. Uday joined his father in London and, on 23 August 1920, entered the Royal College of Art to study painting under Sir William Rothenstein. He performed at a few charity events his father organized, and at one of these, the renowned Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova was in the audience—a meeting that would shape his career.

Shankar had no formal training in any Indian classical dance form, but his work was inventive. From childhood, he was familiar with Indian classical and folk dance, as well as ballet from his time in Europe. He aimed to merge these styles into a new form he called Hi-dance. He studied Rajput and Mughal paintings at the British Museum to translate Indian dance iconography into movement. During his stay in Britain, he met many performers, and later he left for Rome on a French Government 'Prix de Rome' scholarship for advanced art studies. His interactions with artists deepened, and the idea of modernizing Indian dance took hold. The key moment came when he met Anna Pavlova, who was seeking collaborators for India-themed works. Together, they created ballets on Hindu themes: 'Radha-Krishna', a duet with Pavlova, and 'Hindu Wedding', part of her production 'Oriental Impressions'. These were staged at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London. Shankar went on to choreograph other ballets, including one inspired by the Ajanta Caves frescoes, which toured the United States. His style became known as Hi-dance, though he later called it 'Creative dance'. After working with Pavlova for a year and a half, he set out on his own in Paris.

Shankar returned to India in 1927 with a French pianist and disciple, Simon Barbiere, and a Swiss sculptor, Alice Boner, who wished to study Indian art history. Rabindranath Tagore welcomed him and encouraged him to open a performing arts school in India. Back in Paris in 1931, Shankar founded Europe's first Indian dance company with Alice Boner, who had become a disciple. Along with musicians Vishnu Dass Shirali and Timir Baran, he devised new music for his choreography. His first series of performances took place on 3 March 1931 at the Champs-Elysees Theatre in Paris, which became his base as he toured Europe. He then undertook a seven-year tour of Europe and America with his troupe, called 'Uday Shankar and his Hindu Ballet', managed by impresarios Sol Hurok and Aaron Richmond. He made his U.S. debut in January 1933 in New York City, with his French dance partner Simkie. A reception was held at the Grand Central Art Galleries, after which the troupe embarked on an 84-city tour across the country. By adapting European theatrical techniques to Indian dance, Shankar made his art widely popular both in India and abroad, and he is credited with revitalizing traditional Indian temple dances, which had been in decline.