Shovana Narayan

New Delhi, India

With a career spanning 7 decades, Dr. Shovana Narayan is an acclaimed Kathak performer, guru and choreographer. For her soul stirring performances, she was decorated by the Government of India with the Padmashri award in 1992, central Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2001, Delhi Govt’s Parishad Samman in 1992 and Bihar Govt’s Rashtriya Samman in 2021 besides being a recipient of over 70 national and international awards. Maintaining the classicality of her art, Shovana is a silent activist setting trends, by constantly pushing its frontiers to contemporizing of themes and newer expressions. She has also worked closely with nationally and internationally acclaimed Indian and western dancers and musicians from various streams of art.

Shovana was a pioneer yet again, in setting the trend of pursuing two exacting professional careers, in parallel, achieving distinction and great heights in both. She is India’s venerated Kathak Guru-performer-choreographer and had served as a career bureaucrat (Indian Audit and Accounts, 1976 batch) till her retirement in 2010. She has a Master’s degree in Physics and two MPhil degrees (Social Sciences & in Defence & Strategic Studies) and has been conferred with Doctor of Literature (HC) by the Khairagarh Indira Kala Sangit University. She is a researcher, an explorer, a performer, a choreographer, an artiste par excellence with values and a cause, an organizer and a dance activist engaged in dance pedagogy. Her research on Kathak villages led to the discovery of a living Temple Kathak tradition in the Gangetic belt as well as of several (19) Kathak villages, many of which had Census code numbers. She has authored over 19 books on Indian dance.

Shovana’s performance as the leading protagonist was widely acclaimed in the Hindi feature film “Aavartan” at the panorama, IFFI Festival, Goa and in a TV film “Akbar’s bridge”. She is a dedicated guru whose disciples are creating their niche in the world of Kathak. Three films have been made on her: “Born to Dance” by Beenu Rajpoot (2018) “Shovana” by award winning film director Aparna Sanyal for PSBT, 2019 and “Das Geheimnis des Indisches Tanz” (German) by ORF-ZDF, 1987

Universally acknowledged as a classic example of a true Kathak, multi faceted and dynamic, she presents a challenge to today’s spectator. Her life, her works, her dignity and demeanour have made her a role model and peer for millions of girls of the younger generation of today.