Kathak has captivated the hearts for years. The expressive gestures, storytelling through graceful moves, and footwork on rhythmic beats make this dance special! Its three main gharanas, such as Lucknow, Jaipur, and Banaras, have gifted many talented dancers.
These dancers revolutionized the world of Kathak with their graceful dance and dynamic footwork. Today, we will learn about famous Kathak dancers. These dancers not only presented Indian culture on national and international levels, but also impacted the upcoming Kathak generations forever!
So, let us move ahead to learn more about them:
7 Famous Kathak Dancers
The GOAT of Kathak!
Brijmohan Nath Mishra aka. Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji was born on 4th February, 1938. He was a famous composer, singer, vocalist, and Kathak dancer from Lucknow Gharana. He got discipleship from the ‘Kalka-Bindadin’ gharana of Lucknow. Apart from Kathak, he also played Tabla and Dholak, and performed Thumri, Dadra, Bhajan, and Ghazals.
He learned Kathak under the guidance of legendary dancers, such as Shambhu Maharaj, Lachhu Maharaj, and Acchan Maharaj (his father and guru). He was only 4 when he started. He used to perform in his father’s concerts.
He started performing solo in West Bengal at the age of 7. At 13, he started teaching Kathak at the Sangeet Bharti in New Delhi. He also taught at the Bharatiya Kala Kendra in Delhi.
Later, he became the Head of the Director, director, and teacher at the Kathak Kendra (a unit of the Sangeet Natak Akademi). After retiring, he opened his own dance school, Kalashram, in New Delhi.
This maestro of Kathak choreographed for blockbuster films and artists such as
Saswati Sen in Satyajit Ray's Shatranj ke Khiladi (1977)
Madhuri Dixit in Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)
Devdas (2002)
Kamal Haasan in Vishwaroopam (2012)
Deepika Padukone in Bajirao Mastani (2015), and many more!Due to his exceptional work, he also won awards such as
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1964: He was just 28 (the youngest one to receive this award)
Padma Vibhushan (India's second-highest civilian award) in 1986
Kalidas Samman (1987)
National Film Award for Best Choreography for Vishwaroopam (2012)
Filmfare Award for Best Choreography for Bajirao Mastani (2016), and much more!People call her the ‘Queen of Kathak!’
Dhanlakshmi, aka Sitara Devi, was born in Kolkata on 8 November 1920. Her father, Sukhdev Maharaj Ji, was the leading founder of Banaras Kathak Gharana. With her father’s guidance, she learned Kathak in his dance school.
With a blend of Benaras and Lucknow Gharana style, she was able to effortlessly perform a combination of ‘naaz’, ‘nakhre’, and ‘nazakat’ in her performances! Being a girl, she broke the stereotype of male kathak dancers at that time. At 11, her family moved to Mumbai. It opened many doors to her career.
Rabindranath Tagore witnessed the magical performance of 16-year-old Sitara Devi and called her ‘Nritya Samragni- the empress of dance!’
She also taught Kathak to many actresses, like Madhubala, Mala Sinha, Rekha, Kajol, and many more. She also danced in movies such as Usha Haran (1940), Nagina (1951), Roti, Vatan (1938), Anjali (1957), and Mother India (1957). Along with Kathak, she also mastered Bharatnatyam and Russian Ballet dance.
With her impactful work, she got
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1969)
The Padma Shree (1973) award and
The Kalidas Samman (1995) award.He is known for his legacy of the Lucknow Gharana. He was also a maestro of Pankjwaj and a great vocalist of Indian classical music.
Pandit Bajinath Prasad- Lachhu Maharaj was born on the 1st September, 1901. He received training from Pandit Bindadin Maharaj, his uncle and the court dancer of the Nawab of Awadh, for almost ten years.
His world changed when his family moved to Mumbai. He bagged opportunities to choreograph in movies, such as Mahal (1949), Mughal-e-Azam (1960), Chhoti Chhoti Baten (1965), and Pakeezah (1972).
He became the founder Director of the Kathak Kendra in Lucknow. His electrifying work bagged him awards such as:
The President's Award
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1957
He also appeared on the ‘stamp of India’ in 2001.
The Legend Of Kathak!
Shambhu Maharaj was an honored Guru of the Lucknow Kathak Gharana.
He was the youngest son of Kalka Prasad Maharaj, who was the court performer of the Nawab of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah. His uncle Bindadin Maharaj and his eldest brother Achchan Maharaj also trained him! Such a strong Kathak background from family impacted Shambh Maharaj’s life too!
He also learned Hindustani classical music from Ustad Rahimuddin Khan. He was appointed as the Head of Dance at the Bharatiya Kala Kendra, New Delhi.
Due to his striking work in Kathak, he got the Padmashri award in 1958. In 1967, he was also awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship. He trained many disciples, such as Birju Maharaj, Kumudini Lakhia, Uma Sharma, Bharti Gupta, and Damayanti Joshi, who later became very popular Kathak dancers.
Gopi Krishna is known for his significant contribution to spreading Kathak in India. He was born on 22nd August 1935, in Kolkata.
He was born in a Kathak family of dancers. He trained under the guidance of Pandit Sukhdev Maharaj Ji (his maternal grandfather), Sitara Devi Ji (his aunt), and Shambhu Maharaj Ji.
At 15, he was awarded the ‘Nataraja’ title at the All Bengal Music Conference.
In Banaras, Gopi Krishna danced for 9 hours and 20 minutes and set a world record for the longest continuous Kathak dance!
In 1952, he was hired to choreograph dance for the famous Indian actress Madhubala Ji for her film Saqi. He was just 17 at that time and one of the youngest choreographers in Indian Cinema!
He also choreographed for films such as Grahasti (1963), Dastaan, Mehbooba, Umrao Jaan, Naache Mayuri, and The Perfect Murder.
Gopi Krishna made his film debut in the film Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje in 1955.
He was also a master dancer for iconic songs like ‘Na moonh chhupake jiyo’ in the movie ‘Humraaz’, ‘Champavati tu aaja’ for the film ‘Annadata’, etc. In 1985, he played the role of Latturam, a dance teacher and Guruji in the movie Zamana. He was also a part of the popular mythological TV serial Mahabharata!
He collaborated with legendary actor Sunil Dutt’s Ajanta Arts Cultural Troupe in the 1960s. In that, he toured India’s border posts to entertain soldiers with his amazing Kathak performances.
Gopi Krishna wanted to continue spreading the knowledge of Kathak among budding dancers. He established Nateshwar Bhavan Dance Academy and the Nateshwar Nritya Kala Mandir in Khar, Mumbai.
In 1975, this living legend of Kathak was awarded the Padma Shri award.
People say she was an Inspiring Female Pioneer Of Kathak in the 90s!
Kumudini was born on 17th May 1930. At 7, she trained with Sohanlal from the Bikaner Gharana. Later, she received training from Ashiq Hussain of Benaras Gharana, Sunder Prasad of the Jaipur school, Shambhu Maharaj, and Radheylal Misra (a disciple of Jai Lal).
With the help of her deep research and years of learning in Kathak, she tried to experiment with a solo dance style. Kumudini pioneered the style of group dancing in Kathak. She added contemporary narrations and traditional stories to the Kathak repertoire.
She was popular as a multi-person choreographer. She choreographed masterpieces such as Dhabkar (Pulse), Yugal (The Duet), Atah Kim (Where Now?), and Umrao Jaan (Hindi film). She was a great Kathak teacher too.
She taught Kathak to many amazing dancers, such as Aditi Mangaldas, Vaishali Trivedi, Sandhya Desai, Daksha Sheth, Ishira Parikh, Urja Thakore, Maulik Shah, Prashant Shah, and Parul Shah.
Due to her priceless contributions to shaping talented Kathak artists and spreading this dance form over the globe, she was awarded with:
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1982
Kalidas Samman for 2002-03
Padma Shri in 1987, Padma Bhushan in 2010
Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna in 2011
Guru Gopinath Desiya Natya Puraskaram in 2021
Padma Vibhushan in 2025
She is not only the best Kathak dancer of the 90s and 2000s, but she also did her Master’s in Physics, M.Phil. in Defence and Strategic Studies, and M. Phil. in social sciences. She worked as a career officer in the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA and AS) till 2010.
Her work never kept her away from her passion for Kathak. This multi-talented dancer learned Kathak from Pandit Birju Maharaj.
She took Kathak overseas! She collaborated with leading dancers of ballet (Italy), flamenco ( Spain), tap dance (the USA), Buddhist Monks, etc. In 1994, she was the creative director, producer, and dancer in ‘The Dawn After’. In this ballet, she presented the first-ever trilogy, including the western classical dance ‘Kathak-flamenco’.
Her work did not stop here only! She researched and discovered 8 Kathak villages located near Gaya, Bihar. She is the first dancer who conceptualised and created a dance video based on the legend of the Khajuraho temples in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is known as the ‘Dance of the Temples’
In 2003, she worked as a creative director for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 6th Abylimpics, in New Delhi. She also directed the opening & closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games in 2010. She had written and published over 80 in-depth articles on Kathak to date!
In 2016, an Indian documentary filmmaker, Beenu Rajpoot, created a film named Born to Dance. It was based on Shavona’s life story as a Kathak dancer!
Due to her excellent lifelong work on Kathak, Shavona was awarded with:
Padma Shri in 1992
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 1999–2000
Delhi Government's Parishad SammanFAQs
Who is the ‘queen of Kathak’ dance form?
Sitara Devi Ji from the Banaras gharana of Kathak is called the ‘queen of Kathak’. She was famous for her captivating stage presence, lively expressions, and dynamic performances!
Who is the founder of Kathak dance?
Studies say that a rural Krishna devotee named Ishwari Prasad from the village in southeast Uttar Pradesh is the founder of Krishna. He developed this dance form to present his loving devotion to lord Krishna.
Who is the father of Kathak in Lucknow Gharana?
Pandit Bindadin Maharaj from Lucknow Gharana is known as the Father of Kathak! He taught Kathak to his descendants, which later gave birth to the ‘Kalka-Bindadin Gharana’.
Conclusion
Kathak has gifted us numerous talented dancers! From its pioneers to legendary dancers, this dance form has lived throughout the generations. Famous Kathak dancers such as Pandit Birju Maharaj, Shambhu Maharaj, Sitara Devi, Lachhu Maharaj, Chitesh Das, Sukhdev Mishra, and many more have won the hearts of spectators!
The founders created the foundation for Kathak gharanas and thrived during the tough times of the Mughal and British eras. Their disciples took this dance across the globe! These dancers not only kept the dance form alive but also ignited a spark among new generations to learn this dance. Hereafter, the legacy of this dance form will continue forever in the hearts of dance artists! Which is your favorite Kathak dancer? Do let me know in the comments!
