Uday Shankar Complete Bio & Career
Shankar completed his primary study from the local school of Gazipur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Here, he also learned about photography and music from his art and craft teacher Mrs. Ambika Charan Mukhopaddha. After his elementary education, the dancer moved to Mumbai for his higher education. He admitted to J.J. School of Art where he did his bachelor’s degree in fine arts & sculptures.
Furthermore, Uday went to Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi. Here, he learned about classical dance and music but left the college in between because his father moved to London. Therefore, at the age of 20, the choreographer transferred to London and done his study from the Royal College of Art. He also acquired knowledge about painting from the famous painter “William Rothenstein”.
After completing his studies, the dancer started his initial profession as a classical dancer. He was best known for his creations that he made in dance. When Uday was in Europe he drove a new dance form from Indian classical and folk dance named “Hi” dance which is later on known as creative dance. In which, he took some steps from classical dance and some from ballet.
Later on, he went to Britain where he gave several performances in a group and got fame due to his talent. He also moved to Rome and took “Prix the Rome” scholarship of the French Government which is given to those pupils who drive new kinds of art. Soon, Shankar’s name grew up in famous dance artists and he started taking part in contemporary dance performances.
Also, his life changed too when he met with “Ballerina Anna Pavlova”, the renowned legendary ballet dancer from Russia. She was looked for a dance partner to collaborate for a dance performance which is based on the Hindu theme “Radha-Krishna”. After met with Uday, she decided to perform with him in the role of “Radha-Krishna” and they gave duet presentation on stage in Russia. Anna was a ballet dancer. Therefore, Shankar worked with her one and a half years.
After that, he created his series of dance. In which, his first series of dance was performed in 3rd March 1931 in Paris at Champs Elysees Theater. Besides this, he formed his group with the name “Shankar and Hindu Ballet”. He performed the first time in New York, America with his group in 1933. After that, he presented his dance in 84 cities.
In 1938, he established his center with the name “Uday Shankar India Cultural Centre” at Simtola, Uttrakhand, India where he taught different kinds of dance to his students such as Kathakali, Bharatnatyam and so forth. Due to a shortage of funds, his center was closed after 4 years in 1942. He also made his own film “Kalpana” in 1948 which is based on dance where his wife and he acted.
