Kum Uma Sharma

Uma Sharma (born 1942) is a kathak dancer, choreographer and teacher. She also runs the Bharatiya Sangeet Sadan, a classical dance and music academy, situated in New Delhi, founded by her father in 1946. She is most known for reviving the old classical dance form of Natwari Nritya or the Raslila of Brindavan, which later evolved into the Kathak.

Kathak is based on devotional Krishna poetry of the medieval centuries and the highly cultivated court poetry of the 18th and 19th centuries which celebrated shringara, the sentiment of love.

Early life and training Uma Sharma's family hails from Dholpur in Rajasthan. Born in Delhi in 1942, Uma Sharma received her dance training from Guru Hiralalji and Girvar Dayal of the Jaipur gharana, and subsequently she became a student of Pandit Sunder Prasad of the Jaipur gharana who emphasised rhythmic footwork and its permutations. Shambhu Maharaj and Birju Maharaj noted gurus of the Kathak tradition of the Lucknow gharana, known for the art of abhinaya, subsequently Uma Sharma sought to achieve a creative fusion of the two. and Padma Bhushan 2001. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and also the Sahitya Kala Parishad Award. On 27 January 2013, she was honoured with title Srijan Manishi by Akhil Bhartiya Vikram Parishad, Kashi for her great contribution to Indian Kathak Dance.