Guru: Professor Ranjana Shrivastava

Prof. Ranjana Srivastava taught Kathak Dance at the Faculty of Performing Arts, Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi from 1984 to 2014.

Her appointment led to the establishment of Kathak Diploma Dance Course in BHU. Under her deanship the Faculty of Performing Arts witnessed the establishment of a Department of Dance having an independent building and identity. She enjoyed the gift of training and guiding students devoted to dance, music and spirituality from all over the world.

Her dancing has lost none of the authenticity, purity, and grace of the old masters. She was groomed in the intricacies of the Lucknow and Jaipur gharanas of Kathaka under the exemplary guidance of Guru Vikram Singh ji, Pandit Shambhu Maharaj ji, Pandit Birju Maharaj ji, Shri Mohan Rao Kalyanpurkar ji and Pandit Sunder Prasad Ji.

She is humbled when the lovers of art complement her for carrying her Guru Vikram Singh ji’s Purity of angas and abhinaya still in her dance, reflecting the older tradition of Kathaka dance (lucknow gharana) which was lyrical, graceful and elegant giving a spiritual experience.

Prof. Ranjana Shrivastava is recognized and respected for her academic and administrative pursuits as well as for her performances, which are very selective.

She has published the following books: ‘Tantra, Mantra, Yantra in Dance-An Exposition of Kathaka” and “Kathaka: The Tradition-Fusion and Diffusion”.

To be released: A UGC Major Research Project on Dhrupad Nrtya: A reconstruction.

Prof. Ranjana Shrivastava has been awarded the UP Sangit Natak Akademi Award.

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