Keka Sinha

Keka Sinha, an established Kathak dance artiste in Mumbai, is well-known as a Soloist as well as for Dance Ballets. She is a disciple of  Nritya Shiromani Guru Bandana Sen and Guru Reba Vidyarthi, both of whom are direct disciples of Late Pandit Shambhu Maharajji of Lucknow Gharana fame. Keka has to her credit the ‘ Sangeet Prabhakar’ degree in Kathak from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad and is the recipient of ‘Singar Mani’ award from Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai. She is amember of the regional selection committee of CCRT(Centre for Cultural Resources & Training ,Govt of India) and engaged in giving lecture-demonstration  regularly in reputed colleges in Mumbai.She is also selected in the panel of artistes by EZCC(East Zone Cultural Centre).Keka is a graded artiste of television and imparts training to young aspirants.

Keka has represented India as a Cultural Delegate at the XIII World Youth Festival held in N Korea.She had the honour to perform in many prestigious festivals in India and abroad.Being a creative person, she has conceptualized and choreographed many dance-ballets independently and for Nehru Centre Mumbai as well.  

Kathak being a passion with her, she imparts training regularly in Bandra, Mumbai.

Throughout school and college I performed for functions and enjoyed doing choreography even then. At the age of 10 I remember choreographing a Tagore ballet where we sisters and some of our friends put up a show with a make shift stage and home made curtains in our drawing room! In Kolkata and had our neighbours as audience.

Getting married at the age of 19 and bringing two daughters to this world Abira & Antara, my dance took a back seat for almost 6 years. I was living a contended life o a housewife where my passion for dance again took the better of me.

I longed to dance and would not attend shows as I would feel frustrated. I lost confidence in myself, a mother of 2 kids dancing on stage not possible. I wouldn't have that kind of stamina. Fortunately I found in my husband the same encouragement and progressive mind as my father. In fact it was he my husband Ashim Sinha an IIT 'iet born and brought up in Uttar Pradesh who took me along and enrolled me in my Guru Bandana Sen's academy in Kolkata.

Surprisingly within 6 months time I came back to my form and was loved by my Guru and I resumed performing. After that there was no looking back. My husband was transferred to Mumbai. New challenge again in front of me, new place new people I didn't knew a soul in Mumbai and had to start my career from scratch. Giving up was not my fate. My Guru Bhai Bireshwar Gautam turned out to be friend indeed and helped me gather myself again. By this time I had already initiated Abira my elder daughter into dance and my first performance in Mumbai was at House of soviet Culture where I and Abira first performed together on stage as Yashoda & Krishna and duet Kathak with Bireshwar. Yes life was not a bed of roses in the persuit of classical dance in a land of glamour and dreams and also bringing up a family simultaneously but I managed to survive as an artiste going through my quota of trials and tribulation, success and frustrations as the flame of passion for dance remained ablaze.

I have kept the same Tabla, Dagga and the harmonium as blessings from my father and actually do 'riyaaz' with them and after almost 20 years my daughters and I perform together on stage. Antara a practising dentist and pursuing M.DS received some formal training in Bharatnatyam and now learning Oddissi takes part in dance ballets and Abira an executive performs as a professional. I wish to be as supportive as a mother as my mother Ramala Dutta and wish their husbands to be as encouraging as their father.

1. The Times Of India Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Feb 2007 &2008

2. Celebrate Bandra Fest in Nov 2007.

3. Mumbai Festival in Jan 2006.

4. Golden Jubilee Celebration of ‘Sur Singar Samsad’s Haridas Sangeet Sammelan’in Dec 2005

5. Participated in ‘Ashtanayika’ a Nehru Centre production at Nehru Centre,Mumbai in1999,Chembur Fine Arts Society inJan 2000 and Golden Jubilee Celebration of SangeetNatakAcademyin Nov 2003.

6. Elephanta Festival  in February 2002.

7. Kathak  and ‘Thumri’  jugalbandi with Dhanashree Pandit at Alliance Francaise,National Centre for Performing Arts, for Giants Group , Mumbai , Udayan and for  Swar Sadhana Samiti through the years.

8. Shastra & Sangeet for  Bhakti Kala Kshetra,ISKCON,Mumbai  Sep’00  

9. GANESHOTSAV at Itarsi  MP Sep’01

10. Performed for National Rubber Conference held in New Delhi in February 2000.

11. Kathak and Bharatnatyam Jugalbandi at Trivandrum in 1999.

12. Performed for Sree Chitra Festival at Tagore Theatre, Trivandrum in December 1997.

13. Participated in Kathak Utsav organised by Kathak Kendra at Sriram Centre, New  Delhi, in December 1997.

14. Participated in Young President’s Organisation .

15. Pandit Samta Prasad Smriti Samaroha in1993 and Sankat Mochan Samaroha in 1999 at Varanasi.

16. ‘Varsha Ritu Nrityotsav’ Nehru Centre , Mumbai in collaboration with South Central Zone,Cultural Centre, Nagpur. South Zone, Cultural Centre, Tanjavur in 1993.

17. Kathak and Painting Jugalbandi for Doordarshan.

18. Haridas Sangeet Sammelan Mumbai and recipient of Sringar Mani award from Sur Singar Sangeet Samsad.

19. In the presence of the President of Trinidad and Tobago in.1992

20. She had the honour to perform at the National Festival held at Siri Fort Auditorium New Delhi,1989 in the presence of the late Prime Minister of India Mr Rajiv Gandhi.

21. National Center for Performing Arts, Mumbai in1988.

22. She had the honour to perform in the presence of Crown Prince Harold and Crown Princess Sonja of Norway in 1986 in Mumbai,India

23. Tansen Sangeet Sammalan and Ragini Sangeet Sammelan in Calcutta in1984/1985.

24. Keka is an approved artist of Calcutta and Mumbai Doordarshan and has given several solo performances.

1. Performed as one of the main characters(Satyavama) in the Dance-ballet ‘Krishna Parijatam’, a project involving four styles of Indian classical dance namely Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi,Oddissi and Kathak at Singapore in April 2007 and Jan 2008.

2. Performed as the principal dancer in’Milan Swarga’-a production combining Indian folk dance and Tagore’s songs at Westminster University London inOctober 2006

3. Performed as the principal dancer in’Robi Malika’-a dance-drama based on Tagore’s works- at Camden Hall, London in October 2006 under the aegis of ‘Prangan’a cultural organization in Bombay.

4. Performances at New Jersey UMDJ University,at Boston for Bengali club on the occasion of Diwali & Indian Classical Music And Dance organized by ‘PARICHOY’at Harkness Auditorium, Yale Medical School Connecticut ,USA during Nov 2002.

5. Ramakrishna Mission at Bolton Lanes UK , Oct 2002.

6. PerformedKathakandBharatnatyamJugalbandiforIndianCultural Association, Muscat in 1993.

7. She was a cultural delegate of our country at the XIIIth World Youth Festival held  at Pyong Yong, capital city of North Korea in January 1989.

8. Participated in Voyage to India Festival in UAE in 1988.

9. On the occasion of the 14th Jubilee of Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan’s London Kendra her recital at the Bhavan’s auditorium was watched by many dignitaries including the then Honorable Home Minister of England, Lord Douglas Hard . She has also performed in various city theaters of UK viz Wales, Leeds University.,Sheffield and Birmingham during 1987.

 

Choreographed  ‘Dance and the Cosmos’ held at Nehru Planetarium as a part of the French Festival, in India in 1990.

Choreographed and danced in Raag Milan – a synthesis of Tagore’s songs and classical ragas in 1993.

Choreographed and performed in the lead role of ‘Aradhana ‘a dance ballet based on Tagore’s Shapmochan and produced by Nehru centre in 1996/1997.

Choreographed and performed in the dance ballet’ Parchhaiyaan ‘based50 years of    Independence of India under the aegis of Nehru Centre in October 1997.

Choreographed Dance Ballet TWAM MAMA PRIYA  based on ENVIRONMENT PRESERVATION on behalf of RAWA(Renaissance Artists Writers Associationin)1999.

Choreographed and performed as the principal dancer in amulti-dimensional production of ROBI O RADHA-a stage and film Opera based on Tagore’s Bhanu SinghaThakurer Padabali.This Opera involved stalwarts in the fields of Classical music & dance like Pt Jasraj,Kavita Krishnamurthy,Hema Malini,Pt Ronu Majumdar and legendary Tapas Sen in Lighting & Special Effects.Several  shows were held at metropolitan cities of India during 2002 & 2003.

Conceptualised, choreographed and performed in THE THIRD EYE (a journey into the human psyche based on the concept that misery and sorrow result from the factors within us and not from any external factor) in2004 and 2005

Considerable research work has been involved in the choreography of THUMRI-KATHAK MILAAP –a delightful hand in hand journey of Thumri music and Kathak Dance .It has been performed through the years for several prestigious organizations .like Udayan, Alliance Francaise, Iskcon, Swar Sadhna Samiti, National Centre for Performing Arts, the recent being at Kala Ghoda  Festival in Feb 2007. 

Choreographed several dance-dramas based on Tagore’s works for Bengali organizations.

Research work regarding the origin and various moods and types of Thumri and how they are expressed through Kathak dance depicting 'Naayika Bhed' different seasons and devotional aspect.

~ Performed 'Kathak' and 'Thumri' Jugalhandi for 'Sabrang' at NCPA in 2000.

~ At Prithvi Theater as a part of Prithvi Festival and Alliance Francaise in 2001.

~ Kathak, Thumri & Odissi, milaap in aid of the TB control project on the eve of    World TB

~ Day March 23rd 2001.

~ Moonsoon, Thumri, Kathak & Odissi in 'Ghir Aayee Badariya" for 'Swar Leheri'    and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Kala Kendra.

~ At Godrej dance academy, NCPA