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.