shambhavi dandekar
*Master performer, teacher and choreographer in Kathak dance.
*Torchbearer of Banaras Gharana of Kathak.
*Her Guru-s are her mother Kathak legend Pandita Maneesha Sathe and Tabla virtuoso Taalyogi Pandit Suresh Talwalkar.
*Founder-director of Shambhavi’s International School of Kathak (SISK).
*Originally from Pune, India, Shambhavi lives in San Francisco, performs internationally and trains students all over the world through her regular classes and the Global Distance Learning Program.
*In her active performance career of 34 years, she has performed in more than 120 cities in 13 countries worldwide.
*Till date, she has trained and mentored 19 dancers who pursue Kathak as their full time profession.
*In India, she has been awarded Kalashree, Nritya Ratna, Singarmani, Bharatashree and P.L. Deshpande Youth Award.
*She has been a recipient of HRD Fellowship by Govt. of India.
*She is an A grade artist of Doordarshan - the Indian National TV.
*She was awarded as one of the ‘101 Social Changemakers of Silicon Valley’ by UK based organization ‘The Human Atlas’.
*She has given performances in Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK, New Zealand, India and USA during 2023-present.
abstract
'The Light Within'... Hori with a new direction
Presentation & Discussion of New Works
The choreography ‘The Light Within’ is a contemporary take on the timeless theme of ‘Hori’ or festival of colors. Portrayed as a romantic interplay between Radha and Krishna, traditional ‘Hori’ is constricted by anticipated actions, reactions, characters, subject matter and performance. ‘The Light Within’, on the other hand, is a story of a young couple, standing at the crossroads of fate. How they defeat destiny and exhibit utmost courage on the day of Hori, is portrayed in this performance. Kathak exponent Shambhavi Dandekar comes up with this pathbreaking Abhinaya piece that is a masterclass in Satvik Abhinaya.