Tanusree Shankar
Encyclopedia
Tanusree Shankar is one of the leading dancers and choreographers of contemporary dance
in India
and is based in Kolkata, India. She earned her fame as a danseuse as the leading dancer of the Ananda Shankar Centre for Performing Arts in the 1970s and 1980s.
Tanusree Shankar was born in Calcutta. Her husband, the late Ananda Shankar
, was a world famous music composer
who experimented with fusion music
. He was the son of world famous dancers, Pandit Uday Shankar
& Amala Shankar, and also the nephew of the sitar
maestro Ravi Shankar
.
Tanusree Shankar now leads the Tanusree Shankar Dance Company, one of the leading exponents of contemporary dance forms in India. She has evolved her own modern idiom by marrying the grace and beauty of traditional Indian dance
s with the soul of modern western ballet expressions. She has been inspired both by her illustrious lineage as much by the folk and regional dance forms of India. Her late father-in-law the legendary Uday Shankar
is regarded as a pioneer of modern Indian Dance who performed with such ballet greats as Anna Pavlova. She has also drawn extensively from rich local Indian traditions such as the "Thang-ta
" (Manipuri
Sword dance
).
She travels with her troupe extensively around the world. Her last notable productions include "Uttaran" (upliftment of the soul) and "Chirantan" (The eternal) which is based on Rabindranath Tagore
's music.
Contemporary dance
Contemporary dance is a genre of concert dance that employs compositional philosophy, rather than choreography, to guide unchoreographed movement...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and is based in Kolkata, India. She earned her fame as a danseuse as the leading dancer of the Ananda Shankar Centre for Performing Arts in the 1970s and 1980s.
Tanusree Shankar was born in Calcutta. Her husband, the late Ananda Shankar
Ananda Shankar
Ananda Shankar was a Bengali musician best known for fusing Western and Eastern musical styles. He was married to Tanusree Shankar.-Early life:...
, was a world famous music composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
who experimented with fusion music
Fusion Music
Fusion Music is a sub genre of Reggaeton. Calle 13 helped introduce this genre, and are the most famous artists to sing it. It's also known as Alternative Reggaeton. Danny Fornaris is the most famous producer in this sub-genre, known as its Luny Tunes...
. He was the son of world famous dancers, Pandit Uday Shankar
Uday Shankar
Uday Shankar , the pioneer of modern dance in India, and a world renowned Indian dancer and choreographer, was most known for adapting Western theatrical techniques to traditional Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian classical, folk, and tribal dance, thus laying the roots of...
& Amala Shankar, and also the nephew of the sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
maestro Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
.
Tanusree Shankar now leads the Tanusree Shankar Dance Company, one of the leading exponents of contemporary dance forms in India. She has evolved her own modern idiom by marrying the grace and beauty of traditional Indian dance
Indian dance
Dance in India covers a wide range of dance and dance theatre forms, from the ancient classical or temple dance to folk and modern styles.Three best-known Hindu deities, Shiva, Kali and Krishna, are typically represented dancing. There are hundreds of Indian folk dances such as Bhangra, Bihu,...
s with the soul of modern western ballet expressions. She has been inspired both by her illustrious lineage as much by the folk and regional dance forms of India. Her late father-in-law the legendary Uday Shankar
Uday Shankar
Uday Shankar , the pioneer of modern dance in India, and a world renowned Indian dancer and choreographer, was most known for adapting Western theatrical techniques to traditional Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian classical, folk, and tribal dance, thus laying the roots of...
is regarded as a pioneer of modern Indian Dance who performed with such ballet greats as Anna Pavlova. She has also drawn extensively from rich local Indian traditions such as the "Thang-ta
Thang-Ta
Thang-ta or huyen lallong is a weapon-based Indian martial art created by the Meitei of Manipur. In the Manipuri language, thang means sword and ta means spear. As its name implies, the sword and spear are the primary weapons in thang-ta. The spear can be used in its non-missile form while in close...
" (Manipuri
Manipuri dance
Manipuri dance is one of the major Indian classical dance forms. It originates from Manipur, a state in north-eastern India on the border with Myanmar . In Manipur, surrounded by mountains and geographically isolated at the meeting point of the orient and mainland India, the form developed its own...
Sword dance
Sword dance
Sword dances are recorded from throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock battle sword dances from Greece, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, China, Korea, England, Scotland and Japan...
).
She travels with her troupe extensively around the world. Her last notable productions include "Uttaran" (upliftment of the soul) and "Chirantan" (The eternal) which is based on Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
's music.