Anurekha Ghosh
Kolkata, India
Anurekha Ghosh is an internationally acclaimed BBC award-winning Indian Classical Kathak dancer. Her technique and style is a combination of “tradition and modernity”. She has shown her excellence in Choreography be it in the classical or contemporary genre.
She has been trained in classical Kathak dance, specializing in the Lucknow Gharana since the age of 4 ½ years under the guidance of Smt. Meera Majumdar and Smt. Mousumi Sen in Calcutta, India. Anurekha moved to the United Kingdom in 1992 and took further training in Kathak with Padmashree Guru Shri Pratap Pawar. She received extensive training under the renowned Kathak exponent Begum Nahid Siddiqui from Pakistan. She is also receiving advanced ‘talim’ from Tabla exponent Pt. Dinanath Mishra of Benaras Gharana and Smt. Madhumita Roy, a senior Kathak exponent and Guru. She is fortunate to receive in-depth guidance and ‘talim’ from the finest Kathak exponent and Guru Smt. Durga Arya. She learnt the art of Kalaripayattu, a South Indian Martial Arts at CVN Kalari, Kerala under Guruakkal C V Satyanarayanan. She is also trained in Western Contemporary Dance, Ballet and Yoga in UK. She has trained in vocal music from Smt. Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta in Kolkata.
Anurekha has performed in the major theatres and Festivals all over the world as a soloist or with her company productions. She has performed in USA, Canada, all over Europe, India, Estonia, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia and the UK including Royal Opera House, London, South Bank Centre, London, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Madison Square Garden New York, Festival of FEZ, Morocco (sharing the stage as a soloist with Pandit Ravi Shankar and Anouska Shankar) and Edinburgh International Festival, Scotland to name a few. She has choreographed and created many classical and contemporary productions for her company: Anurekha Ghosh and Company.
Anurekha received the awards for Arts & culture category presented by the Asian women Achievement Awards in collaboration with BBC, The Lisa Ullman Scholarship for Dance and Movement, the Best choreographer for The Place Choreodrome at The Place Dance Theatre UK, Nritya Shiromani, Naatyasaaradhi, Natya Damru, “Tujhe Salaam” by ILEAD (Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata), Nritha Vilasini, Rex Karmaveer fellowship from ICONGO instituted by United Nations, Amravati award, Pandit Arjun Mishra award and Padmavati award, Kala Bhushan award to name a few.
Anurekha collaborated with internationally renowned choreographers like Padmashree Kumudini Lakhia, Akram Khan (UK), Nahid Siddiqui (Pakistan/UK), Shobana Jeyasingh (UK), Mark Baldwin (UK), Andre Gingras (Holland), Héla Fattoumi and Eric Lamoureux, the renowned French contemporary choreographers and artistic directors of the National Choreographic Centre of Franche Comté and heads of the Via Dance Company, France.
She has danced in the Michael Howell film “Frankenstein” choreographed by Mark Baldwin, screened on BBC. Her performance is also featured in the film The Sufi World. She has given many performances on BBC, Channel 4, French Television, and Indian Television. BBC world has televised her classical Kathak solo performance of Festival of FEZ in a programme called Destination Morocco. She performed in the music video Our Destiny.
Anurekha shares her time in India and the west, teaching classical Kathak to many young aspiring students across the world, propagating Indian culture, creating a centre of Artistic Excellence in the traditional Gurukul System at her institution Natmandir. She has been conducting dance workshops and master-classes in Primary and Secondary schools, Special Needs schools, Performing Arts colleges and University all across the globe. She has been imparting classical Kathak dance training in intensive retreats attended by students from various parts of the world.
As a social activist, Anurekha has been wholeheartedly connecting dance with burning social issues. She created dance productions titled “A Letter to the Mother from the Womb” which carried a powerful message against female feticide and ‘Voice of Femininity.’ Anurekha has been connecting with several NGO’s caring for differently abled children, trafficked girls, and cancer survivors. She has been imparting dance therapy training to the beneficiaries from the NGO’s.