AnonyMo at 01:58, 16 March 2026

2026-03-16T01:58:49Z

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{{Short description|Indian Kathak dancer (born 1956)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kumkum Dhar
| birth_name =
| alias =
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1956|02|04}}
| birth_place = [[Nagpur]], [[Maharashtra]], India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| parents =
| spouse =
| children =
| alma_mater = [[Lucknow University]]
| occupation = {{hlist|[[Kathak]] dancer|dance teacher}}
| known for =
| awards = [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] (2020)<br/>[[Yash Bharati]] (2015)<br/>[[Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] (1994)
}}
'''Kumkum Dhar''' is a [[Kathak]] dancer and dance teacher from [[Nagpur]], [[Maharashtra]], India. She received many awards including the [[Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] (1994), and the [[Yash Bharati]] (2015) by the Uttar Pradesh Government and the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] (2020) for Kathak.

==Biography==
Kumkum Dhar is on 4 February 1956 at Nagpur, [[Maharashtra]].<ref name="SNA">{{cite web |title=KUMKUM DHAR |url=https://sangeetnatak.gov.in/public/uploads/awardees/docs/1741001313_Kumkum%20Dhar_11zon.pdf |publisher=[[Sangeet Natak Akademi]]}}</ref> Later she moved to [[Lucknow]] in [[Uttar Pradesh]] and trained in Kathak there under noted Kathak exponent [[Lachhu Maharaj]] of the [[Lucknow gharana]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pioneer |first=The |title=Kumkum Dhar's Kathak dance holds audience in thrall |url=https://www.dailypioneer.com/2014/state-editions/kumkum-dhars-kathak-dance-holds-audience-in-thrall.html |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=The Pioneer |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |newspaper=Hindustan Times |title=PROF KUMKUM DHAR |url=https://www.pressreader.com/india/hindustan-times-lucknow-live/20160416/281706908850895 |access-date=2025-06-26 |via=PressReader}}</ref>

Dhar completed [[Bachelor of Arts]] in 1974 and [[Master of Arts]] in 1976 from [[Lucknow University]].<ref name="times">{{cite news |title=Was shy of visiting Lucknow University's canteen, recalls Kathak maestro |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/was-shy-of-visiting-lu-canteen-recalls-kathak-maestro/articleshow/79030558.cms |work=The Times of India |date=4 November 2020 |archive-date=2 January 2021 |access-date=27 June 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102075641/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/was-shy-of-visiting-lu-canteen-recalls-kathak-maestro/articleshow/79030558.cms |url-status=live }}</ref> She also completed sangeet visharad degree in music and also holds a Doctorate in Economics.<ref name="Hindustan Times">{{cite news |title=Five from UP win Sangeet Natak Akademi Award |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/lucknow-news/five-from-up-win-sangeet-natak-akademi-award-101669482453499.html |work=Hindustan Times |date=26 November 2022 |language=en-us}}</ref> After completing Masters in Economics, she worked for 25 years as an economist with a consultancy firm.<ref name="Hindustan Times2">{{cite news |title=Dancing through life |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/dancing-through-life/story-KQNBLeCjlHC01ZcB3IKHmI.html |work=Hindustan Times |date=31 March 2006 |language=en-us |archive-date=12 March 2023 |access-date=27 June 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312163205/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/dancing-through-life/story-KQNBLeCjlHC01ZcB3IKHmI.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Career==
Kumkum Dhar started performing Kathak in 1972.<ref>{{cite news |title=Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards: President bestows coveted award on Lucknow's Kumkum Dhar |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/lucknow-news/central-sangeet-natak-akademi-awards-president-bestows-coveted-award-on-lucknow-s-kumkum-dhar-101677174177754.html |archive-date=2023-02-28 |access-date=2025-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228205856/https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/lucknow-news/central-sangeet-natak-akademi-awards-president-bestows-coveted-award-on-lucknow-s-kumkum-dhar-101677174177754.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Apart from numerous venues and dance festivals in India, Dhar has also performed several solo dance shows in countries like USA, UK, Egypt, Kuwait, Mexico, Guatemala, and Bangladesh.<ref name="SNA"/> She excels in both '[[Tandava]]' (vigorous/ masculine) and '[[Lasya]]' (soft/ feminine) modes of Kathak.<ref name="SNA"/>

Dhar who worked as a professor in [[Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya]], Lucknow, also served as the Dean of Faculty of Dance and later as vice-chancellor of Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya.<ref>{{cite web |title=INTACH ARCHIVE : image : Kumkum Dhar performing Kathak [IHL_064] |url=https://icharchive.intach.org/Detail/objects/14677 |website=icharchive.intach.org}}</ref><ref name="Hindustan Times"/>

She has also trained more than 500 disciples under the [[Guru–shishya tradition]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bharat |first1=V. S. K. |title=If a nation lacks cultural values, it can never progress - Suresh Soni Ji |url=https://vskbharat.com/if-a-nation-lacks-cultural-values-it-can-never-progress-suresh-soni-ji/?lang=en |work=VSK Bharat |date=24 February 2025}}</ref> She is a Top-grade artist of [[Doordarshan]], and an 'Outstanding Artist' of [[Indian Council for Cultural Relations]].<ref name="SNA"/>

Other than career in Kathak dance, Dhar also worked as radio jockey, television artist, actor and singer.<ref name="Hindustan Times2"/>

==Awards and honors==
Kumkum Dhar received hundreds<ref name="times"/> of awards including the [[Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] (1994), and the [[Yash Bharati]] by the Uttar Pradesh Government (2015) and the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] (2020) for Kathak by the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi]], Government of India.<ref name="SNA"/> In 2024 she received the Bharat Muni Award.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bharat Muni Award 2024 Kumkum Dhar and Harekrishna Meher |url=https://www.livehindustan.com/ncr/new-delhi/story-bharat-muni-award-2024-kumkum-dhar-and-harekrishna-meher-honored-for-performing-arts-and-literature-201740238264834.html |language=hi}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhar, Kumkum}}
[[Category:Kathak dancers]]
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Artists from Lucknow]]
[[Category:Indian classical choreographers]]
[[Category:Teachers of Indian classical dance]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]]
[[Category:People from Nagpur]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dancers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian dancers]]
[[Category:University of Lucknow alumni]]

Kumkum Dhar - Revision history

AnonyMo at 01:58, 16 March 2026