Shovana Narayan
A Profile - Highlights of her Works - Performances - Works - Reviews - Awards - Contact Information

Press Reviews

"Shovana bore the responsibility of portraying the sensitive emotions…most powerfully and sensitively…Narayan switches roles with agility and panache…"
Shalini Pahwa, Femina

"Dancer with a cause….She believes in preaching values like love and harmony through Kathak…"
Khaleej Times, UAE

"..Thought-provoking..She beautifully interwove the poetry and technical aspects to instill life into the bhava-laden pieces…"
Indian Express, Madras

"Poignantly and sensitively handled…By addressing the topical issue of untouchability, Shovana has successfully exposed the malignant disease still eroding our social fabric…"
Sunday Times, Ahmedabad

"Quest of a dancer….her social consciousness was reflected in this sensitive dancer's dance……."
Rakhee Bakhshee,The Hindustan Times

"Prima Donna of Kathak…."
Indian Express

"In Kathak, Shovana Narayan is a name to conjure with. Her body is the container for rhythm and her soul is the container for mime. Her 'nritta' was unforgettable. Execution with her rhythmic feet, with seemingly effortless ease, one almost becomes unaware of the incredible intricacies because of the fluency of the dance………"
Financial Express

Shovana Narayan is the first to draw upon themes from the lives and teachings of great men of modern India, namely, Gandhi, Sri Ramana Mahershi, Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Sri Vivekanand ….."
Dr.S.K.Saxena, The Pioneer, July 27, 1995

"Shovana's feet not just danced and pirouetted but they spoke a hundred things …."
Shanta Serbjeet Singh, The Hindustan Times, March 6, 1994

"It was heartening to see a classical dance venturing out of the shadow of mythology to tackle a real life 20th century subject, which was at the same time steeped in the spirituality of the sages ….."
The Statesman, October 13, 1994

"Shovana continues to visualise creatively and uses divergent themes thereby giving scope for innovation within tradition …. The overflowing auditorium gave her a standing ovation. An affirmation of the belief that artistes and their work can make a far more convincing impact today than the rhetoric of politicians or even saints."
Ashish Khokar, The Times of India, July 14, 1995

" ..Resembling a nayika come alive from a Rajput miniature painting, Shovana was in her elements …. winning rounds of applause for her amazing skills .."
Dr.Sunil Kothari, Delhi Midday, May 30, 1994

" Shovana Narayan's dance .. evoke a message of power and emotive depth .."
Leela Venkataraman, The Hindu, October 13, 1994

" The star was undoubtedly Shovana Narayan … scintillating .. can control the most difficult rhythms and variations with grace …. flowing, sparkling, languorous by turns, with beautiful long sustained spins … brilliant footwork … this was sheer delight …"
Dance & Dancer, London, 1976

"... explosive bursts of speed with highly controlled sensitivity… much meaning could be read into a mere smile…"
South Wales Argus

" … the loose-limbed , swirling pirouettes, the patterns of stamped footwork, the general mood of emotional vehemence … shimmering … each anklet rustling … body swaying gently in the wind .. ."
Sunday Telegraph, London

"...a poetic expression .. had stepped out of a fine painting …"
Bangkok Post

" … set the stage afire …."
The Dancing Time, UK

" …the supreme 'bella' of Kathak …"
IIP Piccolo, Italy

"... The only have new idea came from Shovana Narayan with her 'Toota yeh vishwas kyon?' on the theme of child rape, that too, by a father of his little girl… by itself, the last freeze frame of the child, herself, the husband and society, was most evocative .."
Shanta Serbjeet Singh, The Hindustan Times, March 4, 1996

" … Moonlight Impressionism … a unique experiment … blew a mild gentle breeze creating an atmosphere in which bloomed the dance ballet 'Night Flower' with the most exquisite charm .."
The Rashtriya Sahara, April 10, 1993

"…. Spiritually elevating and artistically exhilirating .."
The Evening News, New Delhi, April 8, 1994

" Shovana Narayan in her treatment has surpassed all her earlier attempts. Here is a Shovana at her creative best. Dance passages in her undiluted Kathak intensity, have been strung together in a montage doing full justice to the theme .."
Leela Venkataraman, The Hindu, October 13, 1994

" .. The audience… invariably react, within moments, to a perceptible quality … feeling of enjoyment communicated by the artiste .. to enthuse her viewers into a state of mind that comes very near to becoming a 'rasika' .."
The Economic Times

"A dash of innovation .. the IIC deserves to be congratulated for presenting the well-known kathak dancer Shovana Narayan's latest choreography 'Darpan' .. reflects the creative energies of the dancer with a sharp intellect and a concern for the world around her .. the poet's poignant verses were translated into beautiful rhythmic permutations that impressed with rhythmic jugglery executed with finesse. At other times, the most delicate of gestures conveyed the deep agony of Dinkar"
The Indian Express

" Rhythmic effervescence … human dynamo … her usual indefatigable self … Brilliant in the effervescence of rhythm … poetry flowed out of the dancer's body .."
The Hindu

"… sheer charm and artistry from the brilliant Shovana Narayan, surely one of the finest dancers to visit Bristol .."
The Guardian, UK

"Ganga Mahotsava, Benaras ….. Shovana Narayan … remarkable for her technical virtuosity which dazzle the audience. Through her bhava, she created an art which was stylized and pregnant with meaning…"
Indian Express

"Confluence of three styles … while Shovana Narayan described in Kathak how Ganga flowed from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal and Sonal Mansingh stopped the flow of the Narmada … Yamini Krishnamoorthy became the River Cauvery .. this theme of Tridhara interpreted by these three renowned dancers at FICCI under the auspices of ICCR in honour of the President of Angola."
Hindustan Times

"Shovana danced into the hearts of all…"
Kleine Zeitung, Austria

Enthralling and fantastic rhythm and expression by Indian dancer Shovana Narayan …"
A.Augusto, Trieste

" .. undoubtedly great master of technical with its vertical poise .. a great virtuoso .."
Delo Yugoslavia

"And the audience shouted encore…"
The Indian Express, New Delhi, April 9, 1994

"…spiritually elevating and artistically exhilarating.."
The Evening News, New Delhi, April 8, 1994

"…unique combination of poetry, painting and dance…"
The Hindustan Times, April 9, 1994

"Fusion with flair….novel choreography…."
Amrita Bazar Patrika, Calcutta, Nov. 22, 1994

"Creative moments in The Dawn After…."
The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, Nov. 22, 1994

"Spell binding show…."
The Hindu, Madras, Nov. 25, 1994

"A unique fusion of kathak, ballet and flamenco held the audience enthralled…"
The Economic Times, Calcutta, Nov.19,1994

"..With a touch of creativity-'Muktilekha'-this highly innovative choreographic attempt is another feather in Shovana's cap…"
The Times of India, Lucknow

"Dishantar directed and choreographed by her…exercise in team work and coordination.. slick production….."
The Times of India, Delhi

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