Use Restrictions

The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Uday Shankar performance programs and ephemera, C0444, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Donated by William McFarlane.

Processing Information

Processing completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in February 2025. Finding aid completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in March 2025.

Biographical Information

Uday Shankar Chowdhury (known professionally as Uday Shankar) was born in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India on December 8, 1900, the eldest of five sons, including brother Ravi Shankar, a sitarist and composer. Shankar is best known for his global popularization of classical Indian dance through his fusion of the elements with European dance and theatrical styles. His career as a dancer and choreographer began in London in 1923 as the partner of Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, for whom he choreographed two ballets inspired by classical Indian dance, "Hindu Wedding" and "Radha-Krishna", the second of which was a duet performed by Pavlova and Shankar. After touring throughout Europe, Shankar returned to India in 1929 where he formed his own dance company known as "Uday Shankar and his Hindu Ballet" and in January 1933 played his first performance in the United States in New York City. Shankar and his troupe of dancers and musicians toured globally, including regular performances in cities throughout the United States, for the next 30 years. He passed away on September 26, 1977 at the age of 76.

Scope and Content

A collection of performance programs, photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera created and collected by Indian dancer and choreographer Uday Shankar, most related to performances by "Uday Shankar and His Hindu Ballet." Other items include newspaper clippings about Uday's brother, sitar player Ravi Shankar, an advertisement for The Isle of Paradise , a 1932 documentary film about Bali, a poster advertisement for Ragini Devi, and promotional programs for Ruth St. Denis with Ted Shawn and the Denishawn Dancers.

Arrangement

This is a single folder collection.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center holds other dance collections, including the Jacob's Pillow dance photograph collection .

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Ballet
• Dance
• Dance -- United States
• Indian dance
• Performing arts
• Shawn, Ted, 1891-1972
• St. Denis, Ruth, 1880-1968