Saveeta Sharma

🪔 About

Saveeta Sharma is an acclaimed Indian classical dancer, choreographer, and educator, recognized for her mastery in Kathak and Odissi, as well as her innovative contemporary Indian dance style. Her extensive training began at age four in Trinidad, where she studied modern dance, Bharatanatyam, Kathak under Shri Pratap Pawar and Shri Pradeep Shankar, and Odissi under Shrimati Priya Pawar. She received scholarships from both the Trinidad and Tobago government and the Indian government (ICCR) to pursue advanced studies in India. In India, Sharma trained under legendary gurus. She studied Lucknow Gharana Kathak with the world-renowned late Shri Birju Maharaj at the Kathak Kendra Institute in New Delhi, and Jaipur Gharana Kathak with Shri Durga Lal. Her Odissi training was under Shrimati Aloka Pannikar and Guru Mayadhar Raut at the Shri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra College of Music and Dance. She also delved into Mayurbanj Chhau for three years under Guru Alok Nath Visoy and Guru Sai Babu, and Uday Shankar Oriental Dance under Shrimati Tanushree Shankar. Further enriching her artistic foundation, she completed a year at the Natya Institute of Choreography under Maya Rao and spent three years as a singer and musician in Hindustani classical music at Kathak Kendra, including tabla studies with Guru Ambika Prashad Misra. Academically, she earned a Baccalaureate Cum Laude in Dance in 1987 and a Master's Degree in Dance in 1989, both from the University of New Delhi. After moving to Ottawa, Canada, in 1990, Saveeta Sharma founded Upasana "The Spirit of Dance" in 1995, incorporating it as a not-for-profit company dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and education of Indian culture through dance. The Upasana School of Dance expanded to Toronto in 2006. In 2008, she established the Saveeta Sharma Dance Company to present original works in traditional and contemporary dance. Sharma also initiated the annual dance festival DANs/cE KAPITAL - Revolution in Movement in 2000, later rebranded as the Professional Series, showcasing Canadian and international dance. Her work is supported by various arts councils and foundations in Canada. Awards & Honours: Corel Award (2000), K. M. Hunter Artists Award Nomination (2006).