Folk Arts - Master Artist - Urmila Nagar

Urmila Nagar was born in Rajasthan, India. Nagar studied Jaipur Kathak with renowned masters Sunder Prasad and Kandanlal Gangani. Once an established and skilled dancer, Nagar began to teach her own pupils. Prabha Rustagi was one of Nagars earliest students and eventually began teaching students Nagars techniques.

When Prabha Rustagi passed away in December of 1994, her students were left without a master to continue teaching Jaipur Kathak dance. Despite the loss of Rustagi, her pupils continued to dance, often practicing alone with the advanced students teaching beginners. Shantha Benegal, a musician who accompanied performances for the late Prabha Rustagi, applied to the WSAC Apprenticeship grant on Nagar’s behalf. Shantha continued to work with Rustagi’s students as they pooled resources to continue dancing. The WSAC Apprenticeship grant has allowed Nagar to continue teaching the Jaipur Kathak classical dance form to Rustagi’s students, preserving Rustagi’s memory and an ancient cultural art form.

Kathak, meaning "story," is a Northern Indian classical dance form which combines intricate footwork and elaborate facial expressions to depict life. The three schools of Kathak are named for their cities of origin: Lucknow, Beneras, and Jaipur.

As a recipient of a 1996 Apprenticeship grant, Nagar taught Rustagi’s eleven pupils: Pamela Arora, Sonia Bhatia, Maisha Chainani, Sujot Chawla, Mesha DeYoung, Pronoti Hiremath, Sharmila Kotelawala, Tina Kochlar, Shefali Pace, Tisha Rekhi, Devki Saraiya, Dyuti Sengupta, Leah Martin, and Tara Warming. Nagar also taught Shantha Benegal additional vocal skills. Advanced students have been studying Jaipur Kathak for 5-8 years, Intermediates for 3-5, and the beginners for 1-3 years. Rustagi’s students have inspired the Indian community and Seattle youth with their performances and demonstrations. With the help of Guru Nagar, they will continue to inspire, while sustaining this ancient art form.

As a recipient of a Apprenticeship grants 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, Nagar continued to teach Pamela Arora, Sonia Bhatia, Maisha Chainani, Sujot Chawla, Mesha DeYoung, Pronoti Hiremath, Sharmila Kotelawala, Tina Kochlar, Shefali Pace, Tisha Rekhi, Devki Saraiya, Dyuti Sengupta, Leah Martin, and Tara Warming. Nagar also continued to teach Shantha Benegal additional vocal skills.

Nagar has focused on continuing to teach more complex repertoires: including pavans, tukdas, primalus, taranas, and sargams. The pupils also expanded their skills in expressive dance; learned rhythmic recitation and improvisation techniques; improved stamina, speed, and increased the number of spins accomplished; and learned to make the dance flow seamlessly.

As a recipient of a 2007 Folk Arts Apprenticeship grant, Nagar taught apprentices Deepa Liegal, Carina Riordan, and Nia Bartolucci Jaipur Gharana. By working with her apprentices, Nagar will continue to work on traditional dance training as well as developing a storytelling dance presentation for the Northwest Puppet Center/Prabha Rustagi Memorial Trust Ramayana held in October 2007, and participate in the PRMT Kathak Intensive student concert.