Shanti Bardhan

Shanti Bardhan was an Indian dancer and a significant figure in modern Indian dance. He was a junior colleague of Uday Shankar, a pioneer who blended Indian classical and folk traditions with Western stage techniques to create new ballets. Bardhan founded the Little Ballet Troupe in Mumbai in 1952. He is known for imaginative dance-dramas such as Ramayana, where actors moved like puppets, and Panchatantra, which used masks and mimed animal movements. His work contributed to the evolution of modern Indian dance, which emerged in the 20th century as a creative fusion of classical and folk forms, expressing contemporary themes.1