Gulabi Sapera

🪔 About

Gulabi Sapera, also known as Gulabo Sapera, is a highly renowned Indian folk dancer from Rajasthan, celebrated for her pivotal role in popularizing the Kalbelia dance form globally. Born Dhanvantari in Ajmer, Rajasthan, on November 9, 1970, into the nomadic Kalbelia community, her early life was marked by hardship, including being buried alive as an infant due to female infanticide, only to be rescued by her mother and aunt. Her father, a snake charmer, inspired her unique dance style; she developed the Kalbelia dance by observing and imitating the fluid movements of snakes to the tunes of the 'been' (gourd-pipe), without any formal training. Sapera's career took a significant turn in 1985 when she was discovered at the Pushkar fair by officials from the Rajasthan Tourism Department, leading to her first international performance in Washington D.C. She is widely credited with bringing the Kalbelia dance, an art form intertwined with her community's nomadic heritage and intimacy with nature, to international stages. Her efforts were instrumental in Kalbelia songs and dance being inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. Gulabi Sapera has performed in over 165 countries, becoming a cultural ambassador for Rajasthan and India. She has collaborated with French artists, and a street in France is named after her. Beyond performing, she is dedicated to preserving and promoting Kalbelia dance, running schools in Pushkar, India, and Denmark to teach the next generation. She also appeared as a contestant on the reality television show Bigg Boss 5 in 2011. Awards & Honours: Padma Shri (2016), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2024), Maharana Mewar Award (2017), Bharat Gaurav Award (2021), Ambedkar Award, Rajasthan Gaurav Award, Genius Indian Achiever's Award (2025).