Sanjukta Wagh

🪔 About

Sanjukta Wagh is an accomplished Indian classical dancer, choreographer, educator, and curator, primarily known for her work in Kathak and her innovative interdisciplinary approach to dance-theatre. She received extensive training in Kathak for over two decades under Rajashree Shirke and in Hindustani music under Pandit Murli Manohar Shukla. Her artistic development was further shaped by mentorship in theatre from Chetan Datar and Navarasa sadhana training with G. Venu. Wagh also holds a Master's in English literature from SNDT Women's University, which has influenced her textual research and creation for her productions. In 2009 and 2010, she was awarded the British Council's Charles Wallace scholarship to study contemporary dance at the Trinity Laban School in London, an experience that broadened her perspective and deepened her understanding of Kathak as a foundational language for expression. This led her to develop a unique dance-theatre language that integrates Kathak with contemporary dance, theatre, literature, and Hindustani music. Her choreographies, such as "Rage and Beyond: Irawati's Gandhari," "Bheetar Baahar," "Ubha Vitewari," and "Putana And I," have garnered national and international acclaim. Wagh is the co-founder of beej, an interdisciplinary initiative established in Mumbai in 2005. Beej focuses on exploring creative processes, improvisation, alternative methods of classical dance pedagogy, and collaborative performance through its components: the Beej Garage, the Beej School of Kathak, and Beej Productions. She has also served as the curator for dance at the Kala Ghoda festival in 2009, 2012, and 2013. Awards & Honours: Vinod Doshi Award for significant work in performing arts, Aditya Birla Kala Kiran Puruskar, Sur Singar Samsad's Singar Mani, Charles Wallace scholarship, Best Actress in Lead Role (META) (2015), National Theatre Award (META) (2015).