K. Uma Rama Rao

About

K. Uma Rama Rao (born Uma Maheswari on July 4, 1938, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh) was a distinguished Indian Kuchipudi dancer, choreographer, academician, research scholar, author, and teacher. She began her dance training at the age of five, initially in Bharatanatyam under Guru Prahlada Sarma, and later mastered Kuchipudi under renowned gurus such as Vedantam Prahlada Sarma, C.R. Acharyulu, P.V. Narasimha Rao, Nataraja Ramakrishna, Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Sastri, and Guru Pakkiri Swami Pillai. Uma Rama Rao's career spanned over five decades, during which she performed extensively across India and internationally, earning acclaim for her expressive and technically proficient performances. Beyond performing, she dedicated herself to dance education. She served as a senior lecturer in dance at Sri Tyagaraja Government College of Music and Dance in Hyderabad from 1969 to 1988, teaching Bharatanatyam. Subsequently, she became an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Dance at Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, where she was instrumental in introducing B.A. and M.A. degrees in Kuchipudi dance. In 1985, she founded the Lasya Priya Dance Academy in Hyderabad, an institution dedicated to teaching the theory and practice of Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam. The academy became a significant center for classical dance training, nurturing numerous students. A prolific scholar, Uma Rama Rao earned a PhD with a gold medal in 1994 from Telugu University for her thesis on the 'Yakshagana Prabandhas of King Shahaji II'. She authored the book "Kuchipudi Bharatam Or Kuchipudi Dance: South Indian Classical Dance Tradition" (1992) and co-authored a Telugu textbook on B.A. Kuchipudi dance. K. Uma Rama Rao passed away on August 27, 2016, in Hyderabad, Telangana. Awards & Honours: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2003), National Senior Fellowship from the Department of Culture, Government of India, Kala Neerajanam, Sri Kala Poorna, Pratibha Puraskar, Best Teacher Award from Government of Andhra Pradesh, PhD with Gold Medal (1994).

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