Ranjabati Sircar

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Ranjabati Sircar
Born(1963-03-29)29 March 1963
Nsukka, Nigeria
Died23 October 1999(1999-10-23) (aged 36)
Bombay, India
Occupation(s)Dancer, choreographer
Known forNava Nritya (New Dance)
MotherManjusri Chaki-Sircar

Ranjabati Sircar (29 March 1963 – 23 October 1999) was an Indian dancer and choreographer noted for her contributions to experimental and contemporary Indian dance forms.[1][2][3]

Early life

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Sircar was born in Nsukka, Nigeria and spent much of her childhood in upstate New York.[1][3] She was the only child of dancer Manjusri Chaki-Sircar (1934–2000), a leading figure in Indian classical and experimental dance.[1][4] Sircar later studied at Jadavpur University in Calcutta, where she earned two degrees and received several academic honours.[1][2] Though she showed potential for an academic career, she chose to pursue dance, following her mother's experimental artistic direction.[1]

Career

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Together with her mother, Sircar founded the Dancers’ Guild in Calcutta, an institution dedicated to Nava Nritya (also known as Navanritya), a contemporary Indian dance form blending classical and folk movements with modern influences.[1][2] Her work incorporated elements of yoga and martial arts and explored themes such as spirituality, environmentalism and female identity.[1]

Sircar travelled extensively and worked in international collaborations. In 1983, she studied in Great Britain on a British Council scholarship and later became the first artistic director of Yuva, the national South Asian youth dance company in Britain. Her choreography Thirsting Earth earned the Time Out/Dance Umbrella Award.[1]

Later life and death

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Sircar continued to choreograph and perform internationally, collaborating with artists across Europe and India.[1] She lived in Calcutta until her death on 23 October 1999 at the age of 36. The cause of death was not publicly known.[2][3] At the time of her death she was involved in fundraising for a new school under the Dancers’ Guild.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Khan, Naseem (18 November 1999). "Ranjabati Sircar". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d "Ranjabati Sircar, 36, Indian Choreographer". The New York Times. 16 November 1999. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Dove, Simon (17 November 1999). "Obituary: Ranjabati Sircar". The Independent. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  4. ^ Purkayastha, Prarthana (2014). "Indian Modern Dance, Feminism and Transnationalism". Springer Nature: 108–137. doi:10.1057/9781137375179_5. Retrieved 5 October 2025.