Pandit Uday Shankar was born on December 8, 1900 and became a world-renowned classical dancer and choreographer in India. Udaipur, a colorful town in Rajasthan happens to the hometown of an aristocratic Bengali family, where Pandit Uday Shankar was born. The ancestors of Pandit Uday Shankar belonged to Narail (in modern-day Bangladesh). Pandit Uday Shankar acquired the formal training in the art in Bombay, while he studied at the Royal College of Art in London and danced along with ballerina Anna Pavlova.

The creative heads noticed pandit Uday Shankar when he created wonderful ballets based on Hindu themes like Radha-Krishna, Hindu weddings and other oriental themes for Anna. He loved to fuse the dance forms and make a blend of Eastern and Western. During the 1930s, Uday traveled across the western world along with his own troupe. His version of western theatrical techniques to Indian dance made his art massively popular both in India and the West. His brother Ravi Shankar helped him to popularize Indian classical music in the West.

Pandit Uday Shankar had married Amala Shankar and they had a son Ananda Shankar and a daughter Mamata Shankar. Ananda Shankar grew up to be a popular musician and music composer who received training from Dr. Lalmani Misra rather than his uncle, Ravi Shankar. Pandit Uday Shankar`s only daughter Mamata Shankar grew up to be one of the most charming and talented dancers of India alike her parents and is also a noted actress. She has acted in several prominent films by Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. Pandit Uday Shankar also made a film on dance entitled `Kalpana`.

Pandit Uday Shankar founded a dance center at Almora, on the foothills of the Himalayas, and invited Shankaran Nambudirei for teaching the dance forms like Kathakali, Kandappa Pillai for Bharatnatyam, Amobi Singh for Manipuri and Ustad Allauddin Khan for music. He was awarded Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India and the Desikottama by the Visva-Bharati University.

While Pandit Uday Shankar was enrolled in the Royal College of Art in London, he choreographed two ballads of which one was based on Hindu mythology ("Krishna and Radha") and the other on Hindu society ("A Hindu Wedding"). These two ballads were showcased at the Covent Garden. During this time he came in contact with the famous Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. He worked with her and learnt all the exquisite ballet movements, which he widely incorporated in his upcoming creations.

Pandit Uday Shankar returned to India in 1929 and very soon founded his own dance troupe. Between 1932 and the 1960s, the troupe traversed all across Europe and performed at various prestigious venues. In 1937, he brought his troupe to America. In 1938, he opened a dance school in Almora, Uttar Pradesh and named it "Uday Shankar Indian Culture Center." However, the center was closed during World War II but it was later reopened in Kolkata after the war in 1965. In Kolkata, the school was however renamed as Uday Shankar Center for Dance. Pandit Uday Shankar married his student, Amala in his late thirties. The studies in Uday Shankar Center for Dance taught an all-embracing performance curriculum that includes training in folk and classical dance, improvisation, costume design and even theatrical makeup.

Pandit Uday Shankar was a born dancer and never took any formal training in Indian classical dances before he went to England in 1929. While in Europe he was first exposed to ballet. The graceful movement of ballet dancers impressed him and he stated to incorporate ballet movements in Indian dance for the first time. Pandit Uday Shankarwas credited to be engendering a "new kind" of Indian dance. Pandit Uday Shankar`s dances were deep rooted in Hindu mythology and he extensively used classical raga music in his choreography.

The Europeans admired his "new style" of dancing; they had an idea of Indian dances to be rigid, stiff and stereotyped, but the new style by Pandit Uday Shankar kept everyone thrilled about this art. It took a while before Indians started appreciating Pandit Uday Shankar`s "new style," which was hybrid in nature. The experienced personalities in the arena of dancing were not encouraged by Uday Shankar`s "new style" of dance. However, the young generation was overwhelmed by his style and innumerable students joined his school in Almora. Uday Shankar Center for Dance was a waterhole for many upcoming and interested dancers. Many graduates of the school possessing the talent of dancing enrolled into this school. The famous Bombay film director, Guru Dutt had attended Uday Shankar Center for Dance. The famous classical singer, Srimati Laxmi Shankar also attended this school at Almora. She was advised by Ravi Shankar to change her career from dancing to singing and she later married Rajendra Shankar, the younger brother of Pandit Uday Shankar.

Pandit Uday Shankar was the dancer par excellence and was referred as the renaissance dancer who updated the stylized temple dance of India and popularized the art form allover the Western lands. Bulbul Chowdhury is Bangladesh`s one-time famous dancer and a student in Pandit Uday Shankar`s school of dancing during the 1940s.

Pandit Uday Shankar`s birth centenary was held in India in the year 2000. Well-written articles were seen in almost every newspaper throughout India. Modern Dance in India has a relatively short history and Pandit Uday Shankar was widely accepted as the Father of Modern Dance in India. This great dancer had a wide vision, and appreciated the wonderful diversity and capacity of expression afforded by the various classical and folk dances in any country he visited. His search for a delicate expression led him to integrate special dance styles, such as Bharatnatyam and Kathakali into his choreographic productions.

Pandit Uday Shankar established a relaxing institution in the hills of Kumaon, where he requested teachers from different genres to train his troupe in order to groom their bodies to a situation where they could create a varied, rich and modern dance vocabulary. Pandit Uday Shankar was a romantic as well as a wonderful showman. He was often called as the catalyst in the renaissance of interest in Indian arts during the 1930s and `40s.

The creative dance movement in India unanimously owes its growth to Pandit Uday Shankar. With his success during the 1930s, a unique movement of revival of classical dances had begun. The essence of various traditions and techniques could be seen in Pandit Uday Shankar`s dance dramas that succeeded in presenting an integrated composition. He exclusively used only Indian musical instruments during his dance dramas. The superb showmanship and perfection of Pandit Uday Shankar cast a spell on his audience, all over the world.