Astad Deboo is an Indian contemporary artist born in the year 1947. He is a celebrated choreographer and dancer with experience in Indian classical dance forms like Kathak and Kathakali. He has over the years created a dance form which is distinctly his own. He is a pioneer of modern Indian dance. As a result of his dancing career he had to work with various established artists, and performed in many parts of world. He has been awarded with prestigious awards by Government of India.
Early life of Astad Deboo
Though Astad Deboo grew up in Kolkata till the age of six, but he was born in Navsari. Thereafter his family shifted to Jamshedpur. While his mother was a homemaker, his father was employed with Tata Steel. Kamal and Gulshan are two of his loving sisters.
When he was six years old he started to learn Kathak dance, from Late Prahlad Das and Late Indra Kumar Mohanty. While he was in Jamshedpur he studied as Loyala School. Later he moved to Mumbai and completed his graduation in B.Com from Podar College under Mumbai University.
After completing his education he went aboard, and over the next decade he attended various work shops and seminars on dance. He trained under various foreign artists and gained immense knowledge about the nuances of dance techniques. He returned to India in the year 1977 and trained under Guru E. Krishna Panikar in Kathakali dance form.
Career of Astad Deboo
In the year 1986 a turning point came in Deboo`s life. He got the opportunity to perform with great names in the field of entertainment like Maya Plisetskaya, Pink Floyd, Gundecha brothers, Pina Bausch of the Wuppertal Dance Company, Germany and with the Thang-Tathe martial art and Pung cholom dancers of Manipur. For several years he also worked with Tim McCarthy at the Gallaudet University. He even choreographed for Hindi film directed by great M.F. Hussain.
Awards Received by Astad Deboo
* 1995: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
* 2007: Padma Shri
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