Renowned Indian dancer and choreographer, Astad Deboo ,73, died on December 10, 2020 after a brief illness. He was well-known for mixing Kathak and Kathakali into a unique form, and was synonymous with Contemporary Indian Dance, a style that he pioneered at a time when innovations in Indian dance were not considered good. His ‘stunning signature style is characterised by intense focus, concentration, and technical virtuosity along with a distinctively Indian aesthetic of evoking rasa (emotion).
Work Astad Deboo performed in over 72 countries in a dance career spanning over 48 years, includes solo, group, and collaborative choreography with performing artists nationally and internationally. He himself says, his style is ‘contemporary in vocabulary and traditional in restraints.’ He provided a platform for Manipuri artists, whereas his humanistic and aesthetic vision inspired his creative choreography with the deaf for more than two decades-first with deaf theatre ‘The Action Players’ in Kolkata and then with ‘The Clarke School’ for the Deaf in Chennai. His deep humanity led to work with street children of ‘Salaam Baalak Trust’ in New Delhi. He founded the Astad Deboo Dance Foundation in 2002, which provides creative training to marginalised sections, including the differently-abled. Besides, he also worked in films-choreographing for directors like Mani Ratnam, Vishal Bhardwaj, and M.F. Hussain’s Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities.
Achievements Astad Deboo received two prestigious awards-the Creative Dance Award from Sangeet Natak Akamedi in 1995, and the Padma Shri in 2007 in recognition of his being a pioneer in Contemporary Indian Dance.