Dance Scapes: A Photographic Journey
Shobha Deepak Singh
Shobha Deepak Singh's photographs are a telling documentation of the history of dance in post-independence India. Shobha has been photographing dancers and dance productions ranging from solos to groups to operatic productions and from traditional to modern to contemporary dance productions. Legends of Indian dance including Kelucharan Mahapatra, Birju Maharaj, Sonal Mansingh and Uma Sharma have all borne the scrutiny of her lens. Contemporaries such as Akram Khan, Aditi Mangaldas and Astad Deboo amongst others have been captured within the full force of their experimentation. Dancescapes not only documents, but also sets the blood racing in the veins of any lover of Indian dance.
Shobha took up photography as a child with a Roliflex camera. Later, she was gifted a Yashika. Her most memorable photo is of the sunrise from Kanyakumari taken in 1960. In 1969, she bought a Nikon to capture the Sriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra's production. She focused the spot of action. The result was wonderful images. From then on, there was no looking back for her. She graduated from the Kendra's ballets to music. Shobha's knowledge of the intricacies of music and dance brought the dramatic moment alive. Her turning point came in 1996, when E. Alkazi held a solo photo show of hers at Shridharani Art Gallery. In the words of Alkazi: 'Her dogged and indefatigable persistence is rewarded by the images captured as a result of her swift, instinctive reflexes.' He again invited her to display at Art Heritage in Triveni. In between, Shobha had been invited by the India Habitat Centre to showcase images of women in performing arts on the occasion of International Women's Day. She exhibited her images in 2011 at the Nehru Centre, London. Her photographs have appeared in leading dailies and magazines.
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