dances death_place death_date years_active birth_place birth_date article_title name current_group occupation
kathak bangalore 01 september 2014 1945 -- 2014 malleswaram , bangalore 02 may 1928 maya rao
 maya rao natya and stem dance kampani kathak guru , dancer , choreographer
maya rao

maya rao -lrb- 2 may 1928 -- 1 september 2014 -rrb- was an indian classical dancer , choreographer and educator , in kathak dance .
she is known for her pioneering work in kathak choreography , especially in dance ballets , and is credited for bringing kathak , a north indian-dance style to south india , when she opened her dance school , natya institute of kathak and choreography -lrb- nikc -rrb- in malleswaram , bangalore in 1987 .
she was also the founder director of her dance company , `` natya and stem dance kampani '' based in bangalore .
after her early training under guru sohanlal of jaipur gharana , followed by guru sunder prasad also of the jaipur gharana , and went to train under guru shambhu maharaj of lucknow gharana at national institute of kathak dance in delhi .
she was awarded the sangeet natak akademi award , given by sangeet natak akademi , the national academy for music , dance and drama in 1989 .
in 2011 , the akademi awarded her the tagore akademi ratna , given to 100 artists from across india to mark the 150th birth anniversary of rabindranath tagore , for their contribution in the field of performing arts .
