Kajal Sharma
South Asian Category Final Judge
Kajal Sharma is an exponent of Kathak, a powerful and imaginative artist who displays breath-taking technique in both pure dance and abhinaya. She is one of the "TOP GRADE" artists of Delhi Television, an outstanding performer and leading disciple of Padma Vibushan Pandit Birju Maharaj. Kajal is a recipient of the State Award by the UP Sangeet Natak Academy Lucknow. She has performed extensively in 32 countries and has held the post of lecturer of the Performing Arts at Dayal Bagh University Agra. She has been featured in a DVD, made and released by the Delhi Television Archives and Sinjini by CICD, Leicester for the global promotion of Kathak.
Kajal currently performs in festivals and reputed shows, also teaching Kathak in the Vadic Academy of Indian Culture and Education in Manchester, Wirral Asian Association and also offering Indian dance workshops in schools, colleges and performing art centres. Kajal has played a prominent role as a true promoter of Indian culture, especially in the field of Kathak in North Wales and the north west of the UK where many students take kathak dance exams under her guidance. Recently Kajal has been appointed as an examiner by the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, London. Kajal has been an inspiration to the younger generation. Her talent lies in preserving the distinctive traditional style of the centuries-old dance form of Kathak, yet infusing it with fresh creative thinking. She has maintained the structural purity and thematic innovation, thus stretching the boundaries of traditional Kathak without distorting it.
