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Lifestyle | Feature Friday, December 11, 2020

Photos show Indian dance pioneerIndian Astad Deboo. dance pioneer Astad Deboo dies at 73

ndian dance pioneer Astad Deboo, who German dancer Pina Bausch and choreogra- was famous for celebrating fusion and pher Alison Becker Chase, and appeared on Icollaborating with international artists stage in over 70 countries according to local like Pina Bausch and Pink Floyd, died aged media reports. 73 yesterday, his family said. “He left us in He also collaborated with Indian artists the early hours of December 10, at his including painter M.F. Hussain, Bollywood home in , after a brief illness, filmmaker Vishal Bharadwaj as well as Tamil bravely borne,” Deboo’s family announced director . He was awarded the on Facebook. “He leaves behind a formida- Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian ble legacy of unforgettable performances honor, in 2007. The Astad Deboo Dance combined with an unswerving dedication to Foundation, established by him in 2002, pro- his art, matched only by his huge, loving vided free training to poor and disabled stu- heart that gained him thousands of friends dents while Deboo himself worked with deaf and a vast number of admirers,” the state- students in India, Mexico and Hong Kong ment added. since the 1980s. Despite his success, Deboo During a career that spanned half a cen- felt financial sponsors were hard to come by tury, Deboo consistently pushed boundaries, for modern dance. “My journey has been full combining forms such of ups and downs. Even today after 50 as Kathak and Kathakali with Western tech- years, or 40 years, its difficult to get a spon- niques to create a style that was indis- sor for contemporary dance,” he told Indian putably modern. He performed with artists newspaper in 2018. “You are al- ranging from British rock band Pink Floyd, ways dancing on the edge.” —AFP