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Sharon Lowen is an American Odissi dancer, trained since 1975 by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. She has performed and choreographed for film and television and presented hundreds of concerts throughout India, North America, Asia, Africa, the United Kingdom. and the Middle East. Spring 1999 Michigan Today-India: Sharon Lowen, the Dance of Discovery Sharon came to India in 1973 after earning degrees in Humanities, Fine Arts, Asian Studies and Dance from the University of Michigan as a Fulbright Scholar to study Manipuri dance and later Chhau dance and Odissi.
Following her bachelor's degree in Humanities, Fine Arts, Asian Studies and an M.A. in Education and Dance, Lowen arrived in India on a Fulbright scholarship in 1973 to continue Manipuri dance with Guru Singhajit Singh at Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi. With extension and renewal of the Fulbright to 1975, she also trained in Mayurbhanj Chhau under Guru Krushna Chandra Naik, Odissi under Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Manipuri Pala Cholam under Guru Thangjam Chaoba Singh and Manipuri Maibi Jagoi under Gurus Ranjana Maibi, Kumar Maibi and R.K. Achoubi Sana Singh.
She has lived and worked in India ever since, achieving success as a foreign-born expert performer and choreographer of classical Indian dance. Throughout her career, she has periodically returned to the United States, performing classical Indian dance recitals around the country during these visits.
From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Sharon has performed her own choreographies in Sanskrit, Odia, Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kashmiri, Dogra, alongside her own guru's compositions, including festivals at Khajuraho; Sankat Morchan Hanuman Jayanti, Varanasi; JNU Academy, Imphal; Kottakkal Temple Festival; Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal; Kerala Kalamandalam Diamond Jubilee; Chaitra Parva Festival, Seraikella, Bihar; SNA Odissi Festival, Bhubaneswar; Chidambaram; Konark; Thiruvananthapuram, Shimla; Brihadeeswara Temple, Thanjavur.
Across the globe she has performed concerts, lecture-demonstrations and school performances in the United States, Canada, Mexico, England, Brazil, Japan, Kuwait, Dubai, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Lithuania, Slovak Republic, Ukraine, and Poland.
In the 90s, Sharon organized six annual Videshi Kalakaar Utsav festivals and Art Without Frontiers seminars supported by the Delhi Sahitya Kala Parishad. She is acknowledged with transforming the recognition of foreigners as classical Indian dance and music performing artists, rather than simply students for the following generations of international artists.
She has choreographed and directed 10 annual Shiv Vivaha Shivratri productions at Khajuraho in various classical dance genres and mime actors, along with Kamalini Dutt and Naresh Kapuria, inspired by the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group chaired by Dr Jyotsna Suri.
Lowen was instrumental in setting up the School of Visual and Performing Arts and Communication at Central University, Hyderabad; served as a member of the USIEF (then USEFI) board from 2003 to 2007.
She is committed to arts education and social upliftment expressed through choreography projects, benefit concerts and consultations for Deepalaya, Akshaypratisthan, Palna, Delhi Police School, and other government and private schools in New Delhi.
She founded the NGO Manasa-Art Without Frontiers with Kamalini Dutt and Naresh Kapuria to conduct, seminars, festivals, lecture demonstrations, classes and performances across artistic disciplines and communities.
Sharon had the privilege to study with Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra from 1975, and having him present her Odissi and Manipuri performance in Orissa in 1976. He has accompanied her on pakawaj for performances around India and on tour in the U.S. during the Festival of India-U.S.A., and they performed together at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City.
Her training from 1981 with Guru Kedarnath Sahoo led to the guru including her solo performances during Chaitra Parva, the International Classical Indian Dance and Theatre Festival in Calcutta. Beyond her personal performances internationally and throughout India, Sharon collaborated with Gopal Dubey to create two Chhau ballets combining Mayurbhanj and Seraikella Chhau for Doordarshan National Programs of Dance. Her numerous national television programs from Doordarshan Central Production Centre set new standards of excellence starting with their inaugural program Triveni and later Panch Nayikas of Kalidas.
Sharon Lowen has had an immense impact on Chhau and has promoted its inclusion in arts education, both at national and international levels. Sharon Lowen has been responsible in making Chhau popular in the West, which is making a difference in the awareness of the local history in the regions of Seraikela.
She taught dance in University of Michigan as visiting professor 1975 and had more than 200 lectures and demonstrations to her credit.
Sharon’s main study of Manipur was with Guru Singhajit Singh between 1973-82, and briefly in 1989. She also had the opportunity to study Maibi Jagoi with Late Ranjani Maini, in Manipur in 1974 and 1976.
Sharon had the pleasure of studying under Late Guru Thangjam Chaoba Singh, teacher and choreographer in 1974 and 1976 when he organized her performance of Kartal Cholom at the Academy to demonstrate the possibility of adding Cholom to the curriculum for female students.
“Sharon has a mature technique and a fine understanding of the sort of physical and emotional restraint that characterizes Manipuri.” - Shanta Serbjeet Singh
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