Ram Gopal, 1912-

Ram Gopal, 1912(?)-2003, was a dancer, choreographer and teacher. Born in Bangalore to a Rajput father and a Burmese mother, he was fascinated by dance from a child. While still a boy he gave his first performance at a party given by the Yuvaraja of Mysore.

Despite the disapproval of his father he was trained in classical Indian dance forms of Kathakali, Bharatra Natya and Manipuri, and travelled and studied, visiting remote villages to research Hindu dance. Before the Second World War Gopal travelled the world with dance companies. This included tours of the UK, in company with dancers of Kathakali and Kathak style, and Javanese and Balinese dancers. During the war, he was in India, where he performed for ENSA, and reopened his dance school in Bangalore.

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