Sujata and Asoka

Sujata and Asoka were a pair of dancers specialising in performing Indian, Tibetan and various Oriental dances to Western audiences. They were Sujata, (3 February 1918 in Bombay, British Raj – 2 January 1993 in Coconino County, Arizona) and Asoka Rubener (26 October 1910 in German Empire[1] – 7 June 1997 in Yavapai County, Arizona).

Sujata and Asoka in traditional dresses

Background

Asoka studied dance in Europe under Harald Kreutzberg and later in Asia, eventually becoming a Buddhist. In 1939 whilst in India, in the Himalayas he was interned as an enemy alien by the British authorities from 1939 to 1944.[2]

Sujata, a Christian, was born in Bombay and as a child moved with her family to the south of India. She began studying dance at the age of 10, eventually becoming a solo dancer. Sujata met her husband when they were both dancing in Mussoori, Dehradun district, in 1946; the two were married in 1947.

They made their first performance in the West in Paris, then made appearances in New York City and Montreal.[3]

In addition to their dancing performances, the two appeared in several Hollywood films and acted as technical advisers. Their final film appearance was together in Juliet of the Spirits (1965). They became American citizens in 1955.

Following their retirement, they taught dance in Sedona, Arizona.

Filmography

Notes
  1. Billman, Larry Film Choreographers and Dance Directors: An Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia, with a History and Filmographies, 1893 through 1995 McFarland & Co., Publishers, 1997; p. 213
  2. Billman, p. 213
  3. "Indian Dancers, Sujata and Asoka Regarded as Authentic in India"; The Montreal Gazette - Oct. 8, 1949
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