Pandit Shambhu Maharaj, the famed Guru of the Lucknow Gharana of Kathak, was the head of SBKK’s Kathak department. Shambhu Maharaj was a prominent exponent of the ‘Bhava Anga’ (emotive portion), and in the following years, he restored and contributed to the Kathak repertoire various classical thumris and bhajans. He mentored several students who went on to achieve success, including Shobha Deepak Singh, Kumudini Lakhia, Damayanti Joshi, Bharti Gupta, Shovana Narayan, Gopi Krishna, Maya Rao, and others.

After Shambhu Maharaj died in 1970, his nephew Birju Maharaj, who had been involved with the school since its foundation and was a well-known Kathak dancer and Guru in his own right, took over as his successor. Birju Maharaj began modifying the dance, which had previously been produced for small meetings in temple courtyards called Mehfils, to one for big gatherings in the modern theatre and developed numerous notable ballets for SBKK.

The dissolution of the princely states meant the end of royal sponsorship for Kathak Dancers and Gurus. Many Kathak artists began teaching privately. In 1955, Lachhu Maharaj, who was supported by the state of Awadh, relocated to Bombay while his brother Shambhu Maharaj and nephew Birju Maharaj relocated to Delhi. Kathak has become India’s most popular and mainstream Indian Classical Dance Style thanks to the hard work and support of Smt. Sumitra Charat Ram, Founder of the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra.

What began as a solo dance form gradually evolved into expressiveness in group performances. The repertory wing, originally known as the ‘Ballet Unit,’ has produced outstanding productions of Kathak ballet over the years, with sophisticated stage and costume design as well as intricate music. Birju Maharaj choreographed Taj ki Kahani Shaan-e-Mughal, Malti Madhav, Kumara Sambhav, Dalia, and other dances to music composed by the Dagar Brothers. In the succeeding decades, the Kendra also became a site for creativity in the form and presentation style of Kathak dance, combining formats from both the Lucknow and Jaipur Gharanas. This was also the era of experimental works that deviated from the classic motifs and subjects of Kathak, such as Radha Krishna, Chhed Chhad, Gat Bhav, and Tode Tukde.

Birju Maharaj was awarded India’s second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, in 1986, after receiving the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award at the age of 28.

The national institute of dance, Kathak Kendra, in its original form, was founded in 1957 by Smt. Sumitra Charat and was the Department of Kathak at Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra.