Roshanara (1849–1926)
Roshanara (1849–1926)
Indian dancer. Name variations: Olive Craddock. Born Olive Craddock, Jan 1894, in Calcutta, India; died July 14, 1926, in New York, NY; dau. of an Irish officer in the British Army in India.
Trained in Indian dance forms as a child in India; moved to London where she soon performed as specialty dancer in Oscar Ash's staging of Kismet; moved to US (1916), where she performed solo specialty dance act on the Keith circuit; created and performed numerous Indian and Oriental dances, including Harvest Dance (1917) and A Moon Flower (1918); appeared in non-ethnic productions—theatrical in nature—such as The Field of Honor and After the War (1917); serving as an expert on India, collaborated on many theatrical works in NY, including Winthrop Ames' The Green Goddess (1920); was a major contributor to the introduction of Indian dance forms in US, while writing and teaching in New York City. Works of choreography include Dagger Dance (1911), Incense Dance (1911), The Snake Dance (1911), A Hindu Fantasy (1917), East Indian Folk Dances (1917), On the Way to the Temple (1917) and A Burmese Boat (1918).