Sanjay has always been fascinated by folk dance and folk music and to take forward the tradition of his family, he achieved expertise in this discipline. Today, he has made his mark in the area of folk dance all over the world.

Sanjay Kumar Sharma is a well-known Folk Dancer and theater artist from Delhi. He claims that along with the folk dance of Brij, he also holds expertise in folk dances from all over India. He shares that he has contributed to almost all the significant events nationwide including the Commonwealth Games, South Asian Games, Lusofonia Games, BRICS Games, Khelo India Games, etc. as an Associate Choreographer and Designer.

Sanjay hails from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh but has been living in Delhi for a long time now. He received his school and college education in Delhi. He studied at Delhi’s Dyal Singh College. Later, he took over as the Director of its Art and Drama Department and organized many small street plays.

Sanjay says he was also interested in NCC, and therefore he continued as a Senior Under Officer in the NCC while earning a B-Certificate. Based on that, he got a job at Lucknow’s Culture Department. After a year-and-a-half, his father suffered a heart attack. He had to quit his job as a result and go home. He gave his father his undivided attention and ran his theater by himself. He went abroad for the first time in 2011.

When asked about his early years, Sanjay explains he was drawn to art and culture from the beginning since his family had a tradition of folk dance, singing, and dancing. He says that most of his childhood was spent at his maternal grandmother’s home in Mathura. He was a naughty child who showed no interest in studies because, from a young age, he went on tours with his father, he adds.

Talking about his role models, Sanjay says, his father and his mentor Padma Shri Bani Kaul have been his biggest role models in the field of music and folk dance. Besides, he considers YP Singh, Director of Ayodhya Social Union, as his role model for teaching him that nothing is impossible. In addition, he has learned to solve any problem with ease from Mohammad Furkan Khan. Plus, he draws inspiration from his elder brother to remain calm in any situation.

Explaining his shortcomings, Sanjay says, his first mistake was prioritizing fun and frolic over academics throughout his formative years, which he still regrets. Apart from this, he says that even though folk music was his area, he did not learn classical music and classical dance at the same time, he views this as his biggest mistake. He continues sharing his mistakes and says he also got an opportunity to work in the Hindi Cinema which he turned down due to his household responsibilities.

Regarding his accomplishments, Sanjay claims that in 2000, in Lucknow, he successfully handled a large-scale event called ‘Bharat Parv’ on his own for the first time. He was proud of himself after earning a respectable sum of money and handing it over to his father. It was his greatest accomplishment. Following that, he had the opportunity to celebrate the Singapore Village Festival and made numerous travels abroad, which was nothing short of a success for him.

When free, Sanjay enjoys meeting artists, traveling, learning about other artistic disciplines, and seeing and understanding folk songs and dances of every state. Sometimes, he also likes to read comic books.

Sanjay gives everyone the piece of advice that having a mentor is essential for receiving the appropriate direction and for continuing to advance in life. He adds that, once you begin walking, you will find the road ahead automatically and good people will associate with you to help you achieve your goal.