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January 6, 2013 at 5:22am

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Anna Marie Gueizelor, better known as Madam Azurie, was one of Pakistans classical dance pioneers. She was born
in Bangalore in 1907, the daughter of a German doctor and an Indian mother. When her parents separated, Anna
remained with her father, who did not approve of Eastern classical dancing, but admired the ballet and love music.
Anna was encouraged to study ballet with a group of Russian emigrants, and to practice the piano. As a young girl,
she became aware of Eastern dancing during a rare visit to the cinema, but her father did not allow her to practice
classical dance. When Anna reached her teens, the family moved to Bombay. Her father became a member of the
Three Arts Circle organized by Begum Atiya Rahman from her palatial home, Aiwan-e-Riffat. Atiya Begum was the
answer to Annas prayers. She arranged for Anna to study the arts of the subcontinent in her home. After her
fathers death, Anna stayed with Atiya Begum and later became known as Azurie.
Azurie studied different schools of dance from renowned teachers and explored the rich field of Eastern music. She
joined the Bombay film industry and was featured in numerous films. When her career was well established, she
married a cultured Muslim gentleman who shared her interests.
After independence, Azurie settled in Pakistan with her husband and then opened the first Academy of Classical
Dance in Pakistan. She appeared in a few Pakistani films but soon abandoned them. She toured a number of foreign
countries, taking a small troupe with her. In Islamabad, Azurie was a member of the board of the National Council of
the Arts. In Karachi, she was founding member of the Pak-American Cultural Centre, where she taught classical
dance for a number of years.
Azuries dedication to the discipline of dance was so intense that she fought every opponent club going
executives, municipal officials, provincial governmental authorities like a scalded cat. They felt cowered and left
her alone largely because she spoke to them in her rat-a-tat, Anglo-Indian English which they could not understand
but which they took to be a command of some sort. She ran her dance school with impunity. Her students were
well-heeled ladies, mostly.
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1/8/2014 8:26 AM

(2) Pakistani Friends Of Canada

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1/8/2014 8:26 AM