Prof. Ranjana Srivastava, Head of Deptt. of Dance; Dean, Faculty of Performing Arts, B.H.U., 2005-08, is an artist, a performer, a researcher and a choreographer of international repute. She is credited with starting Kathaka Diploma Classes from the scratch in the Faculty of Performing Arts, B.H.U., which has now grown into a Deptt. of Dance enrolling students from abroad. A disciple of stalwarts like Guru Vikram Singhe, Pandit Shambhu Maharaj, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Pandit Sunder Prasad and Guru M.R. Kalyanpurkar she is a recepient of the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. She has published many research papers, a book, Tantra-Mantra-Yantra in Dance, and has completed a UGC sponsored major project: “Dhrupada Natya: A Reconstruction”. She has also directed many performances, group dances and ballets in Kathaka.