MEMBERS of Guyana’s dance and performing arts community joined relatives and friends of the late renowned dancer Indranie Lennartson Shaw yesterday in an emotional memorial service at the National Cultural Centre.

Themed “Dancing with Angels: Celebration of the life of Indranie Lennartson Shaw, the service allowed persons who had been unable to attend the dancer’s funeral in Sweden a chance to offer their condolences to the family, and to celebrate and reflect on the life of one of Guyana’s cultural icons.
Attendees were treated to an intimate look at the late dancer’s life in a PowerPoint presentation that showed pictures from Indranie’s early childhood, her wedding, vacations, family, her favourite places, and her dance class in Sweden.
What better way to pay tribute to Indranie than through dance? It was no surprise, then, to learn that the dances being performed on stage were dances that she had taught herself.
Tributes in dance were performed by the Nadira and Indranie Dance Troupe (of which she is the Indranie), the National Dance Troupe, Classique Dance Troupe, and accomplished dancer Kenrick Cheeks.
Guyana’s oldest self-taught dancer, Bibi Haniff, made a surprise appearance, wowing the audience with her graceful moves.
The floor was open for tributes from friends and well-wishers, and speakers included Dr. Yesu Persaud, Mr. Winfield James, representatives from the Theatre Guild, the National Cultural Centre and St. Rose’s High, which is the late dancer’s alma mater.
She was eulogized by her sister Sita Shaw Roth, who said: “Most of us in the Shaw family for over four generations are first dancers and any other occupation secondly… but Indranie actually taught dancing at the University fulltime, she did her Masters then pursued her Doctorate in her spare time.”
Highlights of Indranie’s funeral in Sweden were shown on large screen with “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan as a soundtrack.
Indranie Shaw was proficient in many languages – Spanish, French, Hindi, Swedish, Russian, Finnish, German and English.
As a student of St Rose’s High, she was active in cultural events. At the age of 11, she began dancing along with several students of St Rose’s, including her sister Nadira and friend Juanita Kant. Her first performance was at the Deepavali Jalsa in 1975, held in the St Rose’s auditorium.
Her dance gurus included Pandit Durgalall and Pandit Shri Gidar Chand. In 1984, Indranie was awarded an Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarship to further her studies in New Delhi, India. She attended the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra from April 1985 to December 1987.
She received Certificates of Excellence at the Guyana Festival of Arts (GuyFesta) in 1977 and 1980. She co-founded the Nadira and Indranie Shah Dance Troupe, producing over 33 annual Dance productions which received several Guyana and Barbados Theatre Awards in categories such as Best Dance Production, Best Costume, and Best Sets. She also received the New York Folk Festival Award for “Long and sustained dance production of excellence”, and is a Guyana Medal of Service awardee for “Sustained and Outstanding Contributions to the Cultural Mosaic of Guyana”.
After her studies, she followed her heart and went to Sweden, where she got married to Anders Lennartson. Their union produced two children.
At the time of her death, she was reading for a Doctorate at the University of Umea in Sweden.