Sharing another from my mother’s writing today… it happens to be one of my favorite pieces from her.
Nataraja The Lord of Dance , represents the never ending cycle of evolution and dissolution. The Master who has conquered the five elements , dancing to his tunes. An Alphabetical tribute to the The Divine Dancer condensing the essence of cosmic energy in his form n action.
Nataraja – The Cosmic Dancer
Absolute and ultimate dance of ‘Being in the Now’, where Celestial Creation & Destruction Dance hand in hand in Energetic, enigmatic endless flow. Formless blending into The Form. Gift to Cosmos. Unfathomed Happiness undermines the In-depth, concealed caring of Justice to prevail, in the Knowing of the Unknown all. Lasya ( dance of creation) and thandava (dance of destruction) both Merging in and emerging from Nataraja,The Cosmic Dancer. Oneness personified in essence. Purity and Power as its source. Quietude emerging in the motion. Rare culmination of creative Subtlety of concealed infinity. ‘Thath thwam asi,’ , that’s the Truth. Unknown, Unsaid and Unseen Visions of Ultimate Reality. Worlds far and beyond knowledge Xceeds the human excellence. Yearning _’To be with IT ‘ is all one can wish with the Zeal of unwavering Faith
Saw this post and I was struck by the truth of these words.
In fact what made me post this is that I have carried this exact feeling of being truly alive whenever I have danced.
In fact I had captured it years ago in a set of verses dedicated to dance and the way I feel about it .I had summarized it to this very same concept of being alive.
Am sure if there are other dancers reading this post they would agree,
You become what you consistently think about. Would you agree?
From since I can remember I have been fascinated by movement and dance. With its power and applications in grace and dignity.
I had no plans to become a dance educator but decades into dance and training here I am still thinking and writing and dancing whenever I can.
Yes, you may have many other professional careers and experiences in varied fields but the things you are deeply passionate about, you become and becomes you.
Be it any form of art of science or anything in between yet unnamed… You draw energy and purpose from it… You feed from the very energy in reference and reflection. You transform yourself and your environment with the very same energy within in enthusiasm as you come from heartfelt abundance.
With love from Athens Greece … 🙂 At the World Dance Research Congress Greece UNESCO as a representative member from India 🙂 An example of Unity in Diversity…. Approximately 400 conferees from 40 countries of the 5 continents.!
Today in India, so glad to write this, the dance community that represents India internationally has grown from strength to strength … yet ‘Spot me’ if you can … I was the only woman representative from India at that time.
An amalgamation of such an association and the resulting experiences leaves one enriched for a life time. The practice resulting thereof in pursuit of excellence becomes important. In the awareness of the possibilities in dance applications on the human psyche and form, the responsibility of making a positive difference in your purpose is strengthened.
Power to more such immersive and experiential collaborations in the art of dance movements across the world. 🙏
Life reflects itself through the things you do, the people you meet as well as in your passions and perseverances, in so many intriguing yet enthralling ways.
One such beautiful reflection I experienced in my travels earlier in France.
A sense of deja vu, a throwback to the fond memories of teaching dances to people in the different places, all thanks to the Dance & the magic of movements.
While visiting France I met my colleague from the world of dance, Celine Maheo who resides in Rennes Celine is a practicing clinical psychologist and an Argentine tango dancer. What’s beautiful is that she is a dedicated professional who uses the dance therapy for helping Parkinson’s patients with their movements through Tango dance sessions.
My interest was piqued, as earlier I had been conducting very similar dance sessions as well, especially remembered our Seniors Dance for Wellness workshops back in India.
So over a beautiful meet and greet sipping cups of hot herbal tea at the Les Grands Gamin at the heart of Rennes, ensued a free flowing conversation where we exchanged notes on each others life. Our passion for dancing was the visible to see as we hardly knew how moments passed by.
To dance is to sense connections beyond the dancing bodies.
To dance is to honour life and its unique expressions in the movements.
Savvy Raj
And when Celine invited me to her next Tango Therapy Workshop, it was an offer I could not refuse. I was actually keen to understand whether and how the cultural differences change the way of conducting and experiencing workshops here.
Dancing can improve the mobility and balance in senior adults. Adapting the dance to suit the requirements of the group, like simplifying the steps, the placement of the feet, improves their coordination, mobility and balance.
The dance session was deeply engrossing & truly inspiring to witness and participate as well. The music played that day stayed with me well after the session.
So the next step turned out to be me conducting a Chacha session for them. The challenges of language barriers were surrmounted easily as Celine offered to translate my teaching from English to French.
Everything fell in place beautifully and voila time flew again.We danced a bit of Chacha that day and also some more in the next few sessions as well. I was told later by the learners how much they enjoyed it!
It was an amazing experience sharing the joys of movements and I thank Celine for her inclusivity in requesting me to conduct the dance sessions as well. And I deeply appreciate all her beautiful learners that I met,connected and danced with. It was a truly warm and wonderful time spent with them all.
After the sessions we would gather together and discuss opening many facets of the learning and imbibing. It was a beautiful way of empathising and understanding each other.
Some of the beautiful souls I got to interact with in the few months I was there.
Dance has a way of soothing your entire being and bringing forth and connecting you with the depth of who you are. That is when dance begins to feel meaningful and transforms life. The dance connects established, in those sessions is a beautiful memory etched in my heart, that I will cherish forever.
I chanced on these beautiful moments again as I found the photos I clicked back then and I decided to give them a little artistic effect.
All across the world April 29th every year is celebrated as International Dance Day, although every day is a great day to dance!
I dedicate this post to all my dance friends and colleagues and all the dance educators in the world who are making the world a better place, with every step in time.
Universal Oneness is an awareness In reflections of the truth of the being Interweaved and interconnected in every life . Strength shines through the vulnerabilities. As a power in the very fragility Touched by divine grace Enmeshed in the senses Fired in the cauldron of life and living Comes a consciousness of the flow In and around us Beyond the illusion of separation. Is the dance of connection.
THE DANCER An Excerpt From The Wanderer by Khalil Gibran,
Once there came to the court of the Prince of Birkasha a dancer and her musicians. And she was admitted to the court. And she danced to the music of the flute, the lute, and the zither. She danced the dance of flames and fire, and the dance of swords and spears; she danced the dance of stars and the dance of space, and then she danced the dance of flowers in the wind.
When she had finished, she approached the prince and bowed her body before him. The price bade her to come nearer, and said unto her, “Beautiful woman, daughter of grace and delight, whence comes your art? And how is it that you command all the elements in your rhythms and your rhymes?”
And the dancer came near and bowed her body again and said, “Gracious majesty, I know not the answer to your questionings. Only this I know: The philosopher soul dwells within his head, the poets soul dwells within his heart, the singers soul dwells about his throat, but the soul of the dancer abides in all her body.
Savvy Raj 