The wind on the water
Dancing divine
Riveting rhythm
Forming in the flow.
Patterns performing
Orchestras in the ocean
Savvy
Wind on water
Category Archives: Music
On Dancing Ten Dances
I wrote this piece earlier but it was in my drafts as I missed posting it. Better late than never they say and I hope the movie is still streaming on Netflix.
As a lover of dance and as a ballroom and latin dance educator for two decades and more, I have always been delighted to watch any good dance related movies, especially those centered on partner dancing. Having enjoyed wonderful movies like’ Shall we dance’ and ‘Dance with me’ and so many more, I eagerly await such rare kind of movies. As the love of movements runs in my blood and passion for dance in my spirit and soul.
They are truly far and few good movies in this genre. So in these holiday times while exploring Netflix , I stumbled upon 10 dances as a movie to watch and immediately set a reminder for it .
The film depicts all the Ten dances that are danced in the Ballroom & Latin dancing repertoire. I have been teaching them socially over the years. So from the first poetic sequence I was hooked.
Though the movie is set in the backdrop of the world dance competitions, at its heart is partner dancing which is my favorite of dancing forms. It captures, the sheer joy and thrill of dancing with another, matching move to move… I loved the beginning of the movie, the introduction to the dances and also the way it brought out the distinctive difference in both styles.
The movie at its core is based on competitiveness and the complexity of human emotions. The entanglement of love & rivalry in personal relationships & most of all the importance trust in and between one another. Though at times I did feel the narrative steered too much into their personal stories, that I felt it diluted the dance essence.
Yet the movie also revealed the truth of how much adaptability is the key and how challenging, it can be for different personalities who are dancing together, be it as a learner or a teacher and how difficult it is to unlearn to learn…
Someone trained in structured forms finds it so challenging to let go and dance from the heart. Whereas someone who dances with all their heart may feel stifled by excessive structures.
Over all, it was compelling to watch the changing dynamics portrayed at times, so very poetically in a dance movie to say the least. Do watch if you love dancing and especially so the magic of partner dancing.
Savvy Raj
Pockets of peace
Pockets of peace
Are powerful healers
That you can invoke
Anytime, anywhere.
Identify your pockets of peace
In a day, times that feel peaceful
Is it early morning, noon
Or is it evening or night?
What places makes you feel at ease?
Mountains, oceans or forests
Or do you enjoy a quiet open space…
Like looking at the vast blue sky,
Or the twinkling stars at night.
Do you breathe easy in silence,
Or do you feel lonely for some company?
Does, being with animals birds and nature
Feel peaceful to you?
Alone or with company,
Find your pockets of peace
And sense the connection
Whenever & wherever.
Savvy
Nostalgia
A throwback…
I have fond memories of black and white photographs taken by my dad in his old box camera. The three pictures that I can quickly recollect are a representation of my world back in the era of black and white. Be it watching the swaying coconut trees and the shimmering water on moonlit nights, or the artistry of those antique time pieces collected by my grandfather and of course those lively evenings in my childhood years, where the old gramophone would play so invitingly that we would all be waltzing and jiving away to evergreen hits. Yes nostalgia filled me in those verses, but with happy memories.
Black and white photography
An art form for a connoisseur
Aesthetics of understanding
Of the clarity of line
That plays hide and seek
So much resemblance
To the wisdom of time.
In seeking is the blending
Of reflections dissolving
Ever so hard to pin down
Faded visions blurred memories
Reminding of colour through our senses
Perspectives differ in the past recalled
Comparisons translucent in the semi presence.
An important feature
Are the shades of grey
Areas masked and marked,
Blurring to focus
Uncaliberated and undeliberated
Between the lines
Adding enigma
Surreal feelings
A take back in time
Of notions in nostalgia.
Savvy
Musical Greats
Author Douglas Adams describes the three stalwarts of music… “Beethoven tells you what it is like to be Beethoven and Mozart tells you what it’s like to be human. Bach tells you what it’s like to be the universe.”
Interesting quote with so much said in just a line on the three gifted geniuses and their world of music.
Although considered to be a revolutionary its always beautiful to enjoy the music of Beethoven and his magical Moonlight Sonata and Symphony no 5.
The melodious music of Mozart is remarkable for his amazing pace and harmony and balance of light and dark tones of life with a humanistic touch in musical themes.
The spiritually profound music of Bach reflects his deep faith in God and his inate intellectuality. Known to have deeply influenced Mozart, Bach was a prolific musician having composed more than thousands of musical pieces in his lifetime.
Savvy
Music & Creativity
Inculcating a habit of listening to music regularly, or even practicing music by learning to sing or playing an instrument, can improve your creativity.
Learning anything new can spark new neural pathways and bridge old learnings in associations to ignite unique creative expressions.
As far as music it is a holistic experience with benefits much beyond its entertainment factor. The right music can heal and regenerate cells in our body.
Music can be a healing medicine for the body, mind and spirit. Personally, like for many of you, I love many art forms, like music, dance and painting, writing and singing because they have an immensely positive effect on me. It makes me whole again, ready to face a new day… For instance, I am fond of different types of music at different times of the day…often I sense how refreshed I feel after listening or singing to them.
At home every once in a while my daughter and I find singing mashups of old and new songs together on the Karaoke very rejuvenating…One thing leads to another, humming or singing some melodies while going through the day, makes the moments feel light. I also find listening to gentle, soft instrumental music while painting very enjoyable.
What are your experiences with music?
When was the last time you heard your favorite songs?
When did you do something creative while listening to music?
© Savvy Raj
Power of Sounds
There is something about sound
That the world again is waking up to these days…
Wherever you go
You hear the sounds of music
Healing through harmony
And the magic in the melodies.
Reviving and regenerating us
All is in the energy of the sounds.
Sounds that move us within & beyond
All effects of resonance in our cells
Sensing the sounds in stillness
Sensing in the movements too…
Music heals the spirit & soul.
Such is the power of sound.
© Savvy Raj
Sensing…
Where there are no rules that bound
Where the music leads and you follow
Where there is no end and no beginning
All is in the flow as you sense you are the flow.
Soul knows
Souls know the truth of their being
Embedded in the journey of life
Soul connection has the power
To heal and life regenerates
A body and spirit is given
So the soul can move…
Movements that flow
Towards its purpose of being.
Savvy
18thFeb Pune
Music & moods
Play on…
When you are in the mood for music, play on
When you are feeling low, play on
When you are exhausted and tired and you want to revive your mood play on
Music is therapeutic and the healing
nature of sound energy can be tuned
into to change your mood & manage
emotions and lift your spirits.
Take some time to create an upbeat
playlist that perks you up and
engerizes you and get up from your
chair to move arounda bit.
Take a short walk every once in a while. with some great music for company..It will
bring a spring in your step and smile
in your heart.
In fact for every part of
the day, you can have a playlist of
your own choice. Take time to create
yours… if you haven’t already and do
listen… The right music makes a
powerful difference.
Play on…
Savvy
What Is Art?
What is art?
But a transcendence
In sublime understandings
Invoking inspiration
Awakening aspiration
Collaborating in creation
Sometimes seeking
Sometimes speaking
At times questioning
At times challenging
Emoting provoking
Allowing thinking
In the sensing more
Acknowledging critiquing
Receving in the giving
Giving in the receving
Ever flowing…
©Savvy Raj
Gift of this now
This now is full of infinite possibilities
For every day is replete with potential
Whatever the path you take
Your life’s moments are a gift
You are meant to sense
So care to take a moment
To acknowledge the gifts
Of this moment as it is
See how everything connects
To every thing else.
And if you truly wish
You can create more moments
Of joy and light in & around u
Start simply by a practice
Of acknowledging this moment in this now..
Make today count!
Savvy
When Art Speaks…
Allowing the art to speak and acknowledging its flow is of essence, to sense and enjoy the art itself.
Learning to dance & dancing socially comes along with many lessons and learnings…
In any partner dancing its important to respond than simply react to the movement direction from the partner in the flow.
The cultivation of the ability of any dancers acknowledgement & appreciation of their dance partner or other dancers, differences in movement speed or artistry not merely as tolerable, brings on the required humility and grace in the dance.
This is in itself the essence of a rich and rewarding social dancing experience.
Savvy
An Alphabetical Tribute
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
Anjana
As you dance…
As you dance
Tapping your toes
To your own heartbeats
Life senses your rhythm
And waltzes along with you,
Savvy
Savvy Raj 
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