Our Performance at a Future Historical Temple! :)

So we were invited to perform at a temple in Bukit Rotan, which happens to be one of the newest and largest tourist attraction. How epic is that? =) 

BTW, that's how the Bharatanatyam outfit is. Pretty cool eh? 

Our Dedication to Dance.

Bollywood!

Since I was very young, my cousin and I have been dancing together. From Bharatanatyam itself, we have branched out and dedicated ourselves to Bollywood dancing as well. And now, we perform at Sangeet's(dance night before a wedding) and sometimes at random performances. We also have been invited to dance at other functions as well *plus point*!The cousin sister, Aishy :)

Here's some snippets from our "Bollywood Dancing". 

; Maya Ravan.

Personally, I love this piece of dance. Shobana, the dancer is my idol. If a dancer were to perform at her best, she should be as good as Shobana. 

Maya Ravan is a dance ballet where the stroy is narrated through classical and film dances of India. The Ballet is based on the life of the demon king 'Ravan' from the great Indian mythological epic 'Ramayana'.Ravan is portrayed as an ambitious, egoistic but charming king in the quest to win Lord Rama's wife Sita. We also get to hear lesser known tales of Ravan's origins.

PS : Hopefully one day in the future, I could have a chance to perform this for my Arangetram. *fingers crossed*! 

History of Dance.

Since we're talking about this particular dance, I figured it's only best that everyone knows about the history of this dance since ancient times. 

Read & Digest : "Bharatanatyam is one of the popular classical and traditional dances of India, originating from Balasaraswati which is nothing but diversification of Natya Yoga. Balasaraswati brings forth into the practice the spiritual semblance through synchronized physical and emotional body movements. Bharatnatyam has rich history of the style almost dating back to 2000 years. It is inspired from the sculptures of the ancient temple of Chidambaram. The origin of Bharatnatyam is in Thanjavoor of Tamil Nadu. The alternative name of Bharatnatayam is Daasiyattam. Earlier, Devdasis performed the natya in the ancient temple. The Devdasis were women who lived their life as dancer and worship to god by paying obeisance through their dance. The traditional form passed from the one generation of Devdasis to another, generation by generation. As the dance form entered into the royal courts, the dancers were soon begin to be called as Rajanartakis, who had the expertise to perform the royal courts. Rajanartakis slowly became the royal concubines".

• Here's a video to show the history of Bharatanatyam.

Passion for Dance.

My passion for dance set out at the age of 6 when I started learning this dance. Bharatanatyam is a classical and ancient traditional art form with its origins steeped in divinity. 

It may seem like "it's just a dance" to some, but to me, it's a whole different thing. Bharatanatyam sort of connects you with God. When I dance, I'm don't feel like I'm in this world ; in reality anymore. As my dance instructor says it, "You know you are a good dancer, when you feel that connection with God whilst dancing". Therefore, in our dance class, we are thought to dance for passion, not just for fun or for the name of it. 

Just like other dances like ballet, belly dancing and even Hip-Hop for the matter in fact, Bharatanatyam also requires lots and lots of practice. Hence, most of my leisure time at home is spent by dancing.

In Bharatanatyam, we have to go through a few stages to complete the dance. We have to complete all the basic steps first in order to perform even the easiest number of song. After that we would have to learn many basic songs. When the dance instructor thinks we're ready, we are then prepared for the first stage which is the "Salangai Pooja".




This is performed by students who had learned all the basic steps and 7 basic songs. During Salangai Pooja, prayers is done by placing the salangai in front of Lord Nadarajan to get blessings. The salangai are tied to dancers ankle and live performance is done for the first time on the stage in front of the audience. Once salangai pooja is completed, the dancers exit from beginner stage and  proceed to advanced level to prepare themselves for Arangetram.








Hopefully I get to complete my Arangetram before I leave to the States in spring. *fingers crossed*!