Temple Performanes at 15

24 Sept 1987, Navarathiri Festival, Vairaviamman Temple, Singapore. I just discovered this photo in my mom's home a few weeks ago. Thank God I had written the dates and event behind the photo. Helps jog my memory. This show was a special one. Firstly because I was dancing for the Goddess Durga as part of the Navarathiri Festival. 2nd because I was still relatively young to be doing complex solo dance pieces. I was doing the Thilana at 15years old at this temple.

This costume was my first dance costume and it was the first time I had done a solo classical item in a temple. Most of the times as younger dancers we do folk items or classical items in group/chorus. But by the time I was 15 I had already been performing for 11 years. The whole get up - the head-dresss plus false hair and all the jewelry takes about 2hours to put on. One of our greatest fears as a young dancer is that something is going to drop off during the dance. That has happened to various dancers given the dance is incredibly vigorous and the costuming is incredibly elaborate. But I remember it was a magical night - I felt like I had conquered something. Indeed the goddess was dancing through me that night when I danced at her temple. But I also felt that I overcame much internal fear/doubt etc and surrendered myself wholly to the dance.