1 Oct 2008: Dancing for the Divine

My first temple performance at 4 years old was in Singapore's oldest temple - the Sri Mariamman temple. This temple was built in 1827 in the heart of Chinatown. Today after 180 years of sacred pujas, mantras and the annual fire-walking ceremony, the vibration in the temple reverberates in every pillar and every granite stone.

It was this vibration and my personal history with the temple that inspired me to dance again for the Goddess for Navarathri 2008. This annual festival is celebrated over 9 consecutive nights nights where the Divine Goddess in the form of Durga, Lakshimi and Saraswati are invoked and honored through music, dance and puja.

For me dance has always been a mystical encounter. A powerful channel to communicate with the divine and channel the divine. Dasi dance is particularly suited for this as it originated in the temples with the priestesses performing sacred movements and singing divine hymns for their beloved deity. Dasi dance is an incredibly intimate ritual art form that engages the hands, eyes, body, heart and soul to celebrate the divine. To be able to dedicate my dances to Durga this year at the Mariamman temple is indeed an honor.

Mariamman temple is also a very special temple as it houses a Tamil village deity - Mariamman who is the Goddess of fertility and change. By dancing to her I pray that we stop stripping Mother Earth. Instead lets nurture and protect this fertile earth of ours so that She continues to flourish. In Indian dance we always pray to Mother Earth before stamping on her. We ask her to support our weight while we dance vigorously in tune with the heartbeat of life. Like the way Lord Shiva dances life into existence and out of existence.

For this upcoming show I also pray to Mariamman that we all remain fertile - in our hearts, minds and soul. And treat each other with a generosity of spirit. In times of great economic chaos and environmental degradation I pray that we come together in music and dance to inspire each other and find creative ways to redress some of the imbalances within ourselves and the planet we inhabit.

INVITATION AT www.verve.com.sg/Arul/studio-arul-invite.html