Dancing in the Temple Again

Last night I performed at the Sri Mariamman temple. It was a divine experience. I was totally in my element. It had been quite a while since I had done a full length show (7 pieces without any intermission) and I had my doubts re: stamina and energy levels. But wow - indian dancing is like wine - one really does get better with age. At 36 after 32 years of dancing I never felt better. My body felt like a superb and finely tuned engine. All the leaps and bounds came effortlessly. The abhinaya flowed authentically. There was no trying last night for me. I was in flow. Total and intense surrender to the moment and a sense of effortlessness.

Part of it was the audience. Dancing is an exchange of energy. When you have a intelligent and passionate audience that hangs onto every curve in your body or every arch of your eyebrow and responds with great appreciation, you feel it. You take that energy and then feed it back to the audience with greater depth and beauty. Dance is a dialogue. And the key is to speak to the audience with your eyes, body and most importantly your heart. But overarching this conversation is the the conversation with the Gods. Dancing in a temple where the divine vibration is intense and where one is surrounded by priests and other holy devotees, you tap into this higher energy and that allows you to channel the divine. And the audience last night could feel that. Many came up to me and told me why they were moved by my performance. They felt that the Goddess herself was dancing. Maybe she was - through me. I lent her my body voluntarily and trusted that she will take me places she needed to take me. Last night movement was truly a form of prayer. A deep and powerful act of meditation. And that is the beauty of the solo artist - if she is able to tap into this higher vibration and take her audience with her to a communal trance, then there is really no need for cheap tricks and elaborate set designs.

To all my friends and well wishers who came to the temple last night -thank you. And hope that last night was as special for you as it was for me. I am truly inspired to keep on dancing.