IN MY OWN WORDS…

It seems to me that one searches for meaning in life in large part by doing work that gives joy or solace to others, that creates beauty, and that enriches one's community in some way. For me, this work happens to be performing and teaching Bharatanatyam. When I see a student smiling broadly at me as she realizes she can master a difficult step, when an audience member tells me they never knew that Bharatanatyam could be so meaningful, when a classroom of American schoolchildren tell me Indian dance is "cool", I feel grateful that I can do such work.

I have always loved to dance; first the restrained, incredibly beautiful and subtle dance forms of Indonesia where I grew up, and later as a teenager, classical ballet. In college, academics took me to South India where I first started learning Bharatanatyam. It is the fusion of body, heart and spirit in this extraordinary dance form that appealed to me. While not as physically demanding as Western dance perhaps, the expressive component of Bharatanatyam provides a structured outlet for emotion and spirituality. The more I learned, the more I wished to know, until Bharatanatyam became my career.

I was incredibly fortunate to be guided to the school of my gurus, Sri Narasimhachari and Smt. Vasanthalakshmi. Their choreography exhibits an extraordinary level of intelligence, originality, rhythmic intricacy, musical sensitivity, and bhakti (devotion to God). Over the years, I have observed that all who work with Narasimhachari and Vasanthalakshmi are conscious of their genius for music and dance, but what really touches us is their kind, caring, and unpretentious personal demeanor. The relationship between student and teacher in Indian dance is unique. It is better characterized by the words "master and disciple" which are the words commonly used in India. I feel that learning to be a good disciple is as important to understanding the essence of Bharatanatyam as learning the basic technique. A disciple learns to surrender ego and to trust the guru. Only then can the teachings and blessings of the guru really bear fruit. This preparation is essential for being a performer. Ideally, Bharatanatyam is a spiritually transcendent art form in which the audience is guided to a vision of the Divine through the music, movement, expression and beauty of the dance. Only when the dancer overcomes individual ego and becomes a pure vehicle can this transcendent experience occur. As dancers, we are really disciples or servants of the Divine - devadasis so to speak - but being disciples to our teachers is the first step.

The years I lived in Chennai immersed in dance, music and culture were indispensable to developing maturity and authenticity as a performer. This period was sometimes lonely, often challenging, definitely character building, but always deeply satisfying to the intellect and spirit. Since then, I have returned as often as possible, for the learning process never ends. With the support and guidance of my own gurus, I work to pass on this remarkable dance tradition in the hope that it will enrich the lives of others as it has mine.