Commitment may have a bit of a negative air for some. It sounds like a chore, an obligation. Yet it could just as well translate as “devotion” and “dedication”. It is an integral ingredient in the formula to success.
The most profound role of a dancer is her ability to touch her audience deeply; her offering of an opportunity to transcend ‘ordinary’ moments into ‘extraordinary'.
Her presence is the center axis between heaven and earth, a pillar of light, connecting above and below, letting all manifestation revolve, rise and fall.
Despite the layers of tradition and ancient views embedded in this carefully structured classical dance form, it is alive and breathing with the movement of time. It is intricate and complex, yet inherently devotional and natural, as it is aiming to connect us with nature and the movement of the cosmos.
The intricacy of subtle movements, performed in unison with complex rhythms, demands heightened awareness and concentration, which can deliver the dancer and audience into a state of unwavering Presence.
Odissi Dance is based in the Tantric-Yogic philosophy originated in East India. It suggests we all come from the same source, and head toward the same goal. Yet, source and the goal are no different, they are one and the same. What is this mysterious source / goal of our existence?
The three realms of existence, the underworld (demons realm), the earth (human realm) and heaven (gods realm) are a common concept in both Hindu and Greek mythology, and are at the core of many of their dramas.
How many of you had had a childhood experience when someone older and supposedly wiser than you, had barked at you mindlessly, “you have no rhythm, you shouldn’t be dancing!” or “singing is not for you!” or “never mind art, you should be focusing on math”. Well, I did…