The rhythmic road trip of a lifetime, filled with bumps, potholes and swerving paths, but no real destination.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again.
Dance is a discipline. Not only is it a movement of the body, but also of the mind and soul.
Dance encapsulates the many facets of drama, emotions, and spirituality. This is why we refer to any kind of classical dance from India as Natyam. Natya = drama. Through the process, we become in tune with our body and understand the level our body needs to work to produce a movement. The recurring reward is fulfillment from the infinite number of attempts to feel like something worked in your favor. However, this fulfillment remains short lived as we quickly learn that there is always more to be achieved and every step of the way we are barely scratching the surface in this plethora of knowledge.
Dance is a life lesson. Beyond just the basic movements, it dishearteningly teaches us the that practice doesn’t make perfect - practice makes progress. In everything you do, learning becomes immeasurable and doesn't just stop at the first step. Every move is a stepping stone to the next new venture. You come to the realization that dance is a journey and the final destination is no singular goal. We all are trying to achieve satisfaction, but that it becomes subjective to the individual.
Dance is communication. Over the course of the learning journey, we are trained to depict certain stories and in the process learn how the body moves and as well as how to react in certain events. What is like to feel sad? What does my face look like when I am sad? Is my viewer convinced that I am feeling shy? Is my body language confirming that I am feeling anger but still maintaining my composure in the midst of a large crowd?
Indirectly, we have been learning how to control our emotions that we see in our daily lives. We get the opportunity to feel the emotions deeply through different mythological stories and use our body movement and facial expressions do the talking. Don't forget, we are also learning how to communicate with ourselves when there are no words to describe what we truly feel and gain the ability to internalize thoughts and actions.
The story of Apasmara and Shiva
We’ve all see the traditional pose of Shiva. But who is the person that he is standing on with his right foot?
Apasmara, the dwarf demon who represents ego and ignorance looms amongst the people, disrupting their daily lives. As a dwarf demon, he has not developed fully, having a demon face on an infant's body. He is unable to be conquered and is a nuisance to everyone, particularly those who pray to Lord Shiva. When Lord Shiva is called to defeat him, he realizes that he unable to destroy him. Shiva recognizes that to kill him means that people attain knowledge without any obstacles, dedication, and thus devaluing knowledge all together. Shiva performs tandava and manages to crush him under his right foot. While Apasmara is immortal, he remains crushed under Shiva. Symbolically, this represents our struggle to suppress the feelings of ego, ignorance and laziness to achieve our goals.
This story holds true for any task you have at hand - is this not the exact journey we are all on now? We struggle to set aside our ego and laziness in many aspects of our lives yet are aware that it is unable to be defeated forever and serves as reminders to how hard we work to overcome them.
What is a journey without a few bumps along the way? A smooth sailing through the roads would be monotonous and boring. The few bumps give you a quick wake up call and might give you a quick jolt of energy for the next stretch. Maybe it will even redirect you to another path. Perhaps you stumble upon the road not taken? Eventually we learn that we’re aiming for satisfaction and, whatever road will get us there, we will go along for the ride and revel in the wonders we discover in this path.
And this is why I dance - to achieve satisfaction, for the mind control, and to instill discipline. The rhythm of the feet is synonymous to one's pulse, continuously running, essential to keep the body charged and prepared to act.
Why do you dance?
*This post was inspired by the ‘Why I Dance’ campaign hosted by Kalanidhi Dance and IndianRaga. Please visit their social media accounts for videos from renowned artists from across the world who have participated in this campaign.
W H Y I D A N C E
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