#SharingStories// It's because of dance that I learned about my culture. As a kid, shloka/prayers to me, were "songs for the dances" we were doing 🙂.
I remember being at temple and hearing my “dance song” being sung and thinking -“ How do they know these?" 😆. As life progressed I began to understand the depth behind these "songs." I took an interest in their meaning, in understanding who was it for? What was the purpose? Is there a story?
It was in my late 20’s that I really felt my soul crack open and that feeling of devotion during these pieces really took over. There was a time in my early dance career, I was not interested in devotional pieces, I just wanted to focus on the technical aspect.
Maybe in truth, it’s because I wasn’t ready.
My abhinaya ( expressional dance) started to develop and my understanding of these pieces evolved. I remember being at puja’s knowing all the words and truthfully it’s because I had choreography happening in my head at the same time.
As an adult now, I feel a sense of warmth and comfort listening/dancing to shloka’s, prayers & invocations. It’s more than prayer for me it’s memories, it’s childhood, it’s dance class, it’s friendship, it’s my mother. It’s my soul’s way of visiting parts of me that are deep within that can only be brought to light through the vibration of these pieces.