Radhika & Saieesha - To Watch Us Dance is to Hear Our Hearts Speak

Bharata Natyam is one of the oldest dance forms in India. It is heavily based on devotion, worship and discipline, originating from Tamil Nadu in South India.

 The Arangetram (graduation) program begins with a prayer:

 Radhika and Saieesha receive their foot bells from their guru - Kusum Koushik. They will need them in order to 'wake up the gods':

 Each dance is based on a specific god:

 The high school girls have been practicing this art for the last 10 years.

 Bharata Natyam, as the name depicts, is the combination of: BHA - Bhava (Expression), RA - Raga (Music) and TA - Tala (Rhythm).

 Traditionally, the dance was performed by Devadasis (community of temple dancers) in the ancient temples.

 The Devadasis were women who dedicated their lives to serving the temple deity as dancers and musicians.

 The tips of the fingers and toes are colored red to emphasize the gracious movements:

 There are three costume changes in the show.

 I could talk some more, but I'd only ruin it, so I let you watch and enjoy:

 Fantasy of abstract dance, scintillating passages of movement and rhythm (sorry, last one):

 Bravo!

 The teacher congratulates her 26th and 27th students for graduating today from Nrityalaya dance academy, institution started by Kusum Koushik:

 The disciples thank their guru and parents by touching their feet:

 Congratulations, Radhika and Saieesha! Thank you so much for inviting us to your Indian classical dance debut!

 And just when you thought things couldn't get any more spectacular, I decide to show Radhika what I've learnt in India! This is the level of achievement after years of practicing in front of the computer, editing pictures:

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