The Wellington-based Nataraj School of Dance will be presenting a new dance show on Lord Shiva next month at the Little Theatre, Laings Road, Lower Hutt.
The show will witness participation of about 50 students from the school that are set to perform for at least couple of hours, as the show is poised to be uniquely presented twice on the same day, Saturday, February 17, at 3.30 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The show titled Om Namah Shivaya will showcase different forms of Tandavam – a vigorous dance form popularly associated with Lord Shiva, allegorical of the five principle manifestations of eternal energy, which is believed to be the basis of all forms of life in the Hindu tradition.
Lord Shiva is the third member of the Hindu Trinity along with Brahma and Vishnu and is believed to be the destroyer of all evils.
The Tandava dance form symbolises the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, as well as the daily rhythm of birth and death, and when performed as a dance form creates tremendous energy.
This year, two professional dancers are also arriving from Australia and the United States to perform at the show.
The Nataraj School of Dance was established almost 19 years ago by Prabha Ravi – a trained classical dancer.
Since then Mrs Ravi has trained over five hundred students and encouraged them to participate in local and national events. Mrs Ravi was bestowed with Queen’s Services Medal in 2017 by the New Zealand government for her contribution to art and Ethnic communities.
“Indian classical dance is not merely moving your body to a rhythm. It is a discovery of your roots, philosophy, mythology, language, culture and many other facets of life,” Mrs Ravi said.
For tickets and further information, please contact Nataraj School of Dance at natrajschoolofdance@gmail.com or 021 817252.