The Wellington-based Natraj School of Dance is presenting a thematic classical Indian dance show on Saturday, July 15, at 6.30 pm at the Sacred Heart College, Laings Road, Lower Hutt, Wellington, depicting the saga of progress and development of the Tamil language.
The Natraj School of Dance – an Indian classical dance school, based in Lower Hutt was established by Prabha Ravi about 19 years ago.
Over these years, Prabha has trained more than 500 young students in Bharatanatyam and encouraged them to participate in local and national events.
Bharatanatyam is a popular classical dance form entrenched deep within Tamil culture and transcending time and age along with the classical language. The language is one of the longest surviving classical languages in the world.
“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 says.
“Every child develops one's personality and mind by learning this dance. Many youths have benefited immensely through the dance school in learning this valuable art,” Mrs Ravi added.
The Tamil language has originated from the Indian province of Tamil Nadu and is widely spoken in many Asian countries like India, Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, where many members of the Tamil community live.
The language is spoken by more than seventy million people all over the world.
It is also used as one of the languages of education in Malaysia, along with English, Malay and Mandarin.
The scripted text in the Tamil language dates back to over three thousand years. The Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions have been found as long ago as 500 years Before Christ with the earliest period of Tamil literature, Sangam literature, dating from 300 BC – 300 AD.
Natya Sastra – the scripture of dance, which forms the basis of the classical Bharatanatyam dance, was written in Tamil language, thousands of years ago.
In this year’s dance show, about 50 students, ranging from children as young as five years old to adults, will be performing in the two-hour show.
Recently, Mrs Ravi was conferred the Queen’s Services Medal in 2017 by the New Zealand government for her services to the fine arts.
This year’s production is supported by the Hutt City Council which promotes and celebrates the diversity of the city.
For tickets and further information please contact Natraj School of Dance at natrajschoolofdance@gmail.com.