After teaching dance for a few years, I realized I needed a school and a name for my school. Names give things identity, and bring them to a more realistic level. After some thought, I chose to ask my diksa-guru, B.V. Swami Tripurari, to name my school. After consideration he named it Prema (divine love) Natya (dance) Vidyalaya (place of learning), the Dance School of Divine Love. He chose it with this verse from the Caitanya-caritamrita in mind.
Radhikara prema-guru,
ami-sisya natya
Sada ama nana nrtye
nacaya udbhata
(Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 4.124)
“My guru is Radharani,” Krsna says. “In loving affairs My guru is Radharani, so She always makes Me dance according to Her tune.”
He said that prema-natya is the dance school that Krsna attends. Thus with this auspiciousness my dance school began.
I find it a most fitting name, and it has given shape and meaning to my teaching. Dance for me is an intimate service to the Divine Couple. It is my way of using my mind, body, emotions, and thoughts in seva (service). It is my way of showing this world a glimpse into the spiritual realm, where every word is a song, and every step is a dance. And if the words are songs, and the steps are dances, than can we imagine what the singing and dancing of that place must be like?
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Bharata Natyam as a dance form is deeply grounded in Bhakti. It is the embodiment of music in visual form, a ceremony, and an act of devotion.
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