Written by the Himalayan School of Traditional Dance. Photos by Biljana Vozarevic, Mario Brainovic, Bimal Nair & Tea Klincov

The first ever festival of consciousness was organised by Mohanji foundation on July 24, 2021 at Belgrade, Serbia. This grand event brought together people from across the world to rejuvenate and rejoice in celebrating the true spirit of mankind – by being expressions of love, joy, kindness and compassion.

The Himalayan School of Traditional Dance was a star attraction during this event. Devotional compositions of great poet saints from India were performed at the festival by Radha Subramanian – Artistic director, HSTD.

HSTD also conducted a week-long foundation course in Bharatanatyam at Novi Sad, Serbia between July 26 and Aug 01, 2021.

It was an auspicious beginning for all the aspirants taking their first few steps in an art form so rich and immense in its scope for exploration of the seeker. They got a glimpse of the different dimensions of the art form such as Navarasas and Hastas. They explored a myriad of expressions that convey the beauty and grandeur of the art form and aesthetically blend dexterity and emotions into a single frame.

These sessions covered both theoretical and practical aspects of Bharatanatyam, while focusing on awareness, alignment and devotion through dance movements.

The sessions culminated in the august presence of Mohanji and he captured the essence in his insightful talk on Bharatanatyam and the true experience of dance.

A small excerpt paraphrasing Mohanji’s speech during the closing ceremony follows:

“Dance is Meditation that brings you to yourself.

The whole platform of Himalayan School of Traditional Dance is about devotion. While dancing, you are aligning yourself through devotion. When you dance for Krishna, Krishna becomes you. I have great respect for the traditional dance form with no dilution. Dance in its original form has great relevance. When you are flexible, you become the Dance. The aim is to become the dance and there is no You in it. The dancer melts into the Dance. For this to happen, one needs to understand the techniques and methods which enable synchronized, focused movements for you to dissolve. The purpose is dissolution through Dance.”

Mohanji distributed the certificates to all participants during the closing ceremony and commended the core team members for their stellar efforts in organizing the sessions in record time and encouraged the participants to continue to pursue this art form with the same zest as they showed during the introductory sessions.

The participants performed a short verse offering their salutations to PARABRAHMA -The supreme self and a verse for universal harmony and peace. The festive atmosphere during the week was palpable in every session. This could mark the beginning of a wonderful journey for each participant to seek the ultimate dissolution through dance and devotion!

Website: https://himalayanschool.com/dance/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/HSTD.dance

Email: dance@himalayanschool.com

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