Experiences after the Bharathanatyam Foundation course Level 1 in Novi Sad, Serbia
Biljana Vozarevic
Namaste. My name is Biljana Vozarevic, and I am a global member of the Himalayan School of Traditional Dance. Recently, we have had a foundation course, level 1, conducted by the artistic director of our School, Radha Subramanian, in person. She arrived far away from India to Serbia and conducted it for us. I am amazed at how rich an art form this is. There are various steps, movements in Sanskrit, positions, and a tremendous variety of stories behind all these. This dance is a tool that brings us forward into closeness and connection with ourselves.
What I like most is that it is physically challenging. I used to be a marathon runner, and I am a sports type of person, an athlete type; I love physical challenges, I love movement.
Photo by Boris Kocis at Novi Sad half-marathon
And in this dance, we are always in some movement. There are steps; there is rhythm along with shlokas, stories, and everything that Vedas bring. So, I would recommend it to everyone who loves physical movement, dance, and rhythm because rhythm is our nature.
Photo by Tea Klincov at HSTD Foundation course – level 1 in Novi Sad
Another thing is, Bharathanatyam dance offers something which I haven’t seen in other dances. I used to be a dancer of classical dances such as English waltz, Vienna waltz, Foxtrot, then Slowfox, Tango, and Latino-American dances such as Samba, Rhumba, Cha-cha-cha, Pasodoble, Jive and also Disco dance, rap, etc. But unlike a male-female relationship, which is the focus in other dances, a romance between a male and a female, and the relationship between a male and female, here, the focus is on romance with the divine within – romance with this infinite, immortal space within us and outside of us. This energy which is an unmoved mover, which we are part of. We identify with that all the time, and express devotion, express ourselves in every way, feel this respect, and feel this devotion to that.
I am grateful to our Radha Subramanian for bringing this art form to Serbia and the Balkans altogether.
Namaste
My Experience in Serbian language
Monika Nedic
Namaste. My name is Monika, and I am from Serbia, an HSTD level one student. I am thrilled to have had an opportunity to be in the level one course with Radha Subramanian in Novi Sad, Serbia.
When I first saw Radha dancing in India and then in Serbia at the Festival of Consciousness, I was literally breathless after watching her because I didn’t know what to expect. That emotion in the movement was such a fantastic experience. I literally entered into the dance as the audience.
So, after watching her show during the Festival of Consciousness, I decided to take part in a level one course and learn the basics.
I can also say that I was a dancer before, I used to dance Latin dance and some other dance forms, and they were all fun and interesting, of course, because I love dancing, but it was more on a physical level. On the contrary, when I met this beautiful art form Bharathanatyam, I realised that it is much more than just a movement, much more than a physical level. So, it is literally expressing our emotions and devotion and bhakti through dance. It means that in Bharathanatyam in the Himalayan School of Traditional Dance, you literally learn how to become the dance. And you dance to express, not to impress as we usually do.
So, during the course, we learnt the basics of Bharathanatyam, and it was intense during one week, but I really, deeply appreciate Radha’s commitment, her intensity, and discipline that we had during this week because that is the only way how we can really learn the movements and give our best to learn the basics.
Radha is an excellent and professional teacher, and apart from that, she put her heart and herself into the dance. That is why I believe that she could transmit her love and her passion for dance to all of us.
I am continuing with level two now, together with participants from all over the world. I really enjoy and am happy to have this opportunity to learn this art form and express all my love, devotion, love, and passion for dance, all together in one.
Thank you so much.
Namaste
Mohanji Absolute Truth 