The yoga we practice is not for ourselves alone, but for the Divine.
Sri Aurobindo
Dancers are the messenger of the gods.
Martha Graham
The purpose of our lives is to be happy.
Dalai Lama
It is the truth that frees, not your effort to be free.
J Krishnamurti
When you go to the garden, do you look at thorns or flowers?
Spend more time with roses and jasmine.
Rumi
Allow yourself to trust joy & embrace it. You will find your dance with everything.
Emerson
I would believe only in a god who knows how to dance.
Friedrich Nietsche
The world needs healing now, and all of us, students and teachers alike, can spread the Joy of Nia and the message of movement, community, love and compassion to help heal peoples's hearts and souls and quite possible , the world.
Debbie Rosas, Co-Founder of Nia
Odissi Dance is one of the famous Classical Indian Dances (beside Kathak, Kathakali, Manipuri, Bharathanatyam). Reliefs in the Shiva Temples of Orissa / India from the 2nd century AD show the origin of the dancing postures.
Originally Odissi was performed as Mahari Dance in front of Lord Jagannath. The development of the society and political circumstances allow since the 20th century to perform in front of the public.
The technical source of the movements are written in the Natya Shastra (the text of dance, drama and music) in Sanskrit.
The beauty of this dance is mostly symbolised in the 3 Bends of the Bodyline (Tribhangi: knees, waist, neck). Soft lines in the bodymoves participate in creating an amazing graceful dance.
The mudras (=handgestures) are an impressive tool to express and dance the lives and stories of the gods. Mastering this art requires mainly strength, flexibility and control.
But essentially it is a spiritual path guided by the devotion to the divine consciousness.
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