Indian Dance that Bedazzled the West
The GK is working on a precious little story about Ruth St. Denis, the inspired, revolutionary dancer who enchanted the West with her Indian dances at the turn of the 20th century. It turns out that the dances were not Indian at all, but inspired by Ruth’s own reverence for Hindu religion and mysticism.
Eventually, she would boldly take her troupe to perform in India, to Maharajas and Ranis—but that is a story that you can read about in the magazine!
Her husband, the also legendary Ted Shawn, was inspired while in India to create one of his most famous performances: The Cosmic Dance of Shiva. Above, Shawn in Germany as Shiva. And below, Ruth St. Denis visits a Hindu temple in 1926.
The interesting part is, both Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn knew Gurudeva. Ruth even created choreographies for him. In a letter of recommendation dated December 16, 1944, she says of young Gurudeva, “He is a very good dancer—capable of lending his talent to any occasion.”
This is a short video of Ted Shawn dancing his interpetation of The Cosmic Dance of Shiva:
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From Our Gurus' Teachings
- Gurudeva's Master Course Lesson of the Day
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Bodhinatha's Latest Upadesha: "Understanding Karma" (March 21, 2013)
Mitigate karma by living a religious life, being disciplined, following dharma, being of service, accepting responsibility. We create the future by how we act in the present, wisely, through introspection, punyam, detachment from emotion. Utilizing the law of karma we mature spiritually keeping life sublime. Challenges are good making us stronger, developing new abilities. Commentary on The Master Course, Lessons 341,342.
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October 1st, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Wow!
This quite Cosmic! Literally!
Unbelievebly cool!
Aum Namo Nataraja
October 2nd, 2009 at 3:33 am
Absolutely delightful!