A lyrical poem by Kayla Lewis

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Universal Language

Bodies: pulsing, shifting, intertwining draw elegant lines before my eyes

Sound: ethereal, energetic, powerful lifts the hairs on my neck and arms

Beat: rhythmic, syncopated, deliberate syncs my breath and heartbeat to the song

Color: bright, soft, shining fills my eyes with their expanding aura

Energy: passionate, sad, happy envelopes my soul as I fall into the dancers’ eyes

Music: sound and beat become one, drowning me in raw emotion

Dance: colors wrapped around energetic bodies come to life in beautiful and complex motion

Ballet: art of the air, unearthly, international language, physical and emotional inseparable

Bharata Natyam: Natyashastra, devadasi marry Krishna forever bound in transcendental love

Russia: Italian Renaissance, 17^th c. France, Tsars, ideals of aristocrats, effortless style and grace

India: dance originates in religion, philosopher-teachers, concentration of Yogic mind

Dumbois: emotion and gesture allow connection and communication stronger than words

Meduri: ideal spectator (sahrydaya) perceives the sublime in the erotic, the divine in the human

Communication: exchange of ideas, thoughts, feelings bonding and unifying me with others

expression abhinaya speech vacika, costume aharya,

body angika, psychological state sattvika

Dance, Music, Communication

Universal Language

A lyrical poem by Kayla Lewis

Special Thanks to Professor Rachel Holdt