Spiritual Fridays: Natya Nectar has a cirque du soleilisque take on the Ramayana and Mahabharata

“People around the world are practicing yoga, ayurveda, meditation, chanting Hare Krishna and becoming pure vegetarians; so how does it look when Indians are killing cows, becoming alcoholics, dressing provocatively and losing a sense of their roots,” asks the dancer, whose upcoming production Bhumi, “a prayerful attempt to bring higher consciousness to our lifestyles in India, by living in spiritual and material harmony,” will debut at the Kamini Auditorium in Delhi on 5 November 2013.

Two years ago, this grey-green eyed Indophile choreographed Kamasutra asanas into an acroyoga piece that served as the opening for Lady Gaga at the F1 launch in Delhi. Semi-finalists at India’s Got Talent, her troupe, Natya Nectar, has performed at Amitabh Bachchan 70th birthday and at couture shows for Tarun Tahiliani and others.

A pigeon-toed child, Goura Prema’s mother introduced her to ballet and Bharatnatyam in the hope that the discipline of outward-pointed toes would straighten out her feet. Now, as Director of the Natya Nectar Dance Academy, New Delhi, she is thousands of miles away from New Dwarka, ISKCON, Los Angeles, where she grew up in the Bhakti Yoga practising Hare Krishna community, learning the mridangam, studying the Bhagavad Gita, leading kirtans for adult devotees, and playing the roles of Radha, Sita and even Krishna at performances.

The third of four sisters raised by a single mother, with her Associates Degree in Dance and Nutrition from Santa Monica College, life could have taken her anywhere, but the signs kept pointing to India. The intensive Kathak training she received as a back-up dancer in American Blend, a Bollywood movie starring Anupam Kher in Los Angeles, convinced her that this was the dance form she was born to devote her life to. Her mother, Mahadevi Dasi, who claims that even as a baby her tiny fingers were forming mudras as she slept, was teaching in Vrindavan at that point and encouraged her to come to India and study in a performing arts school. So she packed her bags and moved to New Delhi, where she was accepted at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra in 2005.

Her name, which made her stand out in California but blends smoothly into the Indian context, is Sanskrit for “love for the golden Lord”. However, it wasn’t until a car accident on the Delhi streets took away her ability to dance that she started to develop a deeper relationship with the divine.
Despite doctors’ recommendations that she find a new profession, she was determined to dance again. Born October 31, 1983, Goura Prema credits her double-Leo astrological leanings for her unwavering focus. Her vedic astrologer’s assurance that “she was born to be a dancer in this lifetime” soothed her doubts as she visualised her way back into ghungroos. Three operations and about a year’s worth of physical therapy later, she was leaping across the stage, as Maricha the demon-turned-doe, in a 30-day performace of Ramlila by the Ram Kendra.

As she aspires to the electric stage presence, grace, precision and exquisite choreography of Aditi Mangaldas; the Natya Shashtra, mediation, pranayama, mantras, pujas, Gita readings, quiet time alone and a healthy diet serve as her spiritual anchors. The classically trained Kathak dancer, acrobatic aerialist and yoga teacher trains her dancers “from a perspective of prayer and internal meditation” because “all dances are sacred”. The Natya Nectar Dance Company blends classical Indian dance forms with acro yoga and aerial asanas in what sounds like an Indian version of Cirque du Soleil, who’s exceptionally high level of dance expression Goura Prema hopes to match in her endeavour to take productions like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and Bhumi to a global audience.

The 40-member cast of Bhumi, includes acrobats, dancers, aerialists and live musicians from Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, America and of course India. Bhumi’s architectural sets will feature the skills of some of India’s best lighting, fashion and production designers... Will it live up to its hype? Perhaps. More importantly, will it showcase the relevance of Indian classical art forms in a contemporary space? We certainly hope so, for the sake of the golden-haired dancer who’s trying to fulfill her “dharma in India” in “service” of the blue-skinned love of her life.

Vessel of Worship
I feel as though I am an instrument and dance is being channeled through my body. I see dance as service to the Divine, a language to express my truths and love for God and His Creations. Dance is my voice in this lifetime.