Prema Dasara is an international teacher and performer of sacred dance. Schooled in the traditions of India, Nepal, Tibet and Bali, she has created ritual dance offerings of great depth, power and beauty. Captivated by the wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism, she has choreographed dances to some of the ancient prayers and practices of this profound system ...
Prema seeks to awaken her students and audience to the magnificent potential of their own humanity. Inspiring and uplifting, she invites all to enter the bliss nectar joy of their own heart's freedom.
(Prema's spiritual journey led her to the practice of Tibetan Buddhism including an empowerment of the Goddess Tara in 1983. She discussed her visions of the Tara dance with many Tibetan teachers. They gave her their blessings to proceed. In 1985, on the island of Maui, the Tara Mandala Dance that she developed was presented for the first time to a high lama, Tai Situ Rinpoche.)
The devotion was as embracing as the soft tropical breeze the billowed our saris. (Tai Situ Rinpoche) told me then I would be sharing this in many places. He envisioned on Maui a yearly festival to the Great Mother which we have celebrated to this day. Inviting artists of all sacred traditions, we sing, dance, pray and appreciate the glorious diversity, artistry and color of the Great Mother Goddess.
It has been a great joy to travel and share this experience with women from all over the world. Women have the extraordinary power to protect, to inspire, to love. The Praises of Tara remind us of our potential, that we are worthy of honor, capable of greatness, wise in the ways of heaven and Earth. As sacred dancers we train ourselves to open to the energy of our possibilities, to make the connection with the wisdom beings that empower us through their compassion. We see every atom of our bodies vibrating with enlightened energy. And we send this potency out into our communities praying that all may be blessed with abundance, that all may be free from sorrow, that all may be established in wisdom, in love, in peace.
This is an experience of utter freedom. We completely drop our ordinary limited idea of ourselves, our self-centered obsessions. We pray that whoever sees us experiences the qualities of Tara. And if our own intention is powerful and the audience is open we are all transported.
Carrying all the silk costumes with me, I dress each woman in the vibrant color of the emanation of Tara she represents. It is a wonderful thing to see what happens to a Western woman when she is dressed in a silk sari. It is the most feminine form of dress that I know, it flows with the body; it calls our attention to our femaleness.
Sacred dance, ritual movement that provides a vehicle for the spirit, can be a catalyst of growth and empowerment. Let us explore the ancient wisdom and express our discoveries with our dancing bodies. May we attain the highest potential of our humanity and share it in joy and in truth.
Excerpted for electronic publication on the IDD Website with permission of the author, from an article originally published in _Tantra: The Magazine_ Pele Issue #5 1992. Prema Dasara plans to teach and perform on the East Coast this fall (1997). For further information, write to Dance the Sacred Offering, P.O. Box 504, Kula, Maui, HI 96790.