Sarada / Saraswati

This dance is a stylized form of Divine Femininity in action.  Sarada is the giver of wisdom.  As Saraswati, she is the ancient Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, wisdom, and learning.  She is one of the Tridevi, or three goddesses, along with Lakshmi and Parvati.  It's interesting to note that in the historical Harrapan civilization of the Indus valley, there were five rivers that were formed by the glacial melt at the end of the last Ice Age, and the most important of these rivers was the Saraswati.  The goddess Saraswati is often shown holding a veena on her lap, an instrument whose sound produces rapture, rhythm, and a melodious form of transcendence.  I can recognize that the dancer is taking sculptural poses that emulate sacred statuary, but I don't know what the poses themselves are meant to convey.

It's also interesting to note that in the Middle Ages in Europe, scholars and monks would always refer to, and make prayers or pleas to, the goddess of wisdom, who was known as Sophia.  In the great age of Mary, wisdom was also conceived of as granted by the feminine muse of Sophia.  Grace through Mary, Wisdom through Sophia.  Not a coincidence or mistake, I believe.  This dance happens to be a remnant of that ancient wisdom and those long-standing internal beliefs.