Hi!

I found out this in the WWW, and thought it might be interesting

Regards

DG

Video:

http://www.xtra.co.nz/broadband/0,,10550-3397420-100,00.html

http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,405...5E13762,00.html

Dancer swirls on bed of nails
From correspondents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
May 31, 2004

AN INSTRUCTOR of Indian traditional dance swirled and swayed on a bed of nails for

more than 30 minutes in Malaysia - leaving her with slightly bloodied feet and claims

to a record.

S. Mathevi, in bare feet and traditional Indian costume, performed a dance called

Baratham on a floor of about 10,000 nails in the central city of Ipoh to help raise

awareness of the non-nail version of the artform.

She also claimed to have set a record for the length of time spent dancing on a bed of

nails, and hoped her feat over the weekend would be included in the Malaysian Book of

Records and featured on US television show Ripley's Believe It Or Not,/I>.

Mathevi, 25, who has studied Baratham for 15 years, said she suffered mild bleeding

during the dance late Saturday.

"I practiced dancing on hot sand four times a day for a month to strengthen the soles

of my feet," Mathevi was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times newspaper.

"My tutor would also hit the soles of my feet with a stick for the same purpose."

She said she planned similar feats in the future.

The Associated Press

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?p...7-5-2004_pg9_12

Malaysian dancer to perform on bed of nails

A Malaysian woman aims to popularise Indian classical dance by performing on a bed of

10,000 nails this weekend, a report. S Mathevi, 25, was quoted by the national Bernama

news agency as saying she would perform the traditional Bharatanathiyam dance to seven

songs on a tiny platform measuring 2.4 metres by 0.6 metres in central Perak state.

The stunt will take Mathevi 35 minutes to complete, but she insisted that she was not

afraid of getting injured. “It was very painful when I started training a month ago

but I am very determined to do this and I am going on a tough schedule to prepare

myself for the event,” she said. afp

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Mon...Article/indexb_

html

Imagine dancing the bharathanatyam on a platform of 10,000 nails.

Dance instructor S. Mathevi not only performed the feat for 30 minutes here last night

but walked away smiling. The 25-year-old's secret? "I practised dancing on hot sand

four times a day for a month to strengthen the soles of my feet. My tutor, A.

Iruthiyam Sebastiar, would also hit the soles of my feet with a stick at intervals for

the same purpose.

"I practised till I got the hang of it, and tonight's performance proved I can do it.

The time spent and the hard work has paid off," she said after the unusual performance

at Dataran India in Jalan Lahat, near here, last night.

Mathevi, who runs dance classes in Gopeng, Sungai Siput and Malim Nawar, mesmerised

the 3,000 people with her performance.

As the audience watched with bated breath, she danced gracefully on the nails in

perfect rhythm to eight songs.

Her parents, B. Suppayar and R. Povadi, were in the audience.

Mathevi, who has 15 years of dancing experience, said this was her first effort at

performing on nails. Sebastiar plans to submit a recording of Mathevi's achievement to

Ripley's Believe It or Not.

The event was held in conjunction with Mother's Day celebrations organised by the

Sebastiar Art Academy with the co-operation of the Cultural Bureaux of the Ipoh Barat

MIC division and Sungai Pari MIC branch.