Sri (In Search of the Goddess) explores the feminine consciousness through dance.

"Every human being has male and female energies in them and needs to find balance," said Lynn Fernandez.

Fernandez is the managing director of the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble, which will present Sri on Wednesday at the Eisenhower Auditorium.

"We interpreted the word 'sri' as all positive aspects of female energy," said Fernandez.

The first portion of the performance delves into the mythological content of the word 'sri' in a blending of traditional Indian dance and contemporary influences.

Some of the Western aspects include the use of dimension and the interaction between the dancers.

"One of the things you can never do in Indian dance is touch," said Fernandez. "Surupa broke all the rules."

Surupa Sen, Nrityagram's choreographer and principle dancer, decided to create Sri after she was asked, "What would you do if you had the opportunity?"

"I thought I'd try. It happened as if it was meant to happen," Sen said.

The ensemble worked on one section of Sri each day, allowing the dancers to express the narrative in whichever way it made sense to them.

"It's free form, free flowing ... unconnected to language," said Fernandez.

The more traditional second section of the performance is totally based on the language of the music to which it is performed.

"Indian dance is more an act of worship than performance," explained Fernandez. 'The audience becomes part of the act of worship."

"Indian dance started as worship, but it has changed," she continued. "We try to retain the spiritual aspect of it."

The Nrityagram dancers maintain spiritualism in their lives as well as in their art.

In addition to Nrityagram being a touring ensemble, it is also a village of dancers founded in northern India in 1990.

The village's long-term mission is to preserve the dying classical dance traditions of India, but it also aims to produce holistic human beings.

"We believe we are all on a journey together," said Fernandez. "All dancers and musicians work relentlessly on themselves. We use every experience to better ourselves."

The dancers perfect themselves and their art through the study of mythology, literature, yoga, meditation and martial arts, and participation in workshops on jazz, ballet and modern dance.

"When they perform, they perform as one organism," said Fernandez. "It's like watching one body on stage in terms of the mental connections between them."

The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble has danced in India and throughout the world. Fernandez said audiences are always thrilled and noted that non-Indian audience members seem to be especially delighted.

"People react to dance and music beyond boundaries and borders," said Sen. "We reach out to people in a deep manner."

The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble will present Sri (In Search of the Goddess) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Eisenhower Auditorium.

Tickets are $25 for general audience members, $20 for students, $10 for Penn State University Park students and $13 for children 12 and under.

For tickets, group sales, or information, contact the Arts Ticket Center -- 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday -- at 862-0255.