Nataraja, is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the divine dancer. His dance is called Nadanta, depending on the context of the dance; the pose and artwork is described in many Hindu texts such as the Anshumadbhed agama and Uttarakamika agama, the dance relief or idol featured in all major Hindu temples of Shaivism. The classical form of the depiction appears in stone reliefs, as at the Ellora Caves and the Badami Caves, by around the 6th-century. Around the 10th century, it emerged in Tamil Nadu in its mature and best-known expression in Chola bronzes, of various heights less than four feet, some over; the Nataraja reliefs have been identified in historic artwork from many parts of South Asia, in southeast Asia such as in Bali, in central Asia. The sculpture is symbolic of Shiva as the lord of dance and dramatic arts, with its style and proportions made according to Hindu texts on arts, it shows Shiva dancing in one of the Natya Shastra poses, holding Agni in his left back hand, the front hand in gajahasta or dandahasta mudra, the front right hand with a wrapped snake, in abhaya mudra while pointing to a Sutra text, the back hand holding a musical instrument a damaru.

His body, ankles, face, ear lobes and dress are shown decorated with symbolic items, which vary with historic period and region. He is surrounded by a ring of flames, standing on a lotus pedestal, lifting his left leg and balancing / trampling upon a demon shown as a dwarf who symbolizes ignorance; the dynamism of the energetic dance is depicted with the whirling hair which spread out in thin strands as a fan behind his head. The details in the Nataraja artwork have been variously interpreted by Indian scholars since the 12th-century for its symbolic meaning and theological essence. Nataraja is a well known sculptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture, in particular as one of the finest illustrations of Hindu art; the word Nataraja is a Sanskrit term, from नट Nata meaning "act, dance" and राज Raja meaning "king, lord". According to Ananda Coomaraswamy, the name is related to Shiva's fame as the "Lord of Dancers" or "King of Actors"; the form is known as Nataraja in Tamil Nadu and as Narteśvara or Nṛityeśvara in North India, with all three terms meaning "Lord of the dance".

Narteśvara stems from Nṛtta same as Nata which means "act, dance" and Ishvara meaning "lord". Natesa is another alternate equivalent term for Nataraja found in 1st-millennium sculptures and archeological sites across the Indian subcontinent; the dance of Shiva in Tillai, the traditional name for Chidambaram, forms the motif for all the depictions of Shiva as Nataraja. In Tamil, he is known as “Sabesan” which splits as “Sabayil aadum eesan” which means “The Lord who dances on the dais”; this form is present in most Shiva temples, is the prime deity in the Nataraja Temple at Chidambaram. The two most common forms of Shiva's dance are the Lasya, associated with the creation of the world, the Tandava, associated with the destruction of weary worldviews—weary perspectives and lifestyles. In essence, the Lasya and the Tandava are just two aspects of Shiva’s nature. According to Alice Boner, the historic Nataraja artworks found in different parts of India are set in geometric patterns and along symmetric lines the satkona mandala that in the Indian tradition means the interdependence and fusion of masculine and feminine principles.

Nataraja is shown with his wife Parvati as they dance together. As the Lord of Dance, Shiva performs the Ananda Tandava, the dance in which the universe is created and dissolved; the symbolism in the art has been variously interpreted by scholars since the Chola empire era: He dances within a circular or cyclically closed arch of flames, which symbolically represent the cosmic fire that in Hindu cosmology creates everything and consumes everything, in cyclic existence or cycle of life. The fire represents the evils, heat, warmth and joys of daily life; the arch of fire emerges from two makara on each end, which are water creatures and part of Hindu mythologies. His legs are bent, his long, matted tresses, are shown to be loose and flying out in thin strands during the dance, spread into a fan behind his head, because of the wildness and ecstasy of the dance. On his right side, meshed in with one of the flying strands of his hair near his forehead, is the river Ganges personified as a goddess, from the Hindu mythology where the danger of a mighty river is creatively tied to a calm river for the regeneration of life.

The upper right hand holds a small drum shaped like an hourglass, called a ḍamaru in Sanskrit. A specific hand gesture called, it symbolizes time. The upper left hand contains fire, which signifies forces of creation and destruction; the opposing concepts show the counterpoise nature of life. A cobra uncoils from his lower right forearm, while his palm shows the Abhaya mudra, suggesting not to fear nearby evil, as well as evil and ignorance surrounding the devotee as he or she follows the righteousness of dharma; the lower left hand is bent downwards at the wrist with the palm facing inward(away from th

Vampire Beach Babes are a Canadian gothabilly band, from Toronto, Ontario who have toured internationally. Their music combines pop rhythms, goth rock sounds, electronic/industrial elements; the band includes a changing roster of members. In 1997 the Vampire Beach Babes released their first album Reckless Summer In 2002 the Vampire Beach Babes released Attack of the Killer Bikinis; the Vampire Beach Babes released the album Beach Blanket Bedlam in 2004. Around this time they started to blend dark-electronic elements into their recording productions and performances, they continued to perform the Toronto club scene, with showcase performances in the United States. The Vampire Beach Babes and played the Whitby Gothic Weekend in 2006. and that year were featured by Metal Hammer as one of the world’s 28 upcoming metal bands to watch for. The Vampire Beach Babes' music has been featured in television and film, including the October 2007 episode of The Best Years and the "Vampires" episode of Shadow Hunter.

In 2007 the band members, in addition to Baron Marcus on lead vocal and rhythm guitar, were Melinda a.k.a. Bunny, Siren and Eris; as of 2018 the band is active in studio and will be releasing material in the fall of this year, in cooperation with a "Game-Novel" media project called Angel Devil Machine. Reckless Summer Attack of the Killer Bikinis Beach Blanket Bedlam Summer of 2006 Advance EP Freak Parade Music of Canada List of Canadian musicians List of bands from Canada Category:Canadian musical groups Goth subculture Toronto goth scene Official website

Epsom is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. As of the 2017 general election, its member of parliament is David Seymour. Epsom has been an important electorate in New Zealand politics since 2005 as it has allowed the ACT Party to gain seats in parliament without meeting the five percent party vote threshold as the party leaders David Seymour, John Banks and Rodney Hide had won the electorate before, being the only ACT party member with a seat in the parliament. Epsom is based around eastern Auckland City, it contains the suburbs of Parnell, Mount Eden, half of Greenlane and the eponymous suburb of Epsom. Under boundary changes resulting from the 2006 census, Epsom was enlarged to include the central city suburb of Grafton, but most of the area was lost again following the 2013 census, it is New Zealand's smallest electorate, covering just 20 km2. Epsom was created ahead of the first Mixed Member Proportional election in 1996, carved out of the Remuera and Eden seats.

Remuera was a safe seat for the National Party, having never elected a member of parliament from the Labour Party, while Eden was a bellwether seat, changing hands with the change of government. Both of these seats were held by National MPs – Christine Fletcher in Eden and Doug Graham in Remuera; the electorate's population is predominately New Zealand European with a significant Asian population. The median household income is $118,300 – the highest of all New Zealand electorates; the Epsom seat was first contested in New Zealand's first MMP election in 1996. The National party candidate was Christine Fletcher. With Fletcher standing down at the 1999 election to focus on her role as the newly elected Mayor of Auckland, the electorate battle was a contest between new National candidate Richard Worth and ACT List MP Rodney Hide. Worth won the seat by 1,900 votes. In 2002, he retained Epsom, with other parties contesting only the party vote; the 2005 race for Epsom was won by Rodney Hide after a tough contest for the personal vote.

As the leader of ACT, Hide was determined to contest Epsom in order to guarantee his party's representation in the next parliament, should ACT not break the five percent threshold – under New Zealand electoral law, a party can gain representation by either getting five percent of the vote or by winning one or more electoral seats. As it became more ACT would not break five percent, the campaign in Epsom became more intense, with Hide lobbying voters to vote strategically to keep ACT in Parliament, a message that prevailed, with National MP Richard Worth, defeated by 3,102 votes on election night and returned to Parliament via the National Party list. Hide's win in Epsom allowed ACT member Heather Roy to enter parliament. Hide increased his majority in 2008, winning Epsom allowed four other ACT MPs to enter parliament, but Hide stepped down as ACT leader in April 2011 after succumbing to a leadership challenge from Don Brash. The ACT party selected former Auckland Mayor John Banks as their candidate for the 2011 election, who won the contest.

In 2013, John Banks announced that he would leave Parliament at the 2014 election, so would not contest the Epsom electorate. After being found guilty at trial for electoral fraud, he announced his resignation effective 13 June 2014, leaving the Epsom seat vacant. Due to the proximity of the next general election, Parliament voted by supermajority to avoid a by-election. Key National ACT Labour Green Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person unsuccessfully contested the Epsom electorate. Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms ended at general elections. 1Replaced Jill White as list MP2Resigned June 2009, list place taken by Cam Calder Electorate: 48,761 Electorate Profile Parliamentary Library