A little bit of culture graced Ames Sunday night when acclaimed Indian dancer Alarmel Valli performed her interpretation of the Bharatnaatyam dance form at the Ames City Auditorium, 515 Clark Ave., for a crowd of about 300 people.

Valli has performed all over the world, from Moscow to Venice, Italy. She has even performed for royal families in England and the Netherlands.

Well, if it’s good enough for royalty, who are the rest of us to complain?

Not that Valli gave anyone a reason to complain. Her performance, despite its lack of prominent attendees, was fit for a king or even an emperor. She commanded the audience with her grace, energy and physical beauty.

The show started with Valli offstage, telling the audience about the first dance over the sound system in her smooth, melodic voice. However, she could be heard moving around backstage because of bells attached to her feet. As the sound of the bells grew louder, the anticipation of the start of the show increased. Four musicians sat on the stage floor, playing an introduction.

And then she appeared. Valli was a barefoot vision in classic Indian royal blue and gold attire, with a braid of black hair hanging to her knees. Every movement she made mirrored a beat given by the percussionist, from a huge arm movement to a simple flick of the wrist to even a mere tap of her toes. Every time she stomped her foot, the bells on her ankle rang, making her not only a dancer but one of the musicians as well. The precision of the sound of the bells was reminiscent of American tap dance. Not only could a mistake be seen, but it could also be heard.

If Valli ever made a mistake, though, it was not apparent to the audience. Her energy radiated through the entire auditorium like a burning star. She commanded the attention of all present, not allowing a soul to remove their eyes from her.

Preceding her final four dances, Valli explained to the audience the meaning of the poems upon which her dances were based. She showed through movement different elements of each dance, from a hand symbol for a lover to the arm movements for thunder and lightning. The dances focused on love, the cycle of life and the loss a mother endured when her daughter eloped, although Valli was quick to point out her interpretation of the poem was by no means an endorsement for elopement.

By telling the audience in English what the poems meant, audience members who did not understand the lyrics were able to grasp the meaning of the songs. This enabled non-Indian audience members to better appreciate the dances and the Indian culture.

Valli’s dancing, as amazing as it was, was not the most compelling thing about her performance. What made the performance phenomenal was her eyes. Her dark, exotic eyes said more with one look than most actually say their entire lives. She used them to be sad, happy and flirtatious. The looks she gave with her eyes, combined with tiny head wiggles, projected a sexiness that pop idols can only hope to achieve with their skimpy, cleavage-baring outfits. She had passion in her eyes. They asked, “How dare you not be smitten with me?” She had beauty to be envious of, the kind you don’t want your boyfriend to ever see.

Her eyes, her dance and her energy made time stop during the two hours she danced for, a quality critics have noted before. Valli certainly has halted time for herself, looking 20 years younger than she is and dancing with the energy of a teenager, despite being born in 1957. Those who did not see the show missed a timeless dancer and a great view of Indian culture.