The 108 karaṇa make up the oldest Indian alphabet of movements to dance, theatre, sculpture and music codified in the Nāṭyaśāstra. Their oral transmission is extremely rare, and the author of the present publication nourished her theoretical research with the instruction in Bharata-nam that she received firstly in Paris from Amala Devi, in Chennai from Swarnamukhi, State Dancer of Tamil Nadu, and subsequently, over a period of thirty years, from Natyacharya K. Muralidhar Rao, in Mysore (Karnataka). Interpretations of karaṇa poses and steps from the Nāṭyaśāstra are countless and creative, and they inspire contemporary artists.

In 2022 the author made a film on the teaching of Natyacharya K. Muralidhar Rao, which is freely accessible to readers of this book: Bharatanatyam Dance Theatre: DANCING OF THE HEART, with support from Labex Arts-H2H/EUR ArTec (Paris 8 and UPL University).

Katia Légeret is a researcher and Professor of Philosophy and Performing Arts Aesthetics at University Paris 8, where she leads the research team Scènes du monde [world stages]. Director and choreographer, she is a bharata-nāṭyam artist under the name Manochhaya, and a specialist in traditional and contemporary Indian forms of dance theatre. She is the author, in particular, of Danse Contemporaine Indienne et Théâtre Indien: Un Nouvel Art? (PUV, 2010) and Dance Theatre of India, Crossing New Aesthetics and Cultures (Niyogi Books, 2018), and has edited collective works including Rodin and the Dance of Shiva (Niyogi Books, 2016), Créons au Musée (Geuthner, 2019) and French-Indian dancer Nyota-Inyoka (1896-1971) The Genius and the Dance (Geuthner, 2022). The latter relates to an international research project (Labex Arts-H2H and EUR ArTeC) involving partnerships in Paris with RMN-Grand Palais, the Musée National des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

À la fois yoga, art martial, théâtre, danse, poésie et musique, le bharata-natyam puise sa sagesse en Inde dans l’observation de la nature et de ses mouvements, en particulier ceux des arbres. L’Abhinaya-darpaṇa, un texte antérieur au VIe siècle, a élaboré une gestuelle des arbres exceptionnelle, mais très rarement traduite et pratiquée. Katia Légeret-Manochhaya vous invite à la découvrir. Elle y fait fructifier la transmission du maître de bharata-natyam K. Muralidhar Rao qu’elle a reçue à Mysore de 1985 à 2014.
Dans son enseignement oral qui accompagne ce livre, il s’agit de se ressourcer avec les arbres qui nous entourent, à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur de soi, par la méditation, la respiration et le mouvement. La gestuelle des arbres est une énergétique puissante qui harmonise en nous-mêmes rythmes, souffle et sérénité.

Nos enseignements artistiques sont proposés sur le site www.creons-au-musee.com

Combining yoga, martial art, theatre, dance, poetry and music, bharata-natyam draws its wisdom from the observation of nature and its movements, in particular those of trees. The Abhinaya-darpaṇa, a text that dates from before the 6th century, codified an exceptional gestural language of trees, but it is very rarely translated and practiced. Katia Légeret-Manochhaya invites you to discover it. In this way she passes on the teachings of bharata-natyam master Muralidhar Rao which she received at Mysore from 1985 to 2014.
Her oral teachings, which accompany this book, are concerned with nourishing ourselves with the trees that surround us, inside and outside ourselves, through meditation, breathing and movement. The gestural language of trees is a powerful energy that harmonises our rhythms, breath and serenity.

Our artistic teachings are available on the site www.creons-au-musee.com

Katia Légeret est artiste de bharata-natyam (théâtre dansé de l’Inde) chercheuse et professeure des universités en philosophie de l’art. Elle a publié de nombreux ouvrages sur les arts de l’Inde, sur la médiation culturelle au musée et sur les liens entre art et écologie.
Katia Légeret is a bharata-natyam artist (dance theatre of India), university professor and researcher of philosophy of art. She has published numerous works on the arts of India, cultural mediation in museums and the links between art and ecology.