Manochhaya was trained in Japanese martial arts from an early
age by her father and teacher S. Kas‚. She was initiated
in the Bharata-Natyam sacred dance by Amala Devi, the only direct
recipient of the teaching transmitted by Meenaksshi Sundaram
Pillai to Ram Gopal.
Manochhaya has been privileged to dance with K. Swarnamukhi,
Tamil Nadu State dancer, in all the great temples and religious
festivals of southern India. From him she has received 108
karanes.
As from 1985, Manochhaya's teacher of karnataka, K. Muralidhar
Rao, has composed performances for his pupil inspired in ancient
rituals such as the dashavatars, navagrahas, and the Purandaradasa
devaranama. She has studied Mysore tradition with Venkatalakshamma,
a dancer at the Maharajah's court well-known for the dances
of the astapatis of Gita-Govinda.
In 1996 Manochhaya was invited to perform at the Palais de
Chaillot at the official closing ceremony of France's India
Year. In the course of her international career she has performed
at venues such as the Music Academy, Madras, the Staat Museum,
Berlin and at major theatres in Luxembourg, Brussels, Geneva,
Lucerne and Vienna.
In 1997, invited by Hubert Reeves, Manochhaya gave her fifth
performance of the Dance of the Planets at the International
Astrophysicians' Congress at the UNESCO Palace. This was in
the course of a European tour sponsored by the Indian Embassy
to celebrate the country's 50th. anniversary of independence.
Manochhaya is the author of a book on the relationship between
Bharata-Natyam and astronomy, cosmic dance and the Po‚tique
de l'‚clat, a meeting point between Indian and contemporary
dance traditions.
Under the French name of Katia Lègeret, Manochhaya
pursues an active academic career at the École Normale
Supérieur en Philosophie, being responsible for many
research projects commissioned by the Ministries of Culture
and Foreign Affairs.
She has been script-writer and actress in the following films
" Shiva Dance" (directed by Lionel Tardif Palme
d'Or des Arts et des Lettres and CIDALC UNESCO Prize), "La
Danse Indienne et ses Codes" (Media-C) and "Rasa"
(Château-Vallon Festival).
In 1998, the Sorbonne commissioned Manochhaya to direct research
into the aesthetics of dance. Her thesis, "The 108 steps
of the god Shiva" has been published by Éditions
Shastri.
Manochhaya has opened a school of Indian dance at Tours presided
by Master K. Muaralidur Rao, who has given approval to the
school's organisation and has guaranteed the quality and authentic
nature of the traditional pandanallur teaching.
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Mysore
tradition
Kanval Sibal,
Ambaixador de l'Índia |
There has long been a tradition of female dance in the Mysore
region of southern India, both inside the temples and at the
the court of the Maharajah. From the 11th. to the 13th. centuries
the queens of the Hoysala dynasty, such as the famous Shantala,
were expert performers, dancing before the magnificent Madanika
statues in the temples of Belur.
The bharata-nâtyam repertoire now taught in the majority
of Indian schools was established at the beginning of the
19th. century at the court of King Sarfoji II of Tanjore.
One of the four founders, Chinnaya, settled in Mysore as an
honoured guest of King Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, for whom he
composed new varnams and thillanas. This specific style of
bharata-nâtyam, called pandanallur, continues in Mysore
thanks to the teaching of K. Muralidhar Rao. There remains
one court dancer, Venkatalakshamma, who moved her teaching
of the abhinaya art to Mysore University when the last Maharajah
ceased to reign. Born in 1924, K. Muralidhar Rao has had three
famous teachers Rajan Iyer for Kathakali, the dance theatre
of Kerala, Chokkalingam Pilla‹ and Rajaratman for Bharata-Nâtyam
and Krishnamacarya for yoga. When the great T. Baladaraswati
(1918-1985) saw the young pupils of K. Muralidhar Rao dancing
on stage, she announced in public that "this master has
extended the frontiers of Beauty yet further: he has revealed
a new part of the world to us." In 1984, the master of
Hindustani music, Gangubai Hanagal, asked K. Muralidhar Rao
to compose a dance drama on the work of the poet Purandaradasa,
with the musician himself representing the life of the holy
poet on stage. The performance won acclaim throughout southern
India. In 1990, the Kalakshetra School and its chandrabaga
principal, Devi, recognised that in addition to his mastery
of the pandallur style, K. Muralidhar Rao was a musician whose
rich, creative talent was essential for the future of Indian
dance.
Although K. Muralidhar Rao has preferred not to establish
a school, wishing to preserve the quality of oral transmission
of his art to a select number of pupils, and also on account
of his desire to remain at a distance from the world of the
teatre, the government of Karnataka has invested him with
the Shantala Award, distinguishing him as the greatest master
of Bharata-Nƒtyam. Since 1985 he has composed some 100
choreographies for Manochhaya, most of which are based on
ancient temple rituals such as the Navagrahas seven hours
of performance.
Deva Stuti (Sanskrit) This invocation to the gods is to pray
for their blessing on all the dances which are to follow.
Churnike (Sanskrit) raga arabhi In the tradition of Mysore
and the Maharajah's court, certain Sanskrit poems were always
sung and danced at the beginning of a performance. This type
of composition, called "churnike", is dedicated
to one specific god, praying for his blessing and protection
during the performance.
Decked out in precious pearls, she is seated on a lion throne.
Called Lakshmi of the elephants, goddess of wealth and beauty,
she is the mother of the entire world. Her four arms are covered
in jewels, there are bells on her ankles and she wears a golden
tunic. Her white teeth, her coral-coloured lips and her lotus
eyes shine as bright as the moon. For this child of the Earth,
Rama has killed the devil Ravana. She confers her blessing
on all who adore this goddess, daughter of Janaka and wife
of Vishnu.
The dancer enters to make a floral offering to the god of
Shiva dance, and then performs this churnike dedicated to
Lakshmi.
Devaranama (Kannada) raga malike tala adi "Baro Krishneya"
is a composition by the famous Karnataka poet Purandaradasa
(born in the 16th. century). The dedicatee is the god Krishna,
invoked in multiple forms.
The child rocked by his mother, playing ball or hide and seek;
the adolescent seducing the shepherdesses with the sound of
his flute, supplying the rhythm of their dance with his bells,
bracelets and rings; the god praying daily in the temple.
Seeking him in all his manifestations, the heroine attempts
to move closer and closer to Krishna, but never manages to
keep him at her side.
Padavarnam (tamoul) raga malike tala adi The jewel of the
performance, this dance develops the full richness of the
Bharata-Nƒtyam. Varnam means "colour" and casts
light on all the subtle nuances of the Feeling of Love (sringara
rasa) and all the subtleties of the musical modes (raga malike).
Alternating complex sequences of pure dance with narrative
passages, this choreography by K.N. Dandayudapani : Pillai
tests the dancer's powers of endurance and her gifts of improvisation.
Ho he oms de moment.The heroine suffers the torments of separation
and pines for the return of her beloved Shiva. With her confidante
as witness, she goes to the temple to make offerings and take
part in the procession. After leaving garlands before the
gods, she becomes anxious about the return of her beloved,
and feels the nectar of Spring spread within her breast. She
imagines the dance of Shiva: "The Moon and Ganga adorn
his hair. Vishnu and Brahma mark the rhythm. Nandi is on the
mridamgam. Narada plays the vina and sings. Her gold lotus
feet smite the ground and then rise. Such is my Lord, the
King of Kings. Will he soon return to be near me?"
Padam "Alepayoude" (tamoul) raga Kannada tala adi
A young shepherdess is alone after the departure of her beloved
Krishna. Every moment seems to bring her the sound of his
flute mingled with the other noises she can hear the sighing
of the wind, birdsong, children shouting, the rustle of leaves,
the river... To go and meet Krishna she progressively leaves
her daily tasks feeding the children or joining in their games,
going to the well, making sandalwood pulp, butter making...
Split between ecstasy and despair, the young girl compares
her changing emotional states to the everlasting waves of
the ocean.
Thillana raga Brindhavana saranga tala adi Written by the
famous composer Balamurali Krishna, this thillana is a pure
dance offering. A brilliant choreography communicating a sense
of great joy, the thillana always danced at the end of a traditional
Bharata-Nƒtyam recital, combining rhythmic complexity,
virtuoso technique and physical stamina.
Mangalam: Blessing and leave-taking "With the varnam
the dancer gains access to the shrine of the divinity (...).
The thillana fires movement like camphor igniting at an extrovert
moment of tumult. Finally the dancer places in his inner heart
the god which he has been worshipping by his display."
Balasaraswati
The Indian Embassy has supported Manochhaya on several occasions,
sponsoring her performances, which are of a high technical
and aesthetic quality. It is extremely rare for a Westerner
to master the classical bharata-nƒtyam style with such
talent and grace. In recognition of the qualities of this
artist, her devotion, talent and knowledge, we continue to
support her in her work, whose aim is to preserve one of the
most ancient forms of classical Indian dance and to bring
greater understanding of this art to the Western world.
Paris. May, 2000
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