The Dance of Yoga

FICCI FLO Hyderabad chapter organised a lecture-demonstration by noted classical dance exponent Dr Yashoda Thakore titled, 'The Dance of Yoga', as the first in its Knowledge Labs series. The session espoused the interrelationship between classical dance forms of India and yoga.

Usharani Manne, Chairperson, FICCI FLO Hyderabad Chapter said, "Enrich is an integral part of our vision statement this year. Our endeavor is to facilitate the experiential learning approach offering a treasure chest of powerful lifetime skills for transformation and personal growth.

This session 'The Dance of Yoga', is aimed at nourishing the mind, body, and spirit. We are honored to have been able to host Dr Yashoda Thakore, a renowned classical dance scholar, exponent, and Guru who showed us how yoga and dance can lead us to achieve inner peace. As a practitioner of yoga myself, I have been able to see the immense benefits that this great discipline has imbued in me. We have learned today several aspects of yoga that could transform our very perspective on how we view life."

Dr Yashoda Thakore said, "'But dance itself if Yoga!' is a statement heard very often. Is it, really? Patanjali the sage saw Yoga as clarity of mind, which leads to Kaivalya or joy. Bharata, the author of Natya Shastra saw classical dance as the wholesome activity that leads to Rasa or an aesthetic experience bordering on trance.

The two sound very similar and yet are slightly different from each other. This interaction is a peek into understanding the yogic aspects in Indian dance, Kuchipudi in particular, through dancing."

Dr Yashoda Thakore is an exponent of Kuchipudi and Devadasi Nrityam (the repertoire of the hereditary women dancers) and reinforces her repertoire with her understanding and practice of Yoga. She has performed across the globe by invitation at various prestigious fora.

She was awarded the Doctoral degree for her research on Interrelationship between Yoga and Indian Classical Dances. Yashoda authored the book Kaivalya-Joy in Yoga and Dance, which was published in 2014. She has also co-authored the Translation of Nritta Ratnavali, a 13thC text and the same was published by the IGNCA, Government of India.

Yashoda is now Chair, Department of Kuchipudi, University of Silicon Andhra, California where she teaches dance history, theory, and practice to graduate students. She was conferred the Bangalore Nagaratnamma award in 2017 by the Samskruti organisation, Guntur, and the Ugadi Puraskaram by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.