YAMA, Dance Inspired by the Essence of Yoga

April 14, 2017

In 2014, Laura Arend, a French dancer and choreographer, spent a month in India to complete her training in Yoga. What she experienced in the country changed her life forever. She questioned her connection to life and death. Taking all this thought on her new dance project, YAMA is heavily inspired by Buddhist philosophies and yoga. “I saw struggle in India and interestingly, I saw peacefulness in that struggle. I saw people taking time to watch the sunset and smile. All the colours, flavours and noises were so intriguing,” explains Arend.

The dance opens in a dark world, exploring reality as a mirror of society. The dance tells the story of Man and the constant internal battle that human beings fight when they feel judged or incapable of existing. Arend describes the process of ideating this to the choreography as taking the audience on a journey, “The starting point is the five Yamas that represent non-violence, truthfulness, detachment, moderation and not stealing. I wanted to develop each one of these elements and take the audience on a journey from darkness to colour.”

Taking her dancers to explore these different facets, Arend questions whether or not we really need to be perfect to be happy. The main prop in this performance is a cage which can be seen placed on heads or being passed around throughout the dance. “The cage has two meanings for me. Firstly, it represents freedom but at the same time it is the struggles you carry with you all the time. It contains all the moments you felt low but can’t let go off,” mentions Arend about the symbolism of the cage.

An avid yoga practitioner, Arend along with her troop, brings in movements that are spontaneous and improvisation will play a key role in this contemporary performance. “I will invoke a chaotic imagery that depicts experiences in reality that has caused us pain. Dance is an extraordinary path to freedom, personal growth and happiness.”

YAMA will be performed at the Avayava Contemporary Dance Festival on April 16 at Shakuntala Jagannath Shetty Auditorium.