The ‘Dance as Yoga’ Philosophy
The yogic and tantric traditions tell us that in essence, we are our own Gurus. I believe we all dance to seek our own essential blissful Self and, in the process, meet the Guru within. The external teacher is primarily a conduit to pass on traditional knowledge with clarity and to the best of their ability, while holding space for the student’s own personal and fulfilling journey.
All classes I teach are structured around deconstructing Odissi’s movement phrases into their pivotal positions and understanding them as energetic mandalas. I call this process ‘Dance as Yoga’. It is within such a kinespheric space that peripheral body parts are moved to rhythm and melody. Repetitive practice with this vision allows for building an understanding of the kinesphere as a virtual temple around your body.
The process had two aspects. The first is the ‘outside-in approach’ where the focus is on mastering external movements of the physical body in the classical language of Odissi and the second is the ‘inside-out approach’. The latter privileges bodily sensations and the experience of the movement. I liken this two-fold approach to another traditional precept that learning about our essential nature happens through shravana(listening/watching), manana (deep reflection or contemplation) and nididhyasa (assimilation through repetitive practice). These are made possible by the ’inside-out’ approach where movements are reflected on deeply with reference to the tantric and yogic body map. Sensitization to energy flows in the body becomes manana when you hold space for the awareness of how a movement is affecting and releasing held tensions in your body’s architecture.
Any classical Indian art form transforms your personality and Odissi practiced with a conscious reference to yogic and tantric precepts is no different. Mastering Odissi movement through Dance as Yoga is a psycho-somatic process which allows you to follow the ‘taste of alignment and pleasure’ as your guiding principles throughout the practice. This is vitally important to safeguard against the pitfall of training over many years and acquiring a movement language that is fluent but mechanical – a situation that is a disservice both to the creative self and to the tradition. It is an approach that washes away your malas (impurities that cause mental, physical and emotional distress) and shows the way for a joyful and empowered embodiment of the Self.
Regular Classes
Odissi technique and repertory classes through the prism of Dance as Yoga are offered twice a week throughout the year for local students at both Skandavan and in Auroville, Tamil Nadu, India.
Individual Mentoring
Private classes and mentoring with Rekha can be requested at Skandavan depending on her availability. Please email such requests well in advance with a dance CV and an outline of your purpose/project.
Enquiries:
Whatsapp: +91 9787443559
Email: rekha@danceroutes.com
Introduction to Dance as Yoga
‘When movement becomes prayer, the body reveals its intelligence’
These short-term classes are offered periodically adapted for different groups, to provide an introduction to Odissi rooted in the principles of Dance as Yoga, informed by its background as a medieval tantric ritual. They nurture an understanding of how Odissi’s aesthetic framework – its geometry, rhythm, and emotional nuance – can serve as a meditative discipline and a means of self-transformation, where movement, breath and awareness unite.
Who It’s For:
Dancers, yoga practitioners, and creative seekers from any discipline who wish to experience the body as a field of consciousness and cultivate artistry as spiritual practice.
Learning Focus:
- Understanding the historical, philosophical, and practical foundations of Dance as Yoga
- Cultivating awareness of breath, alignment and inner energy through Odissi movement
Long-term Sadhana
This is a weekly space for students who have previously trained with Rekha, who wish to continue their sadhana when unable to attend in person. It is also for any trained Odissi dancer wanting to understand/incorporate the 3 Bindu Approach into their practice.
The initiative supports developing a personal Odissi practice rooted in the principles of Dance as Yoga, guiding participants to experience classical movement and choreography as a language of embodied expression, that communicates emotion, reflection and devotion with clarity and grace.
Participants explore how form and gesture become mirrors of inner states, refining both technical precision and awareness. Through this sustained practice, the Odissi technique reveals itself as a pathway for the evolving Self.
Learning Focus:
- Acquiring a sense of ownership of technique and choreography
- Integrating aesthetic discipline with spontaneity and personal expression
- Developing a sustainable, reflective practice that bridges art and spirit
Recordings of The Bliss of Union sessions and Dance as Yoga explorations with Arabi Pallavi’s movement material can be requested by emailing rekha@danceroutes.com
Dance as Yoga Annual Intensive
A Two-Week Immersion at Skandavan, Auroville
Usually timed to culminate in the Shivratri Festival, this gathering brings together dancers, yoga practitioners, and performing artists from diverse backgrounds. Participants study, reflect, and move together – deepening their practice, exchanging ideas, and celebrating community. The immersive environment invites both renewal and connection, as the body becomes a site of discovery and devotion.
Accommodation at Skandavan is limited and available on request, but there are several guest houses located nearby. For details about the intensive, please write to admin@danceroutes.com
Private Workshops
Commissioned workshops on Dance as Yoga are also offered on request at Skandavan’s Garden Studio, depending on availability through the year, with a maximum capacity of 20 people. These provide an embodied understanding of Odissi, its background in tantric philosophy and art history, as a resource for artistes from varied disciplines, yoga teachers, student groups, and are modulated accordingly.
Project Mentoring
Individual artistes seeking to develop their personal projects through mentoring are welcome to write in with their project details and use Skandavan’s studio facilities, depending on availability.
Workshops at Other Venues
In the Footsteps of the Alasakanya
This immersive study tour explores Odisha’s temples as living archives of art, architecture, and embodied spirituality. Through the motif of the Alasakanya – the languorous maiden carved in stone – we trace how devotion, dance, and design evolved together across centuries.
Curated by Dr. Rekha Tandon
“The temple is not a monument—it is a body. Within its sculpted limbs, the dance of consciousness continues.”
The Living Temple
In the Footsteps of the Alasakanya invites you into the sacred landscape of Odisha, where art, devotion and philosophy meet in stone. It arises from my decades of research, teaching, and embodied practice inspired by Odishan temples and their extraordinary sculptural imagery. These living temples continue to illuminate how form, movement, and sacred presence shape one another.
The Maiden Who Moves Through Time
At the heart of this journey is the Alasakanya – the ‘languorous maiden’ motif carved across temple walls. Through her shifting forms and gestures, we glimpse centuries of transformation: in posture and adornment, in grace and meaning. She embodies the evolving consciousness of the sacred feminine – the human body as a vessel of beauty, longing, and spiritual realization.
Embodied Devotion and Sacred Design
The temples of Odisha – dedicated to Siva, Sakti and Visnu – reveal the unfolding of India’s tantric imagination. Each change in spiritual vision found expression in temple architecture and iconography, shaping new maps of the universe and its divine powers.
The Jagannatha Vision
Over time, all streams of devotion and ritual converged in the worship of Lord Jagannatha, the Supreme Lord of Odisha – a tantric, androgynous presence uniting Siva, Sakti and Visnu. In His temple at Puri, dance grew deep roots as a vital currency of worship – a mortgage offering between the human and the divine, that brought Cosmic Presence into living, breathing rhythms through the centuries.
Registration and Enquiries: admin@danceroutes.com
