Shaping experience in dance: Perspectives on body–mind relationships in Odissi

The article examines somatic experience in Odissi, arguing that this is shaped by the dance’s techniques of transmissions and aesthetic values. In particular, the article discusses how certain practices and discourses enable, hinder or give meaning to different experiences of body–mind relationships in Odissi dance. It is suggested that somatic experience in Odissi is characterized by a tension between training and performance. This tension is explained in terms of different forms of consciousness.