Ode to the Mother of Wisdom, dancing the feminine principle in Buddhism

About the project This project is about the composition of an odissi dance choreography dedicated to Khandro Yeshe Tsogyal, 8th century Tibetan yogini and master, based on her own chants and poems of realization. This tribute aims to disseminate her life and teachings and allow everyone to connect to her wisdom through an artistic experience, as well as to inspire faith and confidence in young girls and women, the yoginis of today and tomorrow. The medium is odissi dance, an ancient art form from Odisha, India, which uses symbolic language and gestures to invoke and communicate spiritual messages: a form that would fit perfectly with the beauty of authentic Buddhist spiritual chants. About Yeshe Tsogyal Yeshe Tsogyal represents the foremost female presence in Tibet, considered to have attained enlightenment during her lifetime. She was the wife, disciple and spiritual heir of Padmasambhava, the great Indian tantric master and one of the founding fathers of Tibetan Buddhism, from whom she is considered inseparable. However, she was also a spiritual master and teacher in her own right. Her autobiographies tell the story of an extraordinary being, a high-born, spiritually talented and beautiful princess, but also of a woman painfully caught between marriage, filial duties, cultural expectations and her own aspirations. "As a historical and real woman, Yeshe Tsogyal is important as an enlightened role model for women in a context that often seems to lack female role models. Inseparable from her humanity, Yeshe Tsogyal is the manifestation of the feminine principle - experiential non-dual wisdom that takes on a feminine (as well as a masculine) form when represented symbolically." Rita Gross Who will benefit from this project? I believe this project will benefit a wide audience, Buddhist or not, because the artistic medium of dance allows for a direct experience based on body, speech and mind in a non-intellectual approach. It encourages the viewer to connect with the spiritual message in a vivid and sensitive way, even if they have little prior knowledge. It would certainly have a particularly positive impact on women by putting them in touch with one of the most significant female spiritual examples in the world. As such, it would encourage and empower them to enter the world with confidence, wisdom and compassion, and to realize their own potential. Project Phases The project is scheduled to begin in February 2023. The first phase will be the selection and translation of the texts. The second phase will be the composition of the music in Bhubaneshwar, India, and its recording with professional musicians in a music studio. The third phase will be the composition of the dance itself by my Odissi dance guru, Lingaraja Swain, assisted by myself, and eventually the design of the costumes. The fourth phase will take place in Europe: transmission and rehearsals of the choreography with co-dancers if necessary. The first presentation will take place at the Centre Ripa in Switzerland. Then the structure of the project will be complete and it will be possible to present it in different places: Buddhist centers in the East and in the West, Indian and European theaters and festivals. A complete show could also be presented, with other choreographies, after identifying the appropriate places and occasions. Context of the project This project emerged as a natural continuation of my previous dance composition project, this time dedicated to Padmasambhava, and completed in 2015 in its primary form ("The Lotus blossom"). For this previous project, a similar process was undertaken: the Tibetan "7-line prayer to Guru Rinpoche" was translated into Sankrit, then the music composed and recorded in India, and finally the dance choreographed and presented on stage. It was recently presented as a group composition performed by 5 dancers at the Ripa International Center for its 10th anniversary (July 2022).