Mirrors in the Flesh: Manomukura, Intersubjective Spatialization and Cognitive Attunement on the Solo Classical Stage
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) September 2, 2026 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22260668 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Practice-as-Research (PaR) qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | A solo Bharatanāṭyam dancer performing Purandara Dāsa's devotional work Kaḍagōla Tārenna Cinnave |
| Key findings | Argues that deliberate gaze vectoring, thoracic softening, and breath control generate an ethical holding environment that parallels Winnicott's potential space and Stern's vitality attunement, enabling the performer to sustain an unmanifest companion and unite performer, unseen character, and spectator in shared aesthetic resonance. |
Abstract
Abstract This paper analyzes the somatosensory and cognitive mechanisms through which a solo Bharatanāṭyam dancer establishes relational presence across an empty stage. Bridging classical Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) with European movement phenomenology and 4E cognitive science (embodied, embedded, extended and enactive), this inquiry examines the aesthetic principle of manomukura (the mind-mirror) as an active bodily archive of pre-expressive attunement rather than a purely speculative metaphysical concept. Utilizing a studio Practice-as-Research (PaR) methodology applied to Purandara Dāsa's devotional work Kaḍagōla Tārenna Cinnave (Rāgam Yaman, Ādi Tāḷam), the research documents the kinematic, oculomotor and respiratory trajectories deployed to project and sustain an unmanifest companion (the child Kṛṣṇa). Empirical video logs and micro-gaze analysis reveal how deliberate dṛṣṭi-bheda (directional gaze vectoring), thoracic softening (vakṣas) and autonomic breath control (prāṇa) generate an ethical holding environment that parallels D.W. Winnicott's potential space and Daniel Stern's vitality attunement. Additionally, this study investigates the functional structure of saṃvit-dvaidha (bifurcated consciousness), detailing how the performer sustains an equilibrium between real-time motor execution (prakāśa) and detached metacognitive surveillance (vimarśa). Ultimately, the inquiry illustrates that the solo classical performance area constitutes an inhabited relational continuum, where motor intentionality unites performer, unseen character and empathetic spectator in shared aesthetic resonance. Keywords Bharatanāṭyam, Manomukura, Dṛṣṭi-bheda, Saṃvit-Dvaidha, Primary Intersubjectivity, Relational Holding Space, Movement Phenomenology, Practice-as-Research (PaR), 4E Cognition