The paramount factor that makes human beings the most superior creations on earth is the immense energy we hold within. This thought, according to Murielle Gallois Ikareth, should be the driving force behind the coexistence of human race, which will automatically bring the feeling of equality and drive away the tendency to judge people based on gender.
Murielle, who feels that Women's Day is the best occasion to propagate this idea in a much more intense manner, has chosen to associate with Anais Bourquin, a Butoh dancer. Their performance Fe-male Within at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale was about the male-female energy present in all of us.
"It is to celebrate togetherness, not conflict. It is about accepting our differences and looking at it as complementary. The world needs this precious equilibrium. I wish there was no Woman's Day to remind respecting women. And I wonder why there is no Men's Day," says Murielle.
Being a Bharatnatyam and contemporary dancer and a creative movement therapist—an expressive therapy which uses the human body's natural movements to achieve a balance between emotional, cognitive, social and physical facets in individuals, Murielle gives a lot of importance to movements in her performances. This persuaded her to choose Japanese dance form Butoh that encompasses a diverse range of activities and techniques of dance, performance and movement.
She is of the opinion that everyone needs to be connected to his/her real inner self to feel confident. A creative activity has so many positive impacts on body and mind, she feels.
Believing deeply in the interaction between body and mind, she has also developed personal development techniques mixing the old wisdom of Ayurveda and the innovative methods of creative movement and dance therapy. She believes that our body is a beautiful tool to understand ourselves better and help us live life with respect for people around and ourselves.
Murielle, who came to India to get trained in Bharatnatyam, later decided to live here and learn contemporary art, by constantly working on clubbing it with other art forms. She created an Indo-French troupe Con Tempo and along with her husband Joe Ikareth ,runs 'Saaram centre for Ayurveda and Arts', a space to experiment Ayurveda with a contemporary approach to promote a holistic way of life.
