My Body in Motion – Class 6 Arts Chapter 12 Notes & NCERT PDF

Introduction

The Dance section of Kriti opens with a verse from dance tradition, given in the book in Roman script:

Yatho hastah thatho drishtih; Yatho drishtih thatho manah;

Yatho manah thatho bhavo; Yatho bhavah thatho rasah.

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Meaning: Where the hand goes, the eyes follow; where the eyes go, the mind is directed there; where there is a concentrated mind, emotion arises; when emotion arises, rasa permeates.

Chapter 12, My Body in Motion, starts with something you already do every day — moving! Talking with friends, playing finger games, reading or singing all involve small or big movements. The book defines it simply:

Movement means a change in position, place or posture — for example, exercising, playing with a pet or riding a bicycle.

Key Ideas

1. Everyday movements

Every living being moves in its own style, with its own positions, postures, gestures and movements. In Activity 1 (Routine Body Movements) you observe your daily actions at home and school and then demonstrate them in class using all your body parts.

2. Bhangas — bends of the body

India has eight classical dance forms, and they use different bends of the body called bhangas. In Indian classical dance the middle vertical line of the body is important. The five postures named in the book are:

3. The eight classical dances and where they come from

4. Breath and steps

While trying spinal bends, the book asks you to be aware of your breath: breathe in while expanding or stretching, and breathe out while contracting or bending. You then add simple counts like 1-2, 1-2 or 1-2-3-4, for example a tap–toe–tap–tap step or tap–heel–tap–heel with the right leg. Rhythm syllables such as tha ka dhi mi or tha thin thinna can be combined with the bends.

5. Abhinaya and the navarasas

Abhinaya means enactment or expression. Bhavas are feelings seen on a face. The nine navarasas listed in the book are: shringara (beauty), hasya (humour), karuna (grief and compassion), veera (bravery), raudra (anger), bhayanaka (fear), veebhatsa (disgust), adbhuta (wonder) and shanta (calm).

6. Hastamudras — hand gestures

According to the Natyashastra by Bharatamuni, hand gestures decorate a dance and, more importantly, help in abhinaya — telling stories. The gestures shown come from the famous dance book Abhinaya Darpana.

Some uses given in the book:

The book notes that Indian Sign Language has gestures similar to hastamudras.

7. Choreography

In Activities 5 and 6 your group uses bends, steps and hand gestures to create a dance phrase for two lines of a song from music class. Joining dance phrases together to make a complete dance is called choreography.

Activities in the Chapter

Key Terms

Connect to Your Life

Notice how you already use gestures — waving, pointing, shushing. Dancers turn such everyday actions into art!

Common Mistakes

Let's Reflect