This text presents the process of resemanticising on stage the original meanings attributed to specific hand movements used in classical Indian theatre. The basis for this discussion are chapters from Bharata Muni’s Natyashastra that related to the systematization of specific hand gestures and the link between the language of gestures and the aesthetic concept of theatre — the theory of “taste” (rasa). The discussion concentrates on demonstrating a direct relationship between the meaning of gestures, dramatic space, an actor’s body, his facial expressions and gestures and the process of resemanticization. In the conclusion, the process of dramatic resemanticization is presented as the creation of systems of arbitrary signs (presented content and gestural signs) or combinations of symbols (presented content and arbitrary gestural signs) with signs (the emotional context of the presented content, i.e., the actor’s facial expression and gestures).
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