At Nayngmel Monastery and many other monasteries, once monks in training have mastered the basics of various styles of dance, they must take dance examinations. Between December and February every year these examinations are offered, divided up into sections based on the specific style of dance and the level of difficulty of different sections (Hoetzlein 316-317). It is … [Read more...]

Click here to watch Sha-nak Video This type of dance, which translates to “Black Hat Dance”, is one of the first dances the monks typically learn and serves a variety of purposes depending on the venue and religious context. At the Mahakala festival, 21 monks perform a day long version of the Sha-nak in order to clear the ground and clear it of any spiritual obstacles … [Read more...]

Duixie is a type of Tibetan dance that originated near the Yarlung River. Duixie is usually likened to a version of tap dance and is accompanied by music played by a small band (“Duixie”). This has an interesting similarity to American tap dance and its culture. Because American tap dance was born with jazz, more so than other American dance forms, tap dance was, and still is, … [Read more...]

Because Cham as an art form is so vast and deep, I decided to focus my writing on one specific type of Cham. However, videos have been provided for multiple styles of Cham, so the viewer can experience them. The purpose of this specific type of Cham dance is eliminate any influence that is interfering with the Buddha’s teachings. Numerous rituals are performed before the … [Read more...]