Faith Matters in the Greenfield Recorder Features Khaita Dance and Upcoming Khaita Course, June 10 & 11

Visit the following link to read the Greenfield Recorder article

http://www.recorder.com/Khaita-is-harmony-in-the-space-10437015

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Tsegyalgar East invites you to learn the basics of Khaita Dancing in preparation for our participation in the 250th Anniversary of the town of Conway.

Khaita Dance "practice" is held most Tuesday evenings at the Yellow Schoolhouse in Conway- 5:00 PM. All are welcome.

Please Join us Friday, June 9th for a free intro to the workshop. More details here:https://www.facebook.com/events/1321609171252295/

June 10th, 2017 Class

First Steps in Tibetan Dancing | Khaita Joyful Dances
Step-by-Step instruction on how to perform Tibetan dancing with simple dances. While learning the simplest of Khaita Joyful Dances, we will go through basic steps of Tibetan dances and explore what Khaita means in theory and in our own experience.
TIME: 9-11am and 3-5pmSUGGESTED DONATION: $30 - $60LOCATION: Shang Shung Institute of America/Tsegyalgar East18 Schoolhouse Rd. Conway, MA

June 11th, 2017 Class

Next Step with Tibetan Circle Dances | Khaita Joyful Dances
In this workshop we will focus on circle dances (kordro) that have more unique movements requiring a little extra explanation and training. We will cover dances such as Ten-jung De-kyid (Stable Happiness) and Ma-jai Dos-gar (The Peacock Dance).
It is recommended that you take the first part of the workshop on Saturday, June 10th or are comfortable with basic level Khaita Joyful Dances dances to participate.
TIME: 9-11am and 3-6pmSUGGESTED DONATION: $40- $70LOCATION: Shang Shung Institute of America/Tsegyalgar East18 Schoolhouse Rd. Conway, MA


Khaita means “Harmony in space." Khaita dances teach us each to be aware of our own movement in the space around us. In dancing we also learn to be present to the interior shifting of thoughts and emotions. As we cultivate this relaxed presence in movement, harmony and joy develop naturally.

Coming this Summer: First Steps in Tibetan Dancing | Khaita Joyful Dances

Tsegyalgar East invites you to learn the basics of Khaita Dancing in preparation for our participation in the 250th Anniversary of the town of Conway.

Khaita Dance "practice" is held most Tuesday evenings at the Yellow Schoolhouse in Conway- 5:00 PM. All are welcome. 

June 10th, 2017 Class
First Steps in Tibetan Dancing | Khaita Joyful Dances

Step-by-Step instruction on how to perform Tibetan dancing with simple dances. While learning the simplest of Khaita Joyful Dances, we will go through basic steps of Tibetan dances and explore what Khaita means in theory and in our own experience.

TIME: 9-11am and 3-5pm
SUGGESTED DONATION: $30 - $60
LOCATION: Shang Shung Institute of America/Tsegyalgar East18 Schoolhouse Rd. Conway, MA

June 11th, 2017 Class
Next Step with Tibetan Circle Dances | Khaita Joyful Dances

In this workshop we will focus on circle dances (kordro) that have more unique movements requiring a little extra explanation and training. We will cover dances such as Ten-jung De-kyid (Stable Happiness) and Ma-jai Dos-gar (The Peacock Dance).

It is recommended that you take the first part of the workshop on Saturday, June 10th or are comfortable with basic level Khaita Joyful Dances dances to participate.

TIME: 9-11am and 3-6pm
SUGGESTED DONATION: $40- $70
LOCATION: Shang Shung Institute of America/Tsegyalgar East
18 Schoolhouse Rd. Conway, MA


Please Join us Friday June 9th for a free intro to the workshop. More details here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1321609171252295/

Khaita means “Harmony in space." Khaita dances teach us each to be aware of our own movement in the space around us. In dancing we also learn to be present to the interior shifting of thoughts and emotions. As we cultivate this relaxed presence in movement, harmony and joy develop naturally.

The choreography of these dances is based on the rhythms and melodies of the songs of young contemporary Tibetan singers, rich in the imagery of life on the “Roof of the World," just as the songs are. It shows the vitality of an ancient culture whose core motivation has, for centuries, been the happiness of all beings, in harmony with the environment where they live.


Instructors: Katya and Matthew Schmookler, certified Khaita Joyful Dance instructors, authorized by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and recognized by CID.



To register please contact: matthew@sowa.care

Khaita at Khandroling and Beyond by Naomi Zeitz

[Photo by F Dallorto]

From July 28th to August 16th, 2016, the Shang Shung Institute of America and the Tsegyalgar East Dzogchen Community were fortunate to host the visit of two wonderful Khaita dancers and recently authorized and excellent instructors, Salima Celeri and her daughter Yanchen. Both came to us from Merigar West, Italy, for a first time visit to the US, which included a few days in NYC and a grand finale visit on the way to the airport to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. Yanchen is a skilled basketball player as well and aficionada of the sport, so we were very pleased to be able to offer her a final (this time) American burger and a visit to the place where basketball was invented on the way to JFK airport! 

What we offered Salima and Yanchen was quite limited compared to what they gave to us. Each day during the week long Dzogchen Community festival on the land of Khandroling at the Vajra Hall, Salima and Yanchen spent two and sometimes a little more hours singing and dancing with us and with great precision, patience, and compassion, explaining all the dances, their meanings, the mudras and steps. Following the festival on the land, those who felt the pull and magic of Khaita, spent four hours a day at the Vajra Hall continuing the training and deepening their experience.

The Khaita experience culminated with a performance of three dances in a small city nearby on one of the hottest days of the year. This was the testament of the capacity of the instructors who formed a very joyful, cohesive and even somewhat graceful group of dancers out of an interesting mix of capacities and willingness. In English we have an expression of someone who can “make a silk purse from a sow’s ear”. They succeeded!

[Photo by Kathleen Fekete]

Salima and Yangcen have a charming mix of joy, humor, discipline and great skill, as well as a lot of patience and kindness. They are also so lovely to watch when they dance, and that alone becomes a powerful inspiration to learn and perfect the dances. Also their love for Khaita, for Rinpoche and his beautiful creation, for the meaning, mudras and movements of each dance, shine through and also create a very fertile ground from which their students can grow and blossom.

For them both, I am sure this praise will be too great and embarrassing, but for us the gratitude for their time with us and the gift of Khaita, as well as their devoted and special presence in a place that can become a little frozen like its long winters, is somewhat inexpressible. Khaita became the living, breathing, joyful expression of the value and meaning of the land of Tibet and the wish of our Master to carry on this culture and the teachings through movement and song. We only hope that this small and dedicated bunch of Khaita dancers in this out of the way corner of the globe can continue on the legacy of our precious Master.

[Photo by F Dallorto]

To learn more about Khaita Dancing at Tsegyalgar East visit the following post:

http://tsegyalgar.blogspot.com/search?q=modern+tibetan+dancing

News from Shang Shung Institute, July 2016

Please make a donation or renew your membership today

July 8, 2016

Dear Shang Shung Institute of America Friends and Supporters,

2016 MEMBERSHIP REMINDER

Thank you so much for your support, energy and time over the many years. Your efforts for the Shang Shung Institute of America are crucial to accomplishing the mission of deepening the knowledge of and preserving Tibetan culture here in the U.S. Please make a donation or renew your membership today.

As you know, we are currently celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Shang Shung School of Tibetan Medicine in Conway, Massachusetts, and we have updates about many other recent and upcoming activities below.

Join or Renew Your Membership Online: http://shangshung.org/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=82 or call us at 413-369-4928 or email us at secretary@shangshung.org

OPEN HOUSE

About 60 participants and volunteers joined organizer Lauri Denyer at Shang Shung’s July 2^nd Open House. The even took place at the yellow schoolhouse in Conway, Massachusetts. Participants came together to learn about mindfulness and meditation, Yantra Yoga, the Dance of the Vajra that Benefits Beings, and Khaita* Joyful Dance, and to enjoy a lunch of traditional Tibetan food prepared by Yeshe Tsomo. Dozens of community members made the event possible, and participants came from as far away as New Jersey and Buffalo, NY.

SUMMER 2016 EVENTS

Here are the upcoming events that we are looking forward to in the Summer of 2016:

•          Dance of the Vajra that Benefits Beings with Bodhi Krause – July 16-17
•          Introduction to Yantra Yoga with Naomi Zeitz – July 23-24
•          Khaita* Joyful Dances: Practice of Presence in Joy & Movement - August 9-13
•         Tibetan Language with Tenzin Norbu – August 25-30

We hope you will join us for these events, and spread the word about them. More information can be found here: http://www.shangshung.org/home/events/calendar/and interested individuals can always contact Shang Shung at (413) 369-4928 orsecretary@shangshung.org for more information.

NEW INTERN

This summer Shang Shung is fortunate to haveIntern Grace Engelman with us! Grace is a freshman at Brown University, and served as the student liaison to her high school’s Board of Directors. She is working with us on the process to seek accreditation for the School of Tibetan Medicine, and to publicize our many cultural events, as described below.

NEWS ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF TIBETAN MEDICINE

A new class just started the Four-Year Tibetan Medicine program. With this new class, we have a full house - a class of students in each year of the Four-Year program. In addition, preparations are underway for the start of the Three-Year Advanced Tibetan Medicine Program.

Menpa Phuntsog Wangmo has been much in demand this year. Amid her rigorous schedule of live teaching and recording lessons for the Shang Shung School of Tibetan Medicine, Menpa Wangmo recently gave these public talks:

·         Public talk at the Conway Historical Society in Conway, Massachusetts on March 22, 2016, as seen in an online video from our partners at Frontier Community Access Television;

·         Public talk at the Chesterfield Council on Aging in Chesterfield, Massachusetts on April 10, 2016;

·         Keynote address and panel presentations at the annual Integrative Medicine Conference in Barcelona, Spain on April 15-17, 2016, on Cardiovascular Diseases: A Dialogue between Conventional, Homeopathic, Tibetan, Chinese and AyurvedicMedicines;

·         A well-attended week-long seminar on Hospice from the Traditional Tibetan Medicine perspective in April 2016, as seen in The Mirror;

·         A well-attended Master Class entitled Tibetan Medicine: Theory and Practice, on May 10, 2016, at the Cultural and Scientific Center of the Universidad Peruana CayetanoHeredia in Lima, Peru

Your support is crucial to these successes. Please make a donation or renew your membership today!

SPRING 2016 EVENTS

Steven Landsberg - Shang Shung Institute of America hosted Steven Landsberg May 14^,, 2016 for a public talk in Northampton, Massachusetts, called Beyond Hope & Fear: The Application of Presence, co-sponsored by SSI and the International Dzogchen Community in America.

Yeshe Tsomo – Continuing our efforts to provide opportunities for people in the area to experience traditional Tibetan culture, Yeshe Tsomo gave a wonderful two-day seminar on Tibetan cuisine at the United Congregational Church in Conway, Massachusetts in May, 2016. This session featured a rare, traditional baked momo or dumpling.

Khaita – A contingent of Khaita* dancers fromKundrolling and Tsegyalgar participated in the 10^th International Dance Parade in New York City on May 21, 2016. As reported in The Mirror, “…there were dancers from 147 organizations representing 81 distinct dance styles from the US and other countries, totaling over 6,000 participants.” This was a wonderful opportunity to bring Khaita to a larger audience in the U.S., and the spark that was lit continued online, as the video posted on the Shang Shung Institute’s facebook page now has 12,000 views!

SUMMER 2016 EVENTS

Here are the upcoming events that we are looking forward to in the Summer of 2016:

·         Dance of the Vajra that Benefits Beings with Bodhi Krause – July 16-17

·         Introduction to Yantra Yoga with Naomi Zeitz – July 23-24

·         Khaita* Joyful Dances: Practice of Presence in Joy & Movement - August 9-13

·         Tibetan Language with Tenzin Norbu – August 25-30

We hope you will join us for these events, and spread the word about them. More information can be found here: http://www.shangshung.org/home/events/calendar/and interested individuals can always contact Shang Shung at (413) 369-4928 orsecretary@shangshung.org for more information.

Please make a donation or renew your membership today!

Your support is crucial to continuing the dissemination of Tibetan cultural traditions in the United States. Through your membership, we are able to provide invaluable programming like Traditional Tibetan Medicine, Khaita, Vajra Dance, Yantra Yoga, Tibetan language and arts.

Join or Renew Your Membership Online: http://shangshung.org/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=82 or call us at 413-369-4928 or email us at secretary@shangshung.org

With many tashi delegs,

The Shang Shung Institute of America

*Khaita is promoted by the Shang Shung Foundation – International Institute for Tibetan Culture, in collaboration with Shang Shung Institute of America

Khaita Dancers to Perform at the Festival of the Hills on October 2, 2016

Khaita is really the bridge for people who are outside the Dzogchen Community. We have Vajra Dance and Yantra Yoga and, of course, there are some parts that you can present to the general public, but with Khaita you can bring the teaching outside the Community without saying a single word about meditation, practice, or spirituality. You can reach many people with Khaita and pass along the messages that are in the songs: messages of peace, evolution, and collaboration. We can pass along all these messages through dance.

Adriana Dal Borga reprinted from the Mirror

To read the full article, visit here. 

The Khaita Dancers of Tsegyalgar East will be performing next at the Conway festival of Hills on October 2, 2016  

Khaita Dancers will dance in the parade at the Festival of the Hills. The parade leaves from OESCO across Route 116 from the Schoolhouse at 1pm, and runs for about 1/2 mile.

Khaita Dancers Participate in the 11th International Dance Parade on May 20, 2017

Amanda heading up the Khaita Dancers with her Lotus Mobile Sound System, May 20, 2017

A small group from NYC and Tsegyalgar participated in this year's International Dance Parade--an extraordinary display of the US International heritage. To learn

more about this annual event, visit their webpage here.

May 20, 2017 - photos by Stephen Korns

TO WATCH A VIDEO OF THE KHAITA DANCERS IN THE  2016 PARADE

VISIT HERE

Visit the Mirror article on this year's Khaita Dance participation

 in the 11th Annual International Dance Parade

Modern Tibetan Dancing at Tsegyalgar

[Reprinted from 30th Anniversary FB - Modern Tibetan Dancing Khandroling July 12 Inauguration]

Each Evening here at Tsegyalgar East there is a rigorous schedule of Tibetan modern dancing and singing with Choegyal Namkhai Norbu during our retreat with him. Increasingly an important training in our Community, the following explanations serve to increase our understanding of the meaning. Photos and a story are forthcoming from an individual or individuals actively involved or check back with The Mirror Online at www.melong.com and our 30th Anniversary Facebook Page for marvelous postings on events. 

Photo by Paula Barry, CHNNR watching modern Tibetan dancing in Tenerife

TRANSCRIPTION OF CHOGYAL NAMKHAI NORBU'S WORDS ON MODERN TIBETAN DANCING: Milarepa said:

“Any movement you do is Yantra", just like you are doing Yantra Yoga or doing meditation, some exercise. Milarepa said "there is no difference" because depend you, what you do everything, dealing with. Even if you are only jumping, but if you are jumping with presence, relaxed, then it become useful. If you are interested of teachings Sutra, teachings Tantra, teachings Dzogchen, Anuyoga, everything is coming from Tibet. When I was in Tenerife last year, then I am listening some of this Tibetan music, songs, etc... and I discovered how they are singing, they are communicating happiness, a sort of feeling, and situation, which kind of difficulties they have they are bringing in the melody, this is how we do in Dzogchen Teaching. 

We try to understand which is the real situation, we do our best, for that reason I am thinking ...oh, it is necessary, we should learn songs and listening well Tibetan songs. 

 What do you need to do when you are dancing?...when you are dancing...coordinate, must being present. That means you are being present, otherwise you couldn't dance, but if you are present when you are dancing you relax also, even jumping, not necessary charging ..no, you jump relaxed, then it become also good for you, no? It helps. 

Dancing, relaxing, being present, knowing that...this is practice, no? This is practice. No? How is it? Choegyal Namkhai Norbu reprinted from the Dzamling Gar website

Visit and sign up for the new facebook page on Khaita Joyful Dances (replacing the previous Tibetan Modern Dances)

Khaita - Harmony in the Space

These words and the symbol (the golden infinite knot of love on our globe) were chosen by our Master few months ago in Dzamling Gar to represent all activities of Dzogchen Community related to movements and sounds.
Khaita Joyful Dances, Vajra Dance and Yantra Yoga are all part of this.

By Adriana Dal Borgo

[Reprinted from 30th Anniversary FB - Performance Saturday July 12 of Tibetan modern dances]

 [Tsegyalgar Tibetan modern dancers after Saturday night performance repritned form Khaita FB page]

Another online resource is the following blog where you can download the songs and videos.

In honor of our 30th Anniversary, here’s an early You Tube video of Tibetan Step Dancing at Shang Shung Institute at the yellow schoolhouse in Conway, MA in 1998/1999 during one of our early "Tibetan Family Days" posted in 2006 with over 5000 views. Chen and Chime, TIPA trained musicians from Boston part of Chaksampa, lead us in our first humble dance class. 

Shang Shung Institute USA 2017 Spring Events

SSI-USA is offering a rich array of events this spring including Tibetan Medicine, Dance and Calligraphy workshops. Check out the details below!

Healing with the Five Elements Free Talk on Tibetan Medicine Live Webcast through Facebook! with Menpa Phuntsog Wangmo April 21st, 7:30pm PDT at Dondrubling in Berkeley, CA   This is a free public talk on the foundational theory of Traditional Tibetan Medicine. Learn how the five elements are considered to be the basic building blocks of the Universe including our body, its physiology and the world it lives in. Understand how that knowledge can be applied to protect and balance our health throughout our daily life activity. Join our Facebook event to be notified when we go live.   Horme: An Introduction to Tibetan Medicine Warm Oil Compress for Mental Health with Menpa Phuntsog Wangmo April 22nd, 9:30am-12:30pm PDT at Dondrubling in Berkeley, CA   Horme, literally meaning "Mongolian Moxibustion," is a warm oil compress used on specific points related to the central nervous system for balancing mental health conditions. It is a very helpful method for treating many disturbances of the central nervous system known as wind disturbance or loong in Traditional Tibetan Medicine. This 3-hour workshop will provide a basic introduction to the theory and application of Horme. Get more info, register, and spread the word through the event on Facebook   Tibetan Medicine on Mental Health - What is Mental Illness Really About? with Menpa Phuntsog Wangmo April 28th-30th at Shang Shung Institute in Conway, MA In the field of Traditional Tibetan Medicine it is considered that in most cases of mental illness, including anxiety disorders and depression, a person's wind element has become disturbed. In Traditional Tibetan Medicine, the wind element is considered to be responsible for the movements of the respiratory, circulatory and nervous systems as well as the mind. For this reason, if the wind is disturbed, it becomes the primary cause of mental illness. Get more info, register, and spread the word through the event on Facebook   A Meditative Approach to Creativity with Tibetan Calligraphy with Tashi Mannox May 5th-7th at Shang Shung Institute in Conway, MA Renowned calligrapher and artist Tashi Mannox will present an interactive workshop where participants bring their hand and heart of awareness while creating an ensō* and selected seed syllables. Tashi will explain the historical and contemporary sacred integrity of Tibetan calligraphy and mark-making, and how to unite heaven and earth though the creative process of spiritual practice in art – as a means of liberating the mind. Get more info, register and spread the word through the event on Facebook   Tibetan Dancing 2-Step Workshop: Learning and Deepening Khaita with Matthew & Katya Schmookler June 10th-11th at Shang Shung Institute in Conway, MA June 10th will include step-by-step instruction on how to perform Tibetan dancing with simple dances. While learning the simplest of Khaita Joyful Dances, we will go through basic steps of Tibetan dances and explore what Khaita means in theory and in our own experience. June 11th will focus on circle dances(kordro) that have more unique movements requiring a little extra explanation and training.We will cover dances such as Ten-jung De-kyid (Stable Happiness) and Ma-jai Dos-gar (The Peacock Dance). Get more info, register and spread the word through the event on Facebook