“In the last years we have had so many new dances… So I am preparing a third volume: about 72 songs are already ready, but even when I am no longer working on that, if we hear some interesting new music with dances, then I want to add these…We can use this group and add to it for many years.”
Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, Dzamling Gar, Tenerife, December 31 afternoon, 2017
We Khaita teachers, Salima Celeri, Giulia Yangcen Mimaciren and Lena Dumcheva, are very excited to share with you the Modern Gorshey* project: a new collection of contemporary Tibetan dances. This project is our homage to Chögyal Namkhai Norbu’s work on Tibetan songs and dances and a sincere expression of our understanding of Khaita, with the intention of ensuring its infinite future.
Salima and Yangcen: “In 2017, we were in Chengdu, China, for a series of events that later did not take place. This gave us the opportunity to spend every evening for about a month dancing with Tibetans in the square. It was an intense experience, as the Master’s words became clear in our minds when he advised us to dance in a relaxed and joyful way. They truly dance very naturally. Thanks to this opportunity to dance with them, we deeply understood the Master’s precious words about dancing with presence, joy, and harmony – without judgment – just dancing in a relaxed way.”
Later, during the pandemic, Yangcen started her YouTube channel and began posting new Gorshey that her grandfather sent her from Lhasa. Many Khaita teachers took interest in these new dances. Together with Svetlana Vajnine, Thomas Edgar, Soledad Suarez, and others, we learned, filmed, and published numerous dances. In one of the videos, Yangcen shared the story of how she started dancing thanks to our precious Master and together with all the practitioners of the Dzogchen Community. This inspired many people from all around the world who subscribed to her channel to take an interest in Khaita and follow it on social media.
In 2023 we began to structure this activity. Following Rinpoche’s example, we started organizing Modern Gorshey dances into the groups of ten. Currently, we have more than forty dances. While inspired by contemporary Gorshey performed worldwide, we carefully select songs that we believe align with Khaita principles. We verify the meaning of the songs with Tibetan language experts to ensure they meet Khaita criteria – such as having meaningful, auspicious lyrics or being folk songs often reinterpreted in a contemporary style. We have compiled a list of song titles, their meanings, and the singers, and our next step is working on the lyrics texts. As for the choreography, we follow existing dances performed by Tibetans.
This is very much a work in progress, carried forward by a small group of volunteers. The project is coordinated by Salima and Lena, Khaita Committee members, while Yangcen leads the choreography aspect. Once the Modern Gorshey collection is properly structured and the related materials are ready, we will share it with everyone.
We now hold regular Gorshey sessions on Wednesdays led by Salima and Yangcen at Merigar West, and by Lena, Yulia Petrova, and Nicola Cassano at Dzamling Gar. In 2023, we also conducted two Modern Gorshey courses.
We are fortunate to have the support and collaboration of international Tibetan communities, including those in China, where we are in touch with local choreographers and dancers, and the UK, where we have worked with Tibetan artists on several projects, such as the British Museum performance in 2019 and the recent Oxford University event. These connections have fostered cultural exchange and a strong sense of solidarity, with people sharing dances that are part of their daily lives. Through these collaborations, not only are we learning from Tibetan artists, but Tibetan communities are also becoming increasingly aware of the Khaita project and discovering Rinpoche’s invaluable work on Tibetan culture.
With Khaita, Rinpoche taught us the importance of songs and dances in preserving Tibetan culture and language. We now aspire to build upon the foundation our Master left us by working with the circumstances we are given. Through the Modern Gorshey project we hope to make our modest contribution to preserving the beauty of Tibetan culture and celebrate through dance together in a relaxed way, just as we did with our beloved Master.
We hope that these Modern Gorshey will inspire our Dzogchen Community dancers and serve as an auspicious cause for the wider audience to connect with Rinpoche’s legacy and ensure Khaita’s infinite future.
With many Tashi Delegs,
Salima Celeri, Giulia Yangcen Mimaciren, and Lena Dumcheva
*Gorshey – སྒོར་གཞས། or “circle dance,” where gor means “circle” and shey means “song”; similar to kordro སྐོར་བྲོ། meaning “circle dance” in the Kham dialect. In recent years, Gorshey dances have gained immense popularity among Tibetan communities worldwide, serving as a medium of social interaction and cultural expression, uniting participants in a lively and joyful experience that transcends individual differences.
