Another eight day course (October 25 to November 2) of the Khaita Educational Program reunited seventeen future instructors and experts at Dzamling Gar, including seven people online. Sixteen months have passed since the first edition of the Khaita School was launched by Adriana Dal Borgo and as result of her dedicated efforts, collective sharing, and individual results, a solid team is emerging.
Since Dzamling Gar in Tenerife is the residence of many Khaita instructors, everyday we have the opportunity to be joined by experienced dancers which is a great support in the learning process.
Thanks to the technical support managed by Petra Zezulkova and the constant attention of the speakers, great effort was put into including online students in the course so that they could participate actively.
Participants who are now more comfortable with the khordros (circle dances) have the basics to study more challenging dances with a higher level of difficulties, and to learn more complex choregraphies with interactions and mudras illustrating deeper meanings.
During the sessions, many angles were considered in addition to the practical aspects of dancing. Students were involved in daily brainstorming about the way to present Khaita in different contexts in order to be able to promote this beautiful teaching and create an interest for different types of public in various circumstances.
Sharing her experience, Ludmila Kislichenko made a contribution regarding the elements involved in the preparation of performances and training the dancers in exploring the different possibilities of formation.
A cultural section “Discovering Tibetan Culture with Khaita Songs and Dances” was brilliantly led by Lena Dumcheva opening the door to a great field of knowledge, introducing new everyday themes to feed our curiosity. She guided us through the different levels of meaning found in the Khaita collections. We went through many topics which are secretly or openly displayed in the songs: geography of the regions and main pilgrimage places, biographies, praises to teachers, epics of Gesar. As language is the necessary reference point, we discovered more words and their meanings, supported by Rinpoche’s commentaries. A Bibliography was recommended to complete the discoveries.
Another session that was welcomed enthusiastically was the course “Mindfulness and Theater for you, boys and girls” presented by Lourdes Velaochaga who led us in a playful but very efficient and concrete method to develop group dynamics in non-competitive way, to help gather attention and express creativity. Many of the games were cheerfully adopted by most of us. Again, many references were given on different types of research in this field and will be explored further according to our interests. She put the accent on creating a culture of kindness that we all agree should come with joy.
The richness of this edition’s program illustrated again how the gem of Khaita is accessible through multiple facets. As students, we are grateful to live the process leading to togetherness and joy created by the Khaita School, dedicated in time and space.
Clotilde Hubert
