Sacred Song and Dance Performance

Twelve local artists will meet you at an intimate space to perform selected sacred songs and dances of Bhutan. Many of the dances in the artists' set of 11 performances are also sung, and mostly accompanied by traditional Bhutanese instruments — the yangchen (dulcimer), lym (bamboo flute), and nga (drums), among others. All are rooted in traditions and folklore that date back hundreds of years. Khuju Luyang's set also offers a good cross-section taste: to see all of the dances and song in their original locations, you would have to travel the length and breadth of the country, at just the right times of year. The artists' performances are one hour long, starting with Joenpa Legso, a welcome dance performed at the beginning of any special occasion to welcome guests of honor. Many of the rest have religious themes based on Bhutan's unique form of Tantric Buddhism: the Zhungdra, one of the oldest classical Bhutanese songs, performed as an offering to the gods and goddesses; Drametse Nga Cham, a masked dance from Drametse in eastern Bhutan that UNESCO includes on its Intangible Cultural Heritage list; Nga Ging Cham (Dance of the Wrathful), featuring gings, the spiritual beings whose movements were revealed to Guru Rinpoche in a vision; Trung Trung, usually performed during the Bla...