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Bhutanese dancer leaping while sounding
a drum at Paro festival
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If I learned one
thing during my trips to Bhutan it was this--that the performing
arts are sacred, and touch the very core of Bhutan's culture. I captured
this photo at a festival in Paro. Hundreds of dancers performed for
an audience of thousands who arrived in their bright attire from
the surrounding towns and villages.
Here
they are performing the biography of Gyelpo Timey Kunden, who gave
his eyes to a sightless man, a
cultural reminder of the ideal of selfless generosity. Music,
dance and theater are crucial to Bhutan's heart because
the stories and tales they recount are reminders to the Bhutanese
of their traditional values. This is why during this critical
transition period Bhutan so desperately needs a performing arts
center.
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