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Dancing Presence and Awareness: 'Khaita – Joyful Dances' as a Mindfulness Practice

Abstract

In this article, I argue that the dance practice of ‘Khaita – Joyful Dances’ has been intentionally designed as a mindfulness practice with the aim of fostering presence and awareness by the Dzogchen master Namkhai Norbu. The three Khaita principles of awareness (Dems, Gyu and Drig) revolve around aspects of proprioception, smooth movements, musicality, spatial and group awareness and guide dancers to the here and now. They demand non-judgmental, purposeful and non-reactive attention, hence mindfulness, that results in more mature states of awareness and presence

Keywords

dance, Khaita, mindfulness, awareness, presence, Tibetan dance, Dzogchen

How to Cite

Leick, E., (2024) “Dancing Presence and Awareness: 'Khaita – Joyful Dances' as a Mindfulness Practice”, Performance and Mindfulness 6(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.5920/pam.1478

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Authors

Eva Leick (University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna)

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

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This article has been peer reviewed.

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