Ladakh 'Losar' Dance (New Year)

Understand

Where Ladakh 'Losar' Dance (New Year) comes from

The Losar dance is the Tibetan-Buddhist-New-Year dance of the Ladakhi community, performed at the monastery-courtyard celebrations of the Losar (in February). The dance is associated with the new year of the Tibetan-Buddhist calendar and with the celebration of the community-festival of the Ladakhi people. The form is one of the documented regional traditions of Ladakh and is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the state and at the Losar festival.

How it's practiced

The Losar dance is performed by men and women of the Ladakhi community at the central courtyard of the monastery or at the open ground of the festival. The men and women perform in coordinated steps to the song of the Losar cycle and to the rhythm of the regional instruments (the long horn, the large cymbals and the small cymbals). The dance is gentle, with the small stepping rhythm of the Ladakhi tradition. Costume is the woollen Ladakhi goncha with the small regional headdress. Performances are at the central courtyard of the monastery and at the cultural programmes of the state.