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TIBETAN INSTITUTE OF PERFORMING ARTS
Those students who had the interest and the necessary talent were sent to the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, and over the years the Institute has taken troupes around India and abroad. Their performance have been enthusiastically received and New York Times has written: Most of the performers are young and the secret of their appeal is that while professionally trained, they are still close to the life that spawned these dances. They are wonderful.'". Today , the members of this institute are among the few recognized surviving masters of the music, dances and theatrical traditions of Tibet.
The institute and theatrical was an old bungalow dating back to the days of the British "Raj" converted into a semblance of a theater , it was not only leaky...draughty...the seats uncomfortable.. and a pathetic sight to behold', as the Tibetan Review commented , but during very exiting moments of the performances, its roof threatens to collapse on the heads of the actors and audience! However this auditorium no more exists now as it went up in fire in 1984. Help is urgently required to construct a proper auditorium.
Despite these many drawbacks and slight hazards, the institute manages to present numerous shows every year at Dharamsala for an enthusiastic audience of Tibetans-from humble laborer to high lamas-who crowd together for a few magical hours to relive their past glory and heritage. Various troupes from the institute have taken numerous tours to other parts of India where there are Tibetan refugee settlements. Performances have also been given in major cities before large Indian audiences with considerable success.
In 1975, the Institute was able to go on its first international tour to seven European and forty six American and Canadian cities; and then to Austrailia and South-East Asia. The tour was tremendous success and in many places performance were given to "Standing room only" audiences. Financially, however, the tour was unprofitable. Bureaucratic entanglements forced several major engagement to be cancelled.
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