Mandala folk dance ensemble
Encyclopedia
Mandala was a folk dance performing group based in the Boston
, Massachusetts
area, which presented programs of dance and music from around the world, starting in the mid-1960s. The group's first director (1966-1968) was Robert Leibman. They performed in the Boston area, throughout the northeast, and occasionally at festivals around the world. Their repertoire included a wide variety of ethnicities, primarily European (Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian, Russian, Hungarian, Romanian, English, Scottish, Irish, etc.) plus Mexican, American, Armenian, Chinese, and more. The group strove for authenticity in the traditions they represented. Many of their costumes were authentic; they created others from authentic models. In the early years they used recorded music for their performances; later they added their own orchestra.
Although stage performances were the group's primary focus, including performances at Carnegie Hall
, it also participated in the 1991 movie Once Around
, directed by Lasse Hallström
.
In 1984 they received a National Endowment for the Arts
grant "To add new choreography from North Africa and promote a self-produced home season."
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
area, which presented programs of dance and music from around the world, starting in the mid-1960s. The group's first director (1966-1968) was Robert Leibman. They performed in the Boston area, throughout the northeast, and occasionally at festivals around the world. Their repertoire included a wide variety of ethnicities, primarily European (Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian, Russian, Hungarian, Romanian, English, Scottish, Irish, etc.) plus Mexican, American, Armenian, Chinese, and more. The group strove for authenticity in the traditions they represented. Many of their costumes were authentic; they created others from authentic models. In the early years they used recorded music for their performances; later they added their own orchestra.
Although stage performances were the group's primary focus, including performances at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, it also participated in the 1991 movie Once Around
Once Around
Once Around is a 1991 romantic comedy-drama film about a young woman who falls for and eventually marries an overbearing older man who proceeds to rub her close-knit family the wrong way...
, directed by Lasse Hallström
Lasse Hallström
Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström is a Swedish film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for My Life as a Dog and later for The Cider House Rules .-Life and career:...
.
In 1984 they received a National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
grant "To add new choreography from North Africa and promote a self-produced home season."
External links
- The Dance Heritage Coalition lists 8 choreographies and one musical medley performed by Mandala.