Artists Spotlight: Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya
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Vajrapani
(Photo: Andre Elbing) |
Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya, Newar priest, dancer, choreographer, educator, director, and meditation teacher.
Recipient of 2008, 2005 RACC Project Grants
Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya is a dancer, Newar Buddhist priest and ritual master of Charya Nritya, classical dance of Nepal. He is the premier performer and proponent of the tradition and is a veteran of several world tours, with beginning and advanced students around the globe. In 1996, Prajwal established Dance Mandal: Foundation for Sacred Buddhist Arts of Nepal to preserve the artistic and spiritual practice of Charya Nritya and its related disciplines.
Prajwal is a Newar Buddhist priest from the Katmandu Valley of Nepal. The priests are known as Vajracharyas, or masters of the Vajrayana. These yogic practitioners perform Charya Nritya in a state of deep meditative awareness in order to embody the living presence of the compassionate, peaceful, and fierce divinities of the Vajrayana Buddhist pantheon. Technically known as Charya Nritya, which means, "dance as a spiritual discipline", this sacred dance form is a meditation discipline, vehicle of bodily and spiritual transformation, and opportunity for an audience to experience a vision of divine beauty.
Prajwal began his formal training at eight years old, receiving his primary instruction from his late father the Buddhist scholar and ritual master Ratna Kaji Vajracharya. Following in his father’s footsteps and fulfilling his wishes, Prajwal has dedicated his life to preserving and propagating Charya Nritya. Fluent in many languages, Prajwal is able to move freely between ancient and contemporary cultures, sharing his unique heritage from the temples of Nepal with the world, while maintaining and transmitting the art as a sacred lineage. Prajwal was awarded the 1997 Enthronement Metal from the late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shahadev and many other awards in Nepal.
Dance Mandal is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Charya Nritya and the related traditions of instrumental and vocal music, choreography, and the crafts of mask making, costumes, and jewelry used in the dances. Since its inception, Dance Mandal has performed in Asia, Europe and North America. Based in Kathmandu, Nepal, Dance Mandal has also established a main branch in the United States, where Westerners can study the dance as a spiritual discipline and performance art.
On August 2, 2008, Prajwal will present Sahajananda Nritya Gita, “Spontaneous Bliss of Sacred Dance and Song,” a performance and workshop (August 3) dedicated to this rare and ancient sacred dance tradition of Nepal known as Charya Nritya. Group and solo dances by professional members of Dance Mandal and students from the Northwest region will be showcased. This is also the premier U.S. full performance of this dance style with live singing of Charya Giti, the sacred Sanskrit songs that accompany the dance, by local singer Rik Masterson and also others from the Northwest. This event will be performed at the First Congregational Church, 1126 SW Park,Portland and is sponsored in part by a RACC Project Grant. On August 3 the workshop will be givien at Dance Mandal Temple, 1405 SE 40th, Portland. See the website below for details.
Prajwal Vajracharya resides in Portland, Oregon, and offers movement workshops, performances, Newar Buddhist retreats, initiations and ceremonies throughout the United States.
Contact Information:
Website: www.dancemandal.com
Email: prajwal@dancemandal.com
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RACC Staff to Contact
Mary Bauer
Communications Associate
503.823.5426
mbauer@racc.org
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