Tibetan monks from Dalai Lama's monastery perform at CU Sept. 15

Tibetan monks perform the Dance of the Cemetery Lord. Namgyal Monastery, Dharamsala

Tibetan monks from the Dalai Lama's personal monastery in Dharamsala, India, will present an evening of ritual dance and traditional Tibetan monastic music Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in the Alice Statler Auditorium on campus.

The program, titled "The Sacred Dances of Tibet," features 18 monks from Namgyal Monastery in Dharamsala who accompanied the Dalai Lama during his recent visit to the United States. The monks have remained in the United States as part of a larger North American tour to promote greater awareness of Tibet's unique cultural and religious heritage.

Tickets are $6 in advance and $8 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased at Cornell in the Religious Studies Program office, 182 Rockefeller Hall; the East Asia Program office, 140 Uris Hall; or in downtown Ithaca at the Tibet Store on the Commons; New Alexandrian Bookstore, 110 N. Cayuga St.; or Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies, 412 N. Aurora St. Remaining tickets will be sold at the door and will go on sale at 6:45 p.m. the night of the performance. All proceeds from the North American tour will be used to provide relief, medical care and educational opportunities for refugees, particularly monks and nuns, arriving into exile in Dharamsala from Tibet. For additional information, call 273-0739 or 255-7777.

On Tuesday, Sept. 14, the monks will tour the Cornell campus, and a tea in their honor will be hosted at 3 p.m. in the Founders Room of Anabel Taylor Hall. Some of the monks also will make a visit to a Religious Studies seminar on Tibetan Buddhism during the week. Ithaca is one of the sister sites of the Tibetan Refugee Resettlement program in the United States and also home to the Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies in Ithaca, the North American Seat of Namgyal Monastery, Dharamsala, a satellite mission of the Dalai Lama's personal monastery.

"Sacred Dances of Tibet" is sponsored jointly by Cornell's Religious Studies Program, East Asia Program, Cornell United Religious Works, South Asia Program, Department of Theatre, Film and Dance, Cornell Council for the Arts and the Namgyal Monastery in Ithaca.