The Acrobat Family
Joseph Houseal
13 June 2026
Joseph Houseal shared a meditation on those who live lives for the transmission of ancient performance practices
Carnival: The Wisdom of Ritualistic Chaos
Tiffani Gyatso
16 March 2026
Tiffani Gyatso offers a joyful meditation on flowing with life, ecstasy, and mindfulness
Dance Is Evidence: Rethinking History Through the Moving Body – Gandhara, Buddhism, and The Greeks
Joseph Houseal
14 February 2026
Joseph Houseal offers an examination of Buddhist ritual dance and movement as historic and spiritual record.
‘Tis a Gift to Be Simple
Joseph Houseal
10 January 2026
Joseph Houseal explores spiritual dance in the “Shaker” community of Maine
Performing a Noh Dance for Merce Cunningham
Joseph Houseal
13 December 2025
Joseph Houseal shares his recollection of a serendipitous meeting of minds, of ancient and modern, and a shared love for the liminal mysteries of dance
Book Review: Buddhist Dances: Movement and Mind, Part 2
Rebecca Wong
8 December 2025
Houseal’s study of broken or severed dance lineages identifies a powerful thread of liberation through physical movement
Ma: The Art of Empty Space
Joseph Houseal
15 November 2025
Joseph Houseal explores the the role of emptiness as an expression of Buddhist philosophy and aesthetics in Japanese culture
Book Review: Buddhist Dances: Movement and Mind, Part 1
Rebecca Wong
13 October 2025
Rebecca Wong explores the most comprehensive book on Buddhist dance and movement heritage from one of BDG’s veteran columnists
Dance Is the Complete Practice
Joseph Houseal
11 October 2025
Joseph Houseal delves into ancient links and parallels between calligraphic pictograms and ritual dance traditions
Majjhima Patipad: A Performance Based on the Buddha’s Life and Teachings
Umang Kumar
14 August 2025
Suranya Aiyar’s performance blends mythic retelling with history, combining characters from the suttas with Ashoka the Great’s drama
Early Explorers and Their Encounter with Buddhism, Part Three: Dance Insight
Joseph Houseal
9 August 2025
The early explorers treated in this three-part article represent a wide range of expertise, from painting to linguistics, dance to cartography. The 15 explorers evoked
Messengers of Mind, Part Two: Liminal Lives
Joseph Houseal
12 July 2025
Joseph Houseal digs deeper into the history of cultural explorers and the West’s early encounters with Buddhism