Mandala folk dance ensemble

Mandala was an American folk dance performing group based in the Boston, Massachusetts area, which presented programs of dance and music from around the world[1] starting in the mid-1960s.[2] The group's first director (1966-1968) was Robert Leibman.[3] Subsequent directors included Arthur Saltzman, Paul Johnson, and Harry Brauser. Mandala became a collectively run ensemble[4] in 1971. In the early years they used recorded music for their performances; they added their own orchestra [5] in 1973. A full cast consisted of up to 35 members.[4]

Stage performances were the group's primary focus, with dance suites choreographed for the stage. Some of the choreographers for the Mandala suites were Dick Crum,[6] Sandor Timar,[7] Mary Wolff , Normand Legault, Juan Manuel Lozano,[1] Fernadina Chan,[7] Jacek Marek, Elsie Ivancich Dunin, Eva Maria Kish, Andre Stegman, and Dulal Talukdar. A typical Mandala performance lasted about two hours,[8] consisting of a 16-dance program from 12-15 countries.[1] Their repertoire included a wide variety of ethnicities, primarily European (Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian, Russian, Hungarian, Romanian, English, Scottish, Irish, Swedish, etc.) plus Mexican, American, Armenian, Chinese, French Canadian, Spanish, and more.[8] The group strove for authenticity in the traditions they represented.[5] Many of their costumes were authentic; they created others from authentic models.[2]

Mandala performed in the Boston area and throughout the northeast in up to 40 performances per year,[1] including at the Fox Hollow Festival in 1974, Carnegie Hall[9] in 1980, and multiple performances each year at John Hancock Hall.[4] Mandala also gave six performances[10] at Jacobs Pillow in July-August 1986,[11] in a program shared with the Mexican dancer Pilar Rioja.[12]

Mandala represented the United States in hour-long performances at several international festivals.[13] They performed in Rattvik, Sweden[4] in 1982, Drummondville, Quebec in 1983, Oloron, France in 1984, Billingham, England in 1987, and Pécs, Hungary in 1992. Their repertoire at international festivals were dance suites of American dances,[13] included Charleston, Cakewalk, New England contradance, Southwest swing, Lindy Hop, a suite of dances from the 1950's with hula hoops,[14] and Appalachian clogging.[8] The group also participated in the 1991 movie Once Around, directed by Lasse Hallström.

They received several grants from the National Endowment for the Arts[1] as well as from the Massachusetts Council for the Arts and Humanities[15] and the New England Foundation for the Arts.[16] The purpose of the National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1984 was to add new choreography from North Africa and promote a self-produced home season[17] in 1985 to produce a color booking brochure and in 1986 to hire a part-time development director.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e McLaughlin, Jeff (April 8, 1985). "Mandala dancers offer 'a passport to the world'". The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts). p. 19. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Folk dancers to appear at Windham". The Brattleboro Reformer (Brattleboro, Vermont). April 6, 1973. p. 9. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  3. ^ "Bob Leibman". www.phantomranch.net. Archived from the original on January 23, 2003.
  4. ^ a b c d Temin, Christine (April 8, 1982). "Getting into the Mandala spirit". The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts). pp. 73–74. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Murphy, Ray (April 6, 1976). "Mandala folk dancers find perfect way to celebrate spring". The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts). Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  6. ^ Cash, Debra (April 13, 1984). "Mandala a charming catalog of dancing". The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts). p. 35. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Cash, Debra (April 12, 1987). "Mandala ensemble offers a global peek". The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts). p. 48. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Alarik, Scott (April 1, 1989). "Around the world in 2 hours with Mandala". The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts). p. 12. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  9. ^ "Mandala Ensemble to perform at Elms' Veritas Auditorium". Union-News. Springfield, Massachusetts. November 16, 1990.
  10. ^ "Rioja, folk ensemble to perform at Pillow". The Transcript (North Adams, Massachusetts). July 26, 1986. p. 6. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  11. ^ Gibbons, Ann (July 31, 1986). "Ethnic music, dance flourish at Pillow". The Transcript (North Adams, Massachusetts). p. 7. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  12. ^ "Jacobs Pillow". archives.jacobspillow.org. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Mandala Folk Dance Ensemble to perform at UMM Stage Front". Bangor Daily News. February 16, 1987. p. 21. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  14. ^ Cash, Debra (April 13, 1985). "Around the world on 64 feet". The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts). p. 26. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  15. ^ "Mandala Folk Dance Ensemble to perform Jan. 26 at Stage Front". Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine). January 17, 1997. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  16. ^ Kany, Howard (November 25, 1989). "Folk dancers put on colorful show". Sun-Journal (Lewiston, Maine). p. 18. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  17. ^ National Endowment for the Arts Annual Report Archived 2011-10-12 at the Wayback Machine, 1984. p. 15, retrieved 9 October 2011.


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