An Ocean of Songs and Dances comes to London

LONDON, 3 June 2026 — The Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) — the premier institution preserving the music, dance and theatre of Tibet in exile, founded by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in 1959 — will bring 26 artists to the United Kingdom from 1 to 9 June 2026 for the British leg of its European tour. The only public performance in London takes place at Woolwich Works on Friday 5 June, and TIPA will present ‘Spirit of Tibet’ at the World Museum, Liverpool on Sunday 7 June.

The visit, hosted by Tibet House Trust and the Office of Tibet, London, and co-organised by Free Tibet, comes at a moment when the Tibetan cultural traditions celebrated on the London stage are under unprecedented pressure inside Tibet itself. Audiences in London will see a living portrait of a culture the Chinese state is working to erase – through boarding schools that have separated Tibetan children from their language and families, political campaigns to bring monasteries into line with Chinese Communist Party doctrine, and the attempted removal of the very word ‘Tibet’ from official Chinese usage.

The 26-strong Tibetan company — 16 men and 10 women, led by TIPA’s Director — will present a programme drawn from a tradition Tibetans have for centuries called the ‘Ocean of Songs and Dances’: ceremonial music, folk dance from the three historic Tibetan provinces of U-Tsang, Kham and Amdo, the masked cham dance, and the centuries-old operatic form Ache Lhamo, which traces its origins to the 14th-century yogi Thangtong Gyalpo.

The performance also includes a new Tibetan-language theatre work, China’s Colonial Boarding Schools in Tibet, written and directed by Lhashol Sonam Tsetan, who was born in Lhasa and escaped across the Himalayas into exile in 1998. Through the voices of its Tibetan characters, the play depicts a system of boarding schools aimed at dismantling the linguistic, cultural and religious identity of the Tibetan people by forcibly assimilating young Tibetans into a Chinese cultural nationalism. It is the first major theatrical treatment of the issue to reach a UK audience.

“For 65 years TIPA has worked to keep alive the music, dance and theatre of a homeland from which most of our artists have been separated by birth or by force. Every performance is an act of preservation. To bring this work to London — a city of so many cultures — is both a joy and a responsibility.”

– The Director, Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts

“For Tibetans, TIPA is the authentic embodiment of our rich cultural heritage, dating back to a time before we lost our nation and all that was lost with it. Each performer carries with them a personal story that then translates into their performance, a story that audiences not only immerse themselves in, but deeply resonate with. It is truly an honour to once again see TIPA perform live, and a true joy to share in that experience with the British audience. I encourage audiences to come and see what the Chinese authorities are working so hard to erase inside Tibet, and to understand why this matters.”

– Tenzin Rabga Tashi, Free Tibet

TIPA was established at the personal initiative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama within months of his escape from Tibet in 1959, originally in Kalimpong and from 1961 in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala. A part of the Central Tibetan Administration’s Department of Religion and Culture, the institute has trained more than 450 professional artists, many of whom now teach Tibetan music and dance in Tibetan schools and settlements across India, Nepal, Bhutan, Europe, North America and beyond. Its annual Shoton festival of folk opera draws international audiences to Dharamsala each year.

The TIPA troupe visiting the UK includes artists who have performed across the world and starred in film and theatre productions in India, Europe and the U.S. The UK visit forms part of a wider European tour that opened in Germany on 1 May 2026 and has also taken the company to Austria, Slovakia and Switzerland.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The London performance
   • Date: Friday 5 June 2026. Doors 18:00. Performance 19.00–22:00, with an interval.
   • Venue: The Fireworks Factory, Woolwich Works, 11 No. 1 Street, Royal Arsenal, London SE18 6HD.
   • Tickets: ticketed event, available from the Woolwich Works box office.
   • Programme: traditional Tibetan music and dance in the first half; the theatre play China’s Colonial Boarding Schools in Tibet in the second half.
2. About the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA)
   • Founded by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in August 1959 in Kalimpong, India; relocated to McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, in 1961.
   • Premier institution preserving the music, dance, opera and theatre traditions of Tibet in exile.
   • Registered as a society under the Government of India’s Societies Registration Act 1860, and part of the Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration.
   • More than 450 professional artists trained to date; alumni work in Tibetan schools and cultural organisations across four continents.
   • Custodian of the Ache Lhamo Tibetan opera tradition, founded in the 14th century by the yogi Thangtong Gyalpo.
   • Website: tipa.asia
3. About the company on tour
   • 26 artists in total: 16 men and 10 women, led by the TIPA Director.
   • United Kingdom tour (1-9 June): Wednesday 3 June, The Leonard Wolfson Auditorum, Oxford; 5 June at Woolwich Works in London; Sunday 7 June, 1-3 pm, ‘The Spirit of Tibet’, Treasure House Theatre, World Museum, Liverpool.
   • Europe tour 2026: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Switzerland
4. About the play “China’s Colonial Boarding Schools in Tibet”
   • Written and directed by Lhashol Sonam Tsetan.
   • Performed in Tibetan, with English supertitles.
   • Dramatises the impact of the residential boarding-school system on Tibetan children, families, language and identity.
   • UN human rights experts and bodies including UNESCO, Human Rights Watch and Tibet Action Institute have repeatedly raised concerns about the residential schooling of Tibetan children.
5. About the hosts
   • Tibet House Trust is the UK’s principal organisation promoting Tibetan culture, language and traditions.
   • The Office of Tibet, London is the official representative office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration for the United Kingdom, Ireland and the wider region.
   • The visit is supported by the Tibetan Community in Britain and a coalition of UK Tibet support groups including Free Tibet.
6. Media opportunities
   • Interview and broadcast opportunities are available with the Tibetan singers and dancers, several of whom made dangerous escapes from Chinese-controlled Tibet prior to joining TIPA, and representatives of the host organisations. Tibetan-language interviews available on request.
7. Available assets for media use
   • High-resolution images of TIPA artists in performance and rehearsal.
   • Short video clips of music and dance, cleared for editorial use.
   • Backgrounders on TIPA, the play, and the boarding-schools issue.
8. Press contact
   • Tenzin Kunga, Office of Tibet, +44 7479 394775, [email protected]
   • Kate Saunders, Free Tibet, +44 7947 138612, [email protected]
   • Pema Yoko, Tibet Action Institute, +44 7305 584833, [email protected]