Wednesday February 20 2008 09:42 IST Athira M. The rehearsal for a Yak Chham performance THE snow lions and the yaks - they form the hilarious lot at Octave 2008, the national festival of the North-East currently on at Nishagandhi. To be exact, the artists from Sikkim who perform Singhi Chham (Dance of the snow lion) and Yak Chham (Dance of the yak). It is not at all an easy task out there for these artists. Two artists get into a costume, be it of the snow lion or the yak. Remember, these costumes, which come in two parts (head portion and the rear portion) weigh nearly 18 kg when taken together. And the toughest part for the artists is to dance with gentle and rhythmic movements. Also, they have to sit, jump, turn over and run in a circle! Above all, each of these actions should be perfectly synchronised. �The artist in front will stand holding the head portion of the animal. The one behind will form the r...
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