Traditional Asian Dance Festivals

Vibrant performances by dancers in colorful costumes, depicting traditional music and cultural celebrations from regions in Bhutan and China.

Bhutan, Punakha Dzong. Punakha Drubchen Festival, masked dancers. (Editorial Use Only)

Details of the dresses of the Yimchunger tribe at the Hornbill Festival, Kohima, Nagaland, India, Asia

Monks Blowing On Long Horns At Start Of Ceremony At Dawn As Part Of The Monlam Prayer Festival For Tibetan New Year, Nechung Monastery, Near Lhasa, Ti...

Caporales Dancers In The Procession Of The Carnaval De Oruro, Oruro, Bolivia

Cebu City, Philippines - 18 January 2026: View of a vibrant street procession, a sea of white and orange, as a woman in a pristine white gown raises a golden religious icon amidst joyous participants.

Puppet show, Hanoi, Vietnam, Southeast Asia, Asia

ZANCOS DELANTE DE LA VIRGEN EN PROCESION. Location: FIESTA. Anguiano. Rioja. SPAIN.

Drums players in a Brazilian folk festival in honor of Saint George in the state of Minas Gerais

Traditional mask dance with a xylophone and flutes at the Palace of Bafut, Bafut, Northwest Region, Cameroon, Africa

Bali, Melasti pilgrimage to the sea shore for a spiritual cleansing and renewal. (Editorial Use Only)

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, October 25, 2014 : The changing of the guard demonstration at Gyeongbokgung Palace on October 25, 2014 in Seoul, South Korea, Asia

Japan, Kumano Hongu Taisha, annual festival, people

Encuentro de gigantes.Llucmajor. Comarca de Es Migjorn. Mallorca. Baleares.España.

Colorful dancers perform a dance during the Guelaguetza celebrations in the arena of San Antonino Castillo Velasco near Oaxaca, Mexico.

Portrait of a bandwala holding jhunjhunas

Colorful floral floats. 48th Chiang Mai Flower Festival 2025. Thailand. (Editorial Use Only)

Bride and groom at a traditional Berber wedding, Midoun, Djerba, Tunisia, Africa

Gathering of minority groups from Yunnan for Torch Festival, Yuannan, China, Asia

Andujar, Jaen Province, Andalusia, Spain. People at the annual pilgrimage for the Virgen de la Cabeza, Our Lady of Cabeza. (Editorial Use Only)

China, Guizhou, Miao women wearing traditional dresses and headdresses posing on village square

A Tempyo Gyoretsu Procession (Japanese people dress up as nobles and court ladies from the time of the Tempyo Period 729-749ad) in front of the Great Buddha Hall (daibutsuden) of the Todai-ji temple (Eastern Great Temple), which is a Buddhist temple complex and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the city of Nara, Japan.

Group picture with all performers involved dressed in clothing from the Heian period, Middle Ages, during a ritual Shinto equestrian competition, Kamigamo Shrine, Kyoto, Japan, Asia

Ecuador, Cuenca. Dancers in folklore troupe during annual parade and festival to celebrate founding of Cuenca in 1557. Cuenca is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Entranced devotee embodying orixa Oxosse during Lemnaja festival on Rio Vermelho beach, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, South America

The fire blessing ceremony at Bumthang Jamba Monastery. Bhutan. September 2013.

The Khasi Tribe adorned in their traditional attire performed traditional Khasi songs on the occasion of Khasi Seng Kut Snem 2024, organized by the Khasi Social Council. Khasi Seng Kut Snem, a traditional year-end festival of the Khasi community in the Greater Sylhet Division, was held at the Magurchhara Khasia Punji field in Kamalganj. Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Mayan woman dress with embroid flowers from Yucatan Mexico

A couple is performing a traditional dance in the Guelaguetza in the arena of San Antonino Castillo Velasco near Oaxaca, Mexico.

National Asian Pacific American Heritage Month program in Exhibit Hall, featuring performance by Chinese traditional dance group

Laos, Luang Prabang. Tak Bat at dawn, procession of Buddhist monks collecting alms.

Group of Tlingit people dressed in traditional regalia and button blankets sing tribal songs to the beat of hand drums during a ceremony

Peru, Masked dancers for parade on Christmas Day in Cuscos square, Plaza de Armas, celebrating the Andean Baby Jesus, Nino Manuelito.

Dancers at the Centro Cultural Antiguo, Balet Folklorico, Masaya, Nicaragua, CentralAmerica,

Nihang or Sikh warrior riding on two horses at same time during Hola Mohalla celebration at Anandpur sahib in Rupnagar Copyright: xManoejxPaateel/DinodiaxPhotox

Men playing musical instruments drummers of ladakh festival, leh, ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, india Copyright: xSunilxKapadia/DinodiaxPhotox

Bulgaria, Central Mountains, Kazanlak, Kazanlak Rose Festival, town produces 60 percent of the world's rose oil, dancers in traditional costume at the rose harvest dance

Village kids dressed in their ceremonial circumcision costumes by the Euphrates, Birecik, Urfa (Sanliurfa), Turkey

Japanese Takio Drummers bow after a performance during the opening ceremony of a Library at the Balbala 7 School in Balabala, Djibouti, Oct. 4, 2022. The opening ceremony consisted of many multinational speeches and events. (Department of Defense photo by Staff Sgt. Thomas Johns)

Asia, Bhutan, Thimphu, Pilgrims at the National Memorial Chorten

Fiesta De Santa Fe, New Mexico. A Celebration Started In 1712 To Celebrate The Peaceful Retaking Of The City From The Pueblo People In 1692. The Entrada De Don Diego Devargas Into The Plaza Along With A Statue Of La Conquisdora.

Costumed dancers at religious festival with many visitors, Paro Tsechu, Paro, Bhutan, Asia

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. July 16th, 2023. The New Mexico delegation at The athletes Parade of the opening ceremony of the 10th North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) on the streets of Kjipuktuk (Halifax). Over 5000 athletes from 756 Indigenous Nations across Turtle Island will be competing until July 23rd with competitions in 16 sports within 21 venues across the area. Credit: meanderingemu/Alamy Live News

Guard, Buddhist Royal Palace Wat Phra Kaeo, Bangkok, Thailand, Asia

UZBEKISTAN, BUKHARA, NADIR DEVON MADRASSAH, MUSICANS PLAYING LUTE

Bulgaria

YIGO, Guam (Aug. 9, 2022) - Members of Guma MaHiga, a CHamoru language & traditional arts program, perform a bendision, or blessing, before the Chaguian Memorial ceremony in Yigo, Aug. 8. The Chaguian memorial commemorates the discovery of a massacre site following the liberation of Guam from enemy forces during World War II.

Indonesia, Bali, Pejeng. Young boy at the Hindu Temple Festival in Pejang. Various temple festivals are held in the 9th Balinese month at the Pura Penataran Sasih in Bali. (Editorial Use Only)

Human effigy is cut up to remove negativity at the Monlam Chenpo, Katok Dorjeden Monastery - Kham, (Tibet), Sichuan, China

Mapuche Indians performing a dance, San Pedro de Atacama, Region de Antofagasta, Chile, South America

Hands of a tabla player, Umaid Bhawan Palace or Bhavan Palace, hotel, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, Asia

Stilt dancers, New Year celebrations, China, Asia

Traditional, ceremonial eagle dance, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, New Mexico, USA

Japan, Tokyo: Shrine festival, called Matsuri. The Shinto shrines are carried through the streets of the Shinto temple district. Local people carrying the shrine on their shoulders, dressed in happi-coats, religious festival, Asia

Japan, Tokyo City, Asakusa District, Sanja Festival,

Young women in traditional attire pose for photos during a cultural event in Indonesia

National Asian Pacific American Heritage Month program in Exhibit Hall, featuring performance by Chinese traditional dance group

Sri Lankan buddhists celebrating wesak festival

Portrait of a female Kandy dancers dressed in a pooja costume, Kandy, Sri Lanka

Asia, Mongolia, Bayan-Olgii Province. Altai Eagle Festival, three Kazakh men in traditional garb walk back to the start.

National Asian Pacific American Heritage Month program in Exhibit Hall, featuring performance by Chinese traditional dance group

inner harbour, first nations dancer, Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Naxi music is 500 years old, and with its mixture of literary lyrics, poetic topics, and musical styles from the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, as well as some Tibetan influences, it has developed its own unique style and traits. There are three main styles: Baisha, Dongjing, and Huangjing, all using traditional Chinese instruments. The Naxi or Nakhi are an ethnic group inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas in the northwestern part of Yunnan Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan Province in China. The Naxi are thought to have come originally from Tibet and, until recently, maintained overland trading links with Lhasa and India. The Naxi form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. The Naxi are traditionally followers of the Dongba religion. Through both Han Chinese and Tibetan cultural influences, they adopted Tibetan Buddhism and, to a lesser extent, Taoism, in the 10th century.

Tibetan pilgrims throwing prayer notes into the air, ceremony at Namtso Lake, Heavenly Lake, Tibetan, China, Asia

kashmiri women celebrating Chandigam, Kashmir, India, Asia Copyright: xJunaidxBhat/DinodiaxPhotox

Traditional Mongolian performers sing and play the morin khurr, or horsehead fiddle, during the opening ceremony for Gobi Wolf 2022 in Bayankhongor, Mongolia, Sept. 5. Gobi Wolf is a disaster response exercise designed to test disaster response processes while maximizing realism through a series of scenarios. (Alaska National Guard photo by Victoria Granado)

Bolivia, La Paz, Fiesta del Gran Poder,

Procession during a fiesta in Colquechaca in Potosi, Bolivia, South America

Tourists with incense sticks at the Llama Temple, Beijing, China, Asia

China, Guizhou Province, Basha, Miao ethnic minority group

Songkram Thai Buddhist New Year parade, blessings and water battles celebrations in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Asia Copyright: JulioxEtchart 1188-1102 Editorial Use Only

Mexico festival

Opening ceremony at Naadam Festival, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Procession during fiesta in Colquechaca, Potosi, Bolivia, South America

A Shime-daiko drummer with Jaagaru Eisa Group, performs in an Eisa march on Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 21, 2022. Originating from Okinawa, Eisa started as a traditional dance performed by Japanese Buddhist monks to honor the spirits of their ancestors. Since then, Eisa has evolved into a form of modern entertainment commonly performed during the Obon Festival in the summer months.

National Asian Pacific American Heritage Month program in Exhibit Hall, featuring performance by Chinese traditional dance group

Changing of the guard, Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaeo, Bangkok, Thailand, Asia

Shanghai China

A group of women in red dresses celebrate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the capital on 10 October 2024. Hanoi Hanoi Province Vietnam FB_2024_3320

Team Misawa members perform a traditional Tahitian dance to the song Te Tama MaOhi during the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM) closing ceremony at Misawa Air Base, Japan, May 21, 2022. Since the War of 1812, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders have been serving honorably in the United States military.

A wedding procession with Mojigangas (giant puppets) in the street of the small town of San Agustin Etla near Oaxaca, Mexico.

Indonesia-Jogjakarta City-The Kraton-Guardmen

Dancers and acrobats at the Arirang Festival, the North Korean Grand Mass Gymnastics and Artistic Performance, Pyongyang, North Korea, Asia

A Music Band Plays Funeral Marches During The Procession Of The Holy Cross On Good Friday In Antigua Guatemala, Sacatep

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- -- The Seminole Native American Veterans Color Guard (Seminole Flag, U.S. Flag, and State of Florida Flag) present colors during a dinner at the Debus Conference Center in the KSC Visitor Complex. The dinner honored John B. Herrington, the first tribally enrolled Native American astronaut to fly on a Shuttle mission. Herrington is a Mission Specialist on STS-113. In addition to the dinner at KSC, several hundred Native Americans from around the country attended a symposium in Orlando commemorating the launch event. The Native Americans, many of them Chickasaw, were here to honor John, who is a Chickasaw from Oklahoma.

Local band playing music for tourists with instruments in Antigua Guatemala

U.S. Embassy Suva celebrated the 243rd anniversary of the independence of the United States of America in Tonga on June 27, 2019. The Chief Guest at the Independence Day celebration was the Acting Prime Minister of Tonga, Hon. Semisi Sika. While addressing the guests, U.S. Embassy�s Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Helene Tuling spoke about the strong relations between the Kingdom of Tonga and the United States and highlighted the ongoing partnership between the two countries. flic.kr/p/2gobycL ( https://flic.kr/p/2gobycL )

Palestinian band celebrates Theophany by the Jordan River

Life And Death Festival, Riviera Maya. Mexico.

Buttnmanndl, traditional festival costumes and masks, December 6, Berchtesgaden, Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria), Germany, Europe

of 3