Do the Crane Dance

Youthful eyes sparkle from under a beaked hood. Graceful arms flap like soaring wings. Squawk-like calls fill the Gangtey (gahn-tay) Monastery courtyard as dozens of Bhutanese schoolchildren perform the black-necked crane dance. It’s the highlight of the Black-necked Crane Festival, which celebrates the annual migration of these endangered cranes—a bird of sacred and spiritual