The Mystical Arts of Tibet, a touring company of Drepung Loseling Monastery, came to West Homer Elementary and Paul Banks Elementary schools as part of the Bunnell Street Gallery's continued effort to enhance the exposure of area students to art, but it wasn't without a hefty dose of controversy.

The touring company's mission, according to organizers, is to raise awareness about Tibet and its cultural legacy. The monks, based from the monastery they re-established in India after the Chinese invaded Tibet in 1959, have performed the Tibetan traditional music and masked dance in hundreds of cities around North America and Europe since 1988. The group, which is funded in part by the Canada Tibet Friendship Society and the Richard Gere of Tibet House, performed a sold-out show at the Mariner Theatre on Saturday night followed by an impromptu Sunday matinee.

The first indicator that the monks' visit to the schools wasn't being welcomed by all occurred when Paul Banks Principal Benny Abraham canceled the event early last week.

Contacted last Friday, Abraham said the cancellation was due to a host of other activities scheduled at the school for the same day, including a presentation by the Homer Police Department, compounded by concerns from some regarding the event's religious content and its appropriateness for kindergarten-through-second-grade students.

By Saturday, however, Abraham said he decided to return from an out-of-town trip to address the concerns of other parents who were upset that their children wouldn't get to see the show. The school initially planned to bus students to West Homer to see the show there, but eventually decided to hold the show at Paul Banks for all students with parental permission.

Photo by Carey James, Homer News

"Basically it was the fact that enough parents were concerned about the decision (to cancel the show) that we wanted to provide that opportunity," Abraham said Tuesday.

But opponents to the monks' school performances say the show had no place in the school and violates separation of church and state laws.

"Without a doubt, no question whatsoever, it was a religious offering of prayer and dance," said Alfonso Lamendola, whose grandchildren attend both schools where the monks performed. Lamendola said while he had no problem with the monks' public performances, offering the act to students during school hours was a mistake.

It's not the first time such a performance this exact group, in fact has faced controversy when performing at a school in the United States.

At least one other organization has questioned the monks' performances in the nation's schools. In 1998 and again in 1999, the monks visited Salt Lake City and constructed a traditional sand painting in two of the city's schools. The performance caught the attention of Jefferson 21st Century Institute, "a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the principle of appropriate separation of religion and government whereby the government neither establishes, nor favors, one religion over another."

According to a release filed by the institute in 2000, the creation of the sand painting during school hours in a public school violated federal laws.

"It is clearly a case of government entangling itself in and promoting recognized religious activities," the release said.

Asia Freeman, director of the Bunnell Street Gallery, said however that the presentation was a cultural display, not a religious ceremony.

"In some cases spirituality and art are webbed," Freeman said.

While at least one act of the monk's school performance featured monks singing, eyes closed in what some might construe as a state of prayer, the monks' words were not translated.

"Because we were not presenting a spiritual program, of interest to us is their unique way of singing, the innovative costumes, music and dance," Freeman said. "These are the artistic aspects important to their cultural heritage."

Some parents agreed, including Jocelyn Shiro-Westphal, who was concerned by the initial cancellation of the Paul Banks performance.

"This is not a religious event, it is a cultural event, sharing positive feelings through music and movement," Shiro-Westphal said. "How can we deny our children these opportunities? The thought processes of the people who complained of this group sharing their music, voices and movement to our students may very well be the same thought processes of people who bring separation and discord to the world."

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District policy manual offers broad guidance on such issues, saying that schools must not favor the beliefs and customs of any particular religion or sect over any others.

"Instructional programs may include references to religion and may use religious literature, art, music or symbols to illustrate the subject matter being taught," the manual states. "Such instruction should be designed to broaden the students' understanding of social and cultural history and their tolerance for the multiple ways of life practiced by the peoples of the world."

Deb Germano, board of education president for the district, said the district gives school presentations such as the monks approval before letting school administrators make the final decision.

"The bottom line is the district really leaves the decision up to the principals," she said, noting that she fielded many calls on the issue over the weekend. "I can't think of anything in a long time that caused such a brouhaha."

Some compared the monks' presentations to school Christmas concerts, but opponents to the performance disagree, noting that the United States has a longstanding history of celebrating Christmas and Christianity.

"I think that we are already under a lot of struggle with that in itself as becoming a problem without the introduction of any additional problems," Lamendola said. "I think there's a significant difference between singing 'Holy Night' and attempting to plant seeds in the minds of our children."

While the issue may seem clear cut to both opponents and proponents, situations like this are much less black-and-white for school administrators who must make the decisions about what stays and what stays out.

"I've been in the school business for most of my life and this is a difficult time for school administrators," Abraham said. "It's hard to know where to draw those lines. We have policies district guidelines but it still doesn't replace the emotional issues and people's feelings of what is appropriate and what is not appropriate."

Charlie Walsworth, principal of West Homer Elementary, said he also sees the current political climate as one in which school administrators must strike a balance.

"As a principal I realize that we have a group of students and parents in this community that's politically diverse and there's a wide range of religious, cultural and family beliefs," Walsworth said.

Walsworth said, however, that West Homer Elementary invites a wide range of performers to the school, including musicians from area church groups. As long as no one is preaching to the students, such performances only raise cultural awareness, he said, though he does offer students and parents an opportunity to opt out of such events. Less than 10 students chose to skip the monks' presentation, with several of those students choosing to study about Tibet using other formats. He said he hopes the monks' performance causes children to ask lots of questions, questions their parents should answer at home.

"That's a conversation that should not be stifled," said Walsworth.

Bunnell Street Gallery, which sponsors numerous artist-in-the-schools programs throughout the year, said the gallery hopes future events will go more smoothly as a result of this week's conversations.

"I feel that the school in arranging an alternative activity really did the right thing," Freeman said. "I hope the whole thing has a positive note. I hope arts and culture organizations can continue to make presentations available to the schools and be welcomed there."

Carey James can be reached at carey.james@homernews.com.