A while back I wrote about Chinlone, a mix of sport and dance played primarily in Burma, and a documentary in production about it called Mystic Ball. Chinlone often takes on a spiritual quality, especially when women do solo performances known as “tapandaing” and all participants show an amazing ability to keep the small rattan ball airborne.

Greg Hamilton, the director of Mystic Ball recently emailed me that the DVD version of the documentary is now available. The film has had quite the journey of its own, having been shown at dozens of film festival across the globe, collecting a number of awards in the process. So if you were as amazed as I was watching video of Chinlone players in action, definitely grab a copy of the DVD. Once the Christmas bill bonanza passes I’ll try to get a copy and post up a review.

Here’s a YouTube video posted by Greg that will give you a good idea what Chinlone i­s all about:


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Other Chinlone videos can be found here. If you get a copy of the DVD, post your thoughts in the comments!