“Joanna Rotté’s Yeshe Tsogyal is at turns heartening and unnerving, and thoroughly stunning. You are captive to her power. She is, in other words, like the Great Bliss Queen herself. Watching her, I felt as if I were a participant in one of those ancient Tibetan rites, where the past is literally presented—manifest, realized, made present—rather than merely depicted. As a bonus, the details of Joanna’s presentation are historically and doctrinally accurate. The experience of watching Joanna Rotté as Yeshe Tsogyal is therefore exceptionally well-rounded: it is simultaneously pedagogically sound and theatrically stimulating.”
—Glenn Wallis, Ph.D., Chair, Applied Meditation Studies, Won Institute
“Wonderful performance of an overwhelming text. I wish my students could all see it”
- Frank Chance, Associate Director Center for East Asian Studies University of Pennsylvania
“…a striking performance. The language was beautiful, the layering of the vocal and instrumental sounds was so evocative, and (Yeshe) looked amazing in that red against that blue sky and water! It was clear that so much love and respect was put into the project by everyone involved.”
- Valerie Joyce, Assistant Professor St. Augustine Liberal Arts Center
“Joanna Rotté’s rendition of Yeshe Tsogyal was superb. It had just the right touch. Putting a biographical history in the first person, and shaping it as reminiscence, was an inspired decision. In addition, the character’s life presents some thorny problems: she lived for two hundred years, witnessed many magical events, and behaved in a thoroughly unconventional way. To bring this figure to life without making her into a comic-book character of some kind is a challenge—one that Joanna met well. Her touch was light enough so we could take the supernatural with a grain of salt. At the same time she completely became Yeshe Tsogyal, so we could fully experience this wonderful character.”
—Alexander deVaron, Ph.D., Adjunct professor of Music, Temple University and Resident Shastri, Philadelphia Shambhala Buddhist Center
“Thank you, Joanna, from the bottom of my heart, for your performance—it helped to make the Feminine Principle installation an unforgettable event. Your Yeshe Tsogyal insights were pure, without bias, and held nothing back. I visited many shrines and temples in and around Lhasa and the Yarlung valley two summers ago. Yeshe Tsogyal fills those places with a feminine strength and joyful expanse that amazes everyone. And Joanna, believe me when I say, your inspiring homage to Yeshe Tsogyal felt like being at those shrines in Samye and Lhasa.”
—Michael Thompson, Rusung, Philadelphia Shambhala Buddhist Center
“Joanna Rotté’s performance of the Yeshe Tsogyal story was a revelation. By turns playful, wrathful, seductive, and sublime, Ms. Rotté created a vibrant 21st-century manifestation of this ancient wisdom deity. She brought to life the traditional language of the Buddhist texts, making the power of the words immediate and compelling.”
—Jude Robison, curator, Philadelphia Museum of Art;
former director, Karme Choling, VT
“Bringing the power, elegance, and depth of the feminine aspect of Tibetan culture to the west has been a lifelong calling for me, and I am proud to lend my support and body of photographic work to this most important effort”
- Steve McCurry, National Geographic Photographer
