What he does: Gentle-Wing is a "transformative dance and music artist." His primary focus is Tibetan sacred dance, mythological dance and drama based in Native American spirituality, as well as East Indian classical styles such as Katak and Bharataanatyam. He is a songwriter and singer, and plays the guitar, tablas, hardwood drums, five-hole Lakota flute, the 10-foot Tibetan long horn and the Chinese gong, among other ethnic instruments.
Where he lives: With his parents in Los Altos. For the past eight years, though, Gentle-Wing has been traveling the country, performing and "basically living out of the back of my truck . . . I have made the decision to devote my energies to my art, rather than having a family or having a base."
His costumes: Custom-made masks, silk and spun-gold ensembles, heirlooms from his teacher, Asoka.
The ultimate goal of sacred and ritual dance: "To cultivate compassion for all beings, so that healing energy flows out to all creation."
Where he's given workshops or performed: Peace Village, Lincoln, Vt.; Sedona, Ariz.; Himalayan Fair, Berkeley; Foothill College's Festival of the Arts; Peninsula School, Menlo Park.
Number of songs he's written: "Hundreds. I'm really concentrating on the music half of my art right now."
How he got his name: "(Sage Gentle-Wing) is my spiritual name as well as my legal name. I have had it for eight years now. I received it on a mountain, alone. Sage means 'healing, protection, inner knowing, true essence and wisdom.' Gentle-Wing means 'to walk gently upon the Earth with winged feet.' Someone did an article on me recently and said, 'Sage Gentle-Wing (not his real name)' and that really offended me. It is my real name. Generally I do not disclose the name my parents gave me because that turns the focus on the past. When I received my spiritual name it was at a point in time of looking ahead to the future."
A good phrase to live by: "So as we speak, we become."