The Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) was founded by Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama on reaching McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh, India in exile from Tibet in August 1959. It was then called Tibetan Music, Dance and Drama Society, which was one of the first institutes set up by the Dalai Lama, and was established to preserve Tibetan artistic heritage, especially opera, dance, and music.
The new opera company employed both professional and amateur performers and entertained the Tibetan refugee camps and staged numerous performances of the folk Lhamo operas. These performances lasted all day and were "a reminder of home" for refugees.