Letter
from Bangkok
December 15, 2003
by
George Jackson
copyright
© 2003 by George Jackson
Dancing is
ubiquitous in Bangkok, taking place on land and aboard river boats. Gaining
access to a particular performance, however, can be difficult for visitors.
An article in one of the city's English language newspapers announced
free seats for a Tibetan folk troupe, Xigase, at the National Stadium's
Nimibutr Hall. Finding the location wasn't a problem since a terminal
stop on one of the city's two skytrain lines is called National Stadium
and every map of Bangkok shows it prominently. Entry into the hall, though,
was a hurdle. Despite this being a free performance, tickets were required
and the paper hadn't mentioned that. All tickets had already been handed
out well before the day of the first performance, December 5. With two
other ticketless Americans, I was being turned away brusquely by the ushers
when some people with whom we'd been standing in line took pity on us
and 3 tickets appeared as if by magic or, rather, by civility since the
Thais are among the world's most hospitable people.
Curtain time was supposed to be 7 PM. As we took our seats around quarter
to 7, a travelogue on Tibet was being shown on large screens, one on either
side of the stage. The camera work was handsome and kept us entertained
until about 7:20 when live events got underway with -- speeches. This
was, it turned out, the opening night of a "gift" engagement
by Tibet to Thailand on the occasion of the King of Thailand's birthday.
The speeches went on and on, Thai or Tibetan texts being translated into
each other. Even the one speech in English was incomprehensible due to
accent and acoustics. The actual performance began at about 8 PM and the
first number proved to be worth waiting for -- musicians in traditional
Tibetan garb playing horns and drums and gongs that sounded like the earth
shattering to release a howling wind of spirit voices.
Much of what followed had a kernel of the authentic but it had been tampered
with. The singing and dancing seemed homogenized, prettyfied and pumped
up in the Soviet folk troupe manner or in the schmaltzy style of Hollywood's
Mario Lanza musicals. Emphatic, though, and undoubtedly intentional was
the contrast between this presentation and the monastic ones practiced
by Tibetan exiles: much of Xigase's performance showed gender equality,
the cast including women as well as men in key roles. One acrobatic pas
de deux, with lifts akin to those in Spartacus, graphically illustrated
combative swordplay and copulation. The couple performing the pas de deux
appeared to have both martial arts and ballet training.
Bangkok
is a hub of dance activity in the Far East, so Tibetans were not the only
visitors this season. A fringe festival in late November, early December
featured the Vietnam Opera Ballet, Cambodian dancers as well as classical
and avant garde Thai troupes. Scheduled for a world premier on December
13 was Katya and the Prince of Siam, "a romantic ballet
in 2 acts" with the Kremlin Ballet Theatre and the President's Orchestra
of the Russian Federation. It is based on the book of the same name by
Eileen Hunter and M.R. Narissa Chakrabongse that recounts the true story
of a 19th Century prince from what was then known as Siam, who studied
at the court of Russia's czar and fell in love with a young Russian woman.
Overcomimg much opposition, they married, moved to Siam, and lived unhappily
thereafter. Eventually, Katya went back to snowy Russia and pined away.
Andrey Petrov headed the production team which included composer Pavel
Ovsyannikov and conductor Robert Luther. Presumably, Petrov also was the
principal choreographer. Natalia Balakhnicheva and Sergei Smirnov were
to dance the title roles at all performances through December 16, and
the supporting cast was vast. Later, on 14 January 2004, there will be
a one time only performance of Marcia Haydee and Ismael Ivo's Shakespeare-based
The Tempest. The cast is to consist of 30 Thai dancers. The composer
is Sinnapa Sarsas and the designer Chin Berrya Apikul. If you are wondering
what you are missing, don't despair: there is no guarantee that ABT can
resist grabbing up the two ballets sight unseen.
Classical
dancing in the Thai variant of the Indochina tradition is maintained by
an official academy in Bangkok and by performing arts departments at select
universities throughout Thailand. Getting to see their work isn't easy
because these school performances are not widely publicized. In six or
seven visits to Thailand, I've been to just two. One was a dance drama
in which the exotic divertissements to entertain royalty included a Western
ballet pas de deux. I'd stumbled across this performance by accident,
walking past the usually closed Royal Theater in Bangkok, seeing it open
and people entering and deciding to follow their lead. No one asked me
for a ticket. The other occasion was at the hospitality session of a scientific
meeting at Ching Mai University in the north of Thailand, at which the
performing arts students entertained the visitors. Very accessible, however,
is the classical Thai dancing and singing at Erawan Shrine, in the heart
of central Bangkok at the busy intersection of Ratchadrami Road with the
street called Rama 1 Road to the west and Phloen Chit Road to the east.
Overhead, the two skytrain lines which adjoin Siamese twin-like for a
short stretch, split apart. Inside the fence that separates the religious
site from the sidewalks and pavements, one is only minimally removed from
Bangkok's crush of bodies and vehicular pollution, yet there is the feeling
of a safe haven. Eight dancers in two equal rows, one infront of the other,
and a small group of percussion players, three but sometimes four, are
about all that will fit under the roof of the L-shaped pavilion that occupies
the corner of the enclosure opposite the entrance gate. Overall, what
the dancers do is sway gently and strike poses. What they do in detail
involves the suppleness of the entire body, especially the arms and hands
that flex, wind and stretch so finely. The performers face a statue that
has been placed at the center of the shrine, under the open sky. It is
an image of Shiva with four faces and eight arms, seated on a throne stool
with one leg drawn up onto the cushion that rests atop the stool and the
other leg bent over the edge and extended to the base of the stool. Surrounding
the figure are offerings of cut flowers, smoking sticks of incense and
lighted candles. The statue is already an act of choreography, so specifically
are its many arms positioned.
The costuming and grooming of the dancers is elaborate, except that the
lower legs and feet are kept bare in order to give the them high visibility.
Footwork consists of cushioned stepping with the foot's underside feeling
the floor sensually and then providing a stable base for balancing the
body. All the dancers are female and wear their hair swept back into a
bun high off the neck. The eyes are strongly outlined. Atop the head is
a glittering pagoda crown. The torso is dressed in a tight bodice that
tends to be long and may end in fore and aft aprons. Loose britches are
worn and some women also have hip sashes. Everything shines or shimmers
due to applied sequins, semiprecious stones, polished metal, silk and
artful stitching. As they sway, the dancers may plie softly, rotating
or winding their arms, keeping palms and fingers flexed. Sometimes they
strike "swastika" poses. There is room enough for only one or
two steps forward or backward, but no space for movement to the side.
When a worshippers makes a donation to the shrine, the dancers join the
donor in kneeling and praying. Sometimes they also sing, at other times
they just dance.
These ceremonies at the Erawan Shrine can be seen daily, all day long
and into the evening. There are a few benches along the sides of the fence
for those who want to watch at length. The classical Thai dancing at restaurants,
hotels, clubs and other tourist spots is more varied, more virtuoso but
it is also somewhat cold. The Erawan dancers' repetitiveness is as warm
as a mother's who is rocking her child's cradle.
Originally
published:
www.danceviewtimes.com
Volume 1, Number 12
December 15, 2003
Copyright ©2003 by
George Jackson
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