Thai Performing Arts: Thai Dancing

On thing that I really like about Thailand is how proud Thai people are of their culture. I’m always asked what I think of Thai food, I’m eagerly included in events at the wat (including funerals and weddings for people I have never met) and when I ask questions about things I don’t understand the explanations are free flowing. But there is one thing that I find especially impressive, and I’ve noticed it a lot more lately as I’ve attended more festivals: the pride in Thai traditional dancing.

In my recent trips to Loei for the Phi Ta Khon Festival and Ubon Ratchathani for the Candle Festival, I of course made time to go to the main event: the parade through town. In these kinds of parades, there is always at least one group of women (sometimes there are some men mixed in as well) with their fingers straining for the perfection of bending back or pinched to form a “bird” while their hands flutter and flow around in time with the folk music being played by the accompanying band. They wear some version of a traditional Thai costume, often a floor-length, straight, silk skirt, a blouse and a sash pinned and draped over one shoulder. Their steps are small and measured, partly because of the restrictions from the skirt, but also because the appearance of gliding over the ground is much more beautiful.

There are two main kinds of Thai dancing: classical dancing and folk dancing.

Classical Thai Dancing

Classical dancing includes the khon performances as well as a couple other kinds, the lakhon, the likay, the nang and the hun. The dance style is typified by not moving the torso and hips, but by bending the knees and moving the arms and hands, which are held in curves. There are 108 official basic movements, dependent on gender of the performer, but each dancer’s creativity can come through in their own combinations of the moves.

Thai Folk Dancing

Folk dances vary by region and have been influenced by the tribes and ethnicities that are prevalent in those regions as well as the aspects of the lives of the people in that region.

In the central region, there are dances to honor the rice farmers and rice goddess and dances to mimic the sword fighting that harkens back to the numerous battles fought by the old kingdoms.

For Isaan, the northeast, there are dances that use the rice basket as a prop and dances that use coconut shells to add to the rhythm of the music and are included in the choreography.

In the north, there are dances that honor the silk making process and dances that use candles in the choreography, an influence from the Thai Kheun tribe.

As for the south, there are dances that tell the story of a crocodile hunter and dances that were inspired by the natural beauty of the southern provinces.

Additionally, there are the fawn thai dances, which are a kind of folk dance that is more widespread and less regionally based. There are five kinds of fawn thai dances: the fawn leb (fingernail dance), the fawn ngiew (scarf dance), the fawn marn gumm ber (butterfly dance), the fawn marn mong kol (happy dance) and the fawn tian (candle dance).

Watching Thai Dancing

I love watching the Thai dancers as they move in sync with each other and knowing that the dances are such a point of pride for Thais makes me enjoy it so much more. Here are some pictures from some of the dances that I’ve had the opportunity to see, and I definitely recommend seeking out some cultural festival that is happening while you are in Thailand so you too can experience the treat of Thai dancing.

My host sister doing traditional Thai dancing.