Happy March Fool's Day!

[howeird]

I have two important birthdays to celebrate today. One is my "ex-wife" Marilyn, who is mumbletymumble years old today. Marilyn played my wife a few years ago in a Santa Clara Players production of Come Blow Your Horn and also was one of the cast of Play On! which I directed at the same theater. She's still a big theater booster and acts in their one-act play series, which perform at senior centers and community groups around the south bay.

It's also the US Peace Corps' 45th birthday today. I started as a volunteer during their 14th year. Read more here.

Comments

[scendan.livejournal.com]

Hippie Birdies all 'round!

Thailand Question

[peace-corps-grl.livejournal.com]

Are there any dragon or lion dances in Thailand? I know that Vietnam and Singapore have them, but I think they are actually Chinese traditions. My students want to do a dragon dance similar to what they saw in the capital one year… Is there anything similar that in Thailand’s culture?

Re: Thailand Question

[howeird]

Dragon dances are Chinese, and to the best of my knowledge even the ones in VietNam are courtesy of the Chinese population there. Singapore is, of course, mostly Chinese. San Francisco's Chinatown is famous for their dragon and lion dances on Chinese New Year.

Thailand has a strong tradition of two kinds of dance. "Ramwong" is the national folkdance, and is a very simple walking dance which just involves moving the arms and fingers in a certain way while walking either in a parade or in a circle. Men and women usually pair up and dance side by side, but it can also be done group or solo. The second type is traditional classical dance, based on the stories of a Thai adaptation of the Indian tale Ramayana, which is performed in ornate costumes which feature metalic cloth, headdresses, and super-long false golden fingernails. The arm and finger movements of Ramayana dancing are cousins of those in the Ramwong.
I'll scan a photo or three in and post those for you.

[howeird]

Here are some photos - I took these at the Oriental Hotel in 1975. The Ramayana outfits are typical, the first ramwong shot shows women in traditional festival dress, the other is closer to peasant outfits.

Ramayana:






Ramwong:

[(Anonymous)]

Hello,

Thanks for posting these pictures! (I'll show them to the kids this week)
Sorry I have some more questions:
My team is made of 3 boys… Are the mens dance movements any different than the womens?
Is the person in the mask a guy?
Are the movements slow? Fast?
What kind of music is it to?
What is the dance for? (Sun? Rain? Peace? Fun?)

Thanks :o)

meggan

[howeird]

Good questions!
The men's dance movements are similar to the women's, except the men are not as graceful. :-)
The person in the mask can be male or female, but the character is male (either a demon or a monkey god).
The movements in the Ramayana range from slow motion to very fast battle scenes. The Ramwong is a moderate speed walk.
Here are examples of the music:
Ramwong
Ramayana (I'm not sure if this is actual music from the Ramayana dance, but it's similar).

The Ramwong music in the example is for a festival called Loi Khratong, which heralds the coming of winter. But Thais don't need a major holiday to do these dances, they can just be celebrating a wedding, or a boy becoming a monk, or a win at a soccer match.