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

[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.