Dance and Theatre of Laos - Classical Dance and Theatre

Classical Dance and Theatre

The dance-dramas of Laos were originally only performed for the royal court. The dance-dramas and musical accompaniment are all very similar to those of Thai and Cambodian classical dances. Lao legends of the first ruler of Lan Xang say that in addition to a large army of Khmer soldiers, he was also accompanied by many female dancers from the court of Angkor. Most dance dramas depict scenes from the Phra Lak Phra Ram (ພຣະລັກພຣະຣາມ ), or the Lao Ramayana and the Sadok (ຊາດົກ ), or Jataka. Other scenes come from legends, historical epics such as Sin Xay, stories from local or Hindu mythology, or adaptations of stories from surrounding nations. Lao classical dance has two main forms, khone and lakhone. Each is accompanied by Lao classical music.

Khon (ໂຂນ ) is the most stylised of the Lao dance-dramas, with troupes of male and female dancers in elaborate costumes and masks performing very graceful movements demonstrating their great flexibility, and very common dance-drama form for the Phra Lak Phra Ram. Each dancer plays a character in the drama, although most of the narration comes from a singing chorus to the side. Lakhone (ລະຄອນ ) dances are usually only performed by females, but male lakhone dancers are not unknown. Instead of each dancer portraying an individual character, such as the Khon dance-dramas, the dancers mimic the scene and events together. There is more variety of dance-dramas performed in the Lakhon tradition.

Although lacking in dance, nang taloung or shadow puppets (ໜັງຕະລຸງ ) are an important part of Lao theatrical traditions. An adaptation of the traditional Malay wayang shadow puppets, but there are numerous puppeteers instead of one puppet master. Shadow puppet plays are based on similar themes and stories as the other classical dramas, but can be accompanied by either classical music or morlam instrumentation.

Read more about this topic:  Dance And Theatre Of Laos

Famous quotes containing the words classical, dance and/or theatre:

    Compare the history of the novel to that of rock ‘n’ roll. Both started out a minority taste, became a mass taste, and then splintered into several subgenres. Both have been the typical cultural expressions of classes and epochs. Both started out aggressively fighting for their share of attention, novels attacking the drama, the tract, and the poem, rock attacking jazz and pop and rolling over classical music.
    W. T. Lhamon, U.S. educator, critic. “Material Differences,” Deliberate Speed: The Origins of a Cultural Style in the American 1950s, Smithsonian (1990)

    Navajo men and boys have an odd way of showing their friendship. When two young men meet at the trading post, a “Sing”, or a dance they greet each other, inquire about the health of their respective families, then stand silently some ten or fifteen minutes while one feels the other’s arms, shoulders, and chest.
    —Administration in the State of Ariz, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)

    The theatre is the involuntary reflex of the ideas of the crowd.
    Sarah Bernhardt (1845–1923)