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The khon performance of the Prommas:

On June 21 2009, I was really fortunate to get tickets to see the khon performance of the ‘Prommas' episode of the Ramakien at the Auditorium, Thailand Cultural Center. Composed by the great royal artist Prince Narisara Nuvativongse (son of King Mongkut, Rama IV), the Thai classical masked dance was performed by leading artists from The Office of Music and Drama, The Fine Arts Department, The Ministry Of Culture, The Banditpatanasilpa Institute, and Bangkok College of Dramatic Art.

Of the six traditional Thai dance forms khon is the highest form of dance drama. Khon performers blend drama, dance and music to recreate the story of the Ramakien – the Thai legend adapted from the Hindu epic the Ramayana. Traditionally, the dancers perform episodes from the story of the Ramakien, while a chorus narrates the story in the form of verse.

This special command performance was promoted by The Support Foundation of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and the Costume Design Committee, and was devised to showcase the talents of a wide spectrum of Thai artists (including the performers, dancers, musicians, mask-makers, embroiderers, goldsmiths, silversmiths and theatrical makeup artists), to preserve the art of khon and to give new generations the opportunity to appreciate this important national heritage.

The evening was amazing. The artists' interpretation of the story was lively and enthralling, whilst the music and narration added to the ethereal atmosphere of the piece. A true visual delight, the production really portrayed the feeling of grandeur and scale. The beautiful, graceful movements of the dancers' appeared light and effortless and were in stark contrast to the magnificence of the larger than life-sized three-headed white elephant that wowed the audience.

The richly decorated and elaborate costumes and masks were in a slightly subtler shade of hues than is customary, but the palate of blue, pink, purple and gold heightened the performance's dream-like quality and added to the overall magic of the evening.

Article written by Christopher Snyder.

Asia Products LLC Thailand Discovery Pages provides articles a variety of topics including current events, politics, and travel ideas for learning about Thailand. Asia Products LLC also offers an e-commerce store selling Thailand products on http://www.asiaproductsllc.com. He is documenting some of his more interesting travels in his Thailand Travel Pages website : http://www.apllc-connect.com.