How was it like working with dancers in Hong Kong when you physically can’t be there?

It was a new experience that need a high level of trust and respect. I lost the sense of human [touch] in terms of acknowledgement of space, surrounding, size of the stage, lighting, smell, the atmosphere of the actual performing space because I am not there. These elements are so important in process of creating work. It is not a problem, but it is the lack of realisation. I need to recall my previous experience with the space from my last visit to Tai Kwan a few years ago to regain my acknowledgement about those elements [in order] to retain my humanness.

In what ways have you kept the legacy of Khon alive?

Khon has its own life but it exists in its own world and its own space. Khon was created for the past, not for the present. It is important to understand that it was is still living in the past.  I believe you will have the next question for me asking how do we keep them alive for the present and future? My answer is that if we will keep Khon alive for the present and future, it needs to be modified. However, if it is modified, Khon will be not Khon anymore but it will become No. 60.

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How have your dance techniques changed from when you first started learning Khon when you were 16 to today?

When I first started learning Khon, I danced like [how] my teacher danced.  [But] as time passed by, my dance became more like myself.

How different is it when you perform or choreograph performances in Thailand and overseas?

When I perform in Thailand, Thai audiences see me as the “destroyer of the culture” but when I performed abroad to foreign audiences, [they] see me as the “promoter and conservationist of the culture.”

You mainly perform overseas and now you’re coming to Hong Kong, how does it feel to work with an international team?

It is an exciting and new experience for me to work with a new team and I learn a lot every time.

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What is the state of Khon now in Thailand?

Khon is supported by the royal court and the government and it was acknowledged as an intangible heritage of Thailand by UNESCO.  Nowadays, in this current society with the new generation, Khon is not relevant to them and it is not important and not interesting in their views. There is some problem arising among the new generation such as the question about the curriculum that forces them to learn about Khon in their educational system. The new generation doesn’t see the necessity of learning about it.

For me, as a person who studied Khon and now, working in the contemporary field, I am trying to make a bridge between Khon and the new generation to create an understanding between the two parties. No. 60 is a part of my work to help the new generation in seeing that knowledge from Khon can be developed into something new.

What do you want Hong Kong audiences to get out of this performance?

I wish audiences will look at knowledge in the past in any type and use it in finding their identity.

What kind of an artist do you want to be remembered by?

I do not want people to remember me but I want people to remember my work because, in the future, I will die. My body won’t remain but my work will. 

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No. 60: Back to Basic will be performed from October 7–10 at JC Cube, Tai Kwun. For more details, please visit taikwun.hk.

 

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