Bridging traditional Thai classical dance language with contemporary sensibilities, dancer/choreographer Pichet Klunchun occupies a unique place in the dance world. He trained in the form of Thai classical mask dance known as khon, and gained further experience as a theater dancer and choreographer and performing in the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok. The work seen here was excerpted at the 2008 Fall for Dance Festival, after which Dance Magazine editor Wendy Perron named it among her top ten works for 2008. This is a contemporary Thai interpretation of the Ramayana epic, explored differently in Cambodia’s Reamker. The full Chui Chai received its U.S. premiere at Jacob’s Pillow, while a more recent work, Pichet Klunchun and Myself, was created and performed with French conceptual choreographer Jérôme Bel.
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