The Choreography of the Bathing and Dressing Dance of Hanao in the Story of the Drama "Ngo Pa"

Abstract

The actions of bathing and dressing are some of the most described daily life activity in the Thai literature. It can be found in texts from the Ayutthaya period up to the Rattanakosin period. Thai writers and poets inspired by the bathing and dressing rituals have composed several texts of various genres including scripts and lyrics used in dance-drama. From a Thai dramatic arts perspective, dances about bathing and dressing allow to show the principal dancers’ talent through their acting, dancing skills and choreography. In the Thai classical dance "Gno Pa", from the royal texts of His Majesty the King Rama V, there is a passage describing the bathing and dressing rituals for male as for female characters. Hanao, the male protagonist, has many dances through several episodes of the story to display the dancer’s talent. However, nowadays the script describing the bathing and dressing scene is rarely performed. The choreography for this dance has been retrieved from the Suan Kulab Palace where we can still find some old pictures and people, who have been passed the details from this dance. The choreography for the bathing and dressing scene of Hanao is one example, which distinguishes the unique style of Thai classical dance from the royal court by its exquisite beauty.