Before going Dutch

PICHET KLUNCHUN Dance Company’s “Tam Kai”, which translates literally as “Following the Chicken”, has its origins in an exercise that the company has been using for several years.
“I’ve long observed that all dancers in Thailand, including those trained in both classical or modern dance, are restricted by rigid frames of physical movement styles. And these in turn significantly limit the aesthetics. I developed this exercise to free up my dancers’ bodies from the familiar structures, making use of late Thai music master Boonyong Ketkhong’s version of ‘Krao Nai’. Unlike other versions, the melody never repeats itself and is very unpredictable and so I asked my dancers simply to dance to it,” Pichet explains.
A few years ago, the company was invited by a British-Thai arts curator to perform at her 24-hour multi-arts festival in the Sukhumvit area, and Pichet chose to present this work, named “Sai Nam” (“Water Current”), to the public for the first time.
“The world premiere was at 2am, In the audience were writer Philip Cornwel-Smith and dramaturg and curator Tang Fu Kuen who, surprisingly for me at the time, noted that it could be further developed into a full-length performance. They both said that of all the company’s works, this was the one in which they could see the characteristics of each individual dancer most clearly.
“Afterwards, we were invited to perform a 20-minute version of ‘Sai Nam’ in South Korea. After returning, as I was practising the classical version of ‘Phra Lor’, it dawned on me that Phra Lor’s choreography in the scene where he is lured by the magical chicken to meet two princesses in another city was not actually his – he was simply following the chicken’s movements.”
And so Pichet connected the two pieces of jigsaw and asked his dancers to pick something from another dancer’s movements to create his or her own movement.
As a result, “Sai Nam” became “Tam Kai” and premiered at the “Our Roots Right Now” festival held at the Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts in January, by which time the performance had a more clearly defined structure but still maintained its freedom for improvisation.
In the audience was Frie Leysen, one of the most influential arts curators in the world and the founder of KunstenFestivaldesArts (KFDA). Leysen was also an audience member when “Pichet Klunchun and Myself” had its world premiere at Patravadi Theatre and brought it to the KFDA where it was an instant hit.
“After our performance at “Our Roots Right Now”, she told me that this kind of work is uncommon in Europe. Interestingly enough, many Thai audience members thought it was very western. In fact, the highly improvisational style is similar to that of Thai folk theatre like lamtad and likay,” Pichet says.
“As we still use this very same exercise in our daily practice, the performance continuously develops. The task now for each dancer is to be present in the here and now on stage. It’s a bit like a football team who practises every day and prepares certain strategies for their next opponents and yet, come match time, they still have to adjust and find ways to beat them.”
“Tam Kai” is scheduled for a tour of the Netherlands from October 19 to 30 with stops in The Hague, Amsterdam, Heerlen, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Groningen and Tilburg.
So do try and catch this chicken here while you can.
  ON THE WING
- “Tam Kai” is at Chang Theatre in Soi Pracha-uthit 61, Thon Buri at 7.30pm on Saturday as well as on October 5 and 6.
- Tickets are Bt 500 (Bt 300 for students) available at (080) 924 0002. Visit www.PKLifeWork.com and “Pichet Klunchun Dance Company” at Facebook.