A hard road to travel
“Unless they genuinely love traditional Thai culture, there are few people around today who want to perform this kind of traditional dance,” says Pornwalai Thanakitphaisankul. Like the Kathakali dance of southern India, classical Thai dance expresses meaning with flowing hand gestures, the expression in the dancer’s eyes, movements of the limbs, and steps; it is a major test of a dancer’s skill.
“Instructors at professional dance schools require students to do just the warm-up moves at least 100 times.” Mutita Oibamrung demonstrates the amazing S-shaped body movement made by Thai dancers with their palms folded backward. Oibamrung began studying dance at eight years old, and it has taken her a great deal of hard work to get as flexible as she is.
Dancers must mentally grasp the rigorous dance movements in order to perform them properly, building on a foundation of arduous training. “Classical dance is high-level dance, and you can’t just change the gestures and movements willy-nilly.” Thanakitphaisankul explains the demanding nature of classical dance: For example, the hands must be raised to the level of the eyebrows, and there are strict rules for just how far apart one’s legs should be when crouching down to form a square arch shape.
Besides finding time to practice dance, the four “sisters” in the group also look after each other in daily life. One of their little joys in life in Taiwan is to go out for an authentic Thai meal after practice.
As performers of the dance of gratitude, the group members are very clear about how often clients thank the deity for prayers granted. “Sometimes a client will come back after a week and ask us to perform.” This means that the person’s wish came true after one week. There are also clients, pious believers in Phra Phrom, who regularly express gratitude each month. Because Phra Phrom has wide-ranging powers, the company is being hired to perform more and more frequently, and their schedule is usually full.
Since founding their company in Taiwan 11 years ago, the Four Faces dance group has regularly donated a portion of their performance income to disadvantaged groups and charitable organizations. So far they have donated NT$213,050, testifying to their love for Taiwan and for Thailand.
“I probably won’t leave Taiwan, because now it’s my home!” Piyarat Khomsomboon has lived in Taiwan for 13 years now, and is well integrated into life here. Yatika Vajropala, who has worked in Taiwan for 11 years, also plans to stay permanently. She is very open about expressing her fondness for the island: “I love Taiwan!”
These women were nurtured in the fertile artistic soil of Thailand and have flowered here in Taiwan. For the performers of the Four Faces Thai Traditional Dancers Group, this is the best way that Phra Phrom could have arranged things.
The members of the Four Faces dance group are all Thai by birth and they all have a firm foundation of dance training. (photo by Jimmy Lin)
The Four Faces Thai Traditional Dancers Group took first place in the First New Immigrants Dance Competition, with five of the seven judges awarding them scores of 90 points or above. (courtesy of Four Faces Thai Traditional Dancers Group)