“Ink: Neo Lanna Dance” grew out of a grant from the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC), part of the Ministry of Culture’s push to support performing arts and get more Thai work in front of international audiences.
The project came in two parts. First was a workshop called “Lanna Movement: The Art of Fawn”, held on Saturday 4th July, giving participants a chance to get hands (and feet) into the traditions of Lanna dance. Then came the main event: the performance “Ink: Neo Lanna Dance”, staged on the evening of 12th July at Fah Lanna Art Museum. It carved out a fresh, contemporary space for Lanna dance, nudging audiences to think about the body, movement, time and the traces memory leaves behind.
Behind it all is Ronnarong Khampha, dancer and choreographer from Khampha Dance, who has spent years pushing Lanna dance into contemporary territory. Musicians Wittaya Phonwitoon, Wisarut Tawino and Torapong Samoejai provided the live accompaniment.
The idea at the heart of the piece: the body as brush, ink as the trace left behind by movement, breath and memory. It’s less a straight dance performance and more an exploration of what happens inside a person while they move.
Audiences weren’t just watching, either. They were pulled into the process themselves, drawing patterns on paper that became part of a shared, evolving record of the evening. Afterwards, an Artist Talk let the crowd dig into the ideas behind the work directly with Khampha.
However you slice it, “Ink: Neo Lanna Dance” is a solid step forward for Lanna dance as a living, evolving art form, and another push to get Thai performing arts noticed on bigger stages.
