Abstract:
This dissertation has the objective to study the dancing patterns and the stylistic dancing movements for the Khon (Masked Play) male characters. Originally, these performances belonged to the royal court, where the royal pages were trained to learn how to use the weapons in the battle scenes. Moreover, such theatrical performances were organized for ceremonial events as well as significant celebrations in the capital city. The Khon artists were educated males who were relations of the high-ranking families and received the royal supports from the monarchs. The processes of the research applied are through the historical research, documentary records, interviews, group discussions and analysis from the dancing patterns and the stylistic dancing movements of the male characters of the Khon and those of the Lakhorn (Dance Drama) for the variety of traditional musichigh-level performance songs (Naa Paat) and script interpretation, words in the songs, narratives and dialogues. The result of the finding is that the dancing patterns and the stylistic dancing movements evidently differ from the origin which was the combination of the philosophy and concepts in Buddhism, the theological favoritism in Hinduism, the philosophy of the social science in the Thai culture as well as the concepts of the philosophy and the stylistic movements of the western scholars who express universal theories of theatrical performing creativity. Astoundingly, all these are correlated. Besides, to become an artist as the male Khon character needs a profoundly well-trained basis and the individual capability that is trained and later developed for the roles of the reincarnated divine human who descends for the purpose of eliminating vice on the human world. For such a reason, the performing artist must create his personality of elegance, pride, solemnity and sacredness, as the type of the warrior king should be. His stylistic dancing movements are then trained for the masculinity. However, at present, the female dance instructors who are skilful for the Lakhorn dancing patterns deliver the training program for the Khon male characters in the Department of Dance. As a result, the dancing patterns of the Khon male characters have been transformed into those of the Lakhorn and they have become indistinguishable. This dissertation should be the guidance for the trainers for the Khon male characters to perform the dancing patterns passed on from the ancient time. Likewise, this serves as the conservation of the original art to be free from the transformation and disappearance. This finding is beneficial for the area of the Thai classical theatrical performing art. Also, it urgently needs a complete recording of this knowledge, or else the art of instructing the Khon male characters will finally be declined. Undeniably, the research for the Khon should be constantly supported