To those of us who with only an outsiders admiration however, it's an opportunity to participate in several events taking place all across the city over the next month. This a great opportunity to see what a foreign country officially regards as important to the cultural fabric of Bangkok as the events are as much a celebration of Franco-Thai cooperation as they are a chance for Thailand to show off it's own artists and venues.
La Fête so far
This is the La Fête's 10th anniversary and below is a summary of what's happened so far and what there is to look forward to coming up.
The month of performances kicked off early in June at the Alliance francaise Bangkok in Lumpini with a performance by the Parisii String Quartet and the brand new venue will host four more events during the festival. On Sunday 15th they hosted a Hip Hop battle with dancers coming from all over Thailand to compete and France's award winning group Pockemon Crew also participated.
You can book tickets for the remaining events at thaiticketmajor or call the venue on 08 2 670 4210
'Loss' was originally a solo performance by Yum Keiko Takayama and conducted by French company A.Iter S.essio but, for La Fête, internationally renowned khon dance innovator Pichet Klunchun has re-choreographed the performance. Both Pichet and Keiko took to the stage at the beyond capacity Sodsai Pantoomkomol centre at Chulalongkorn University. The point of the performance is that it changes in each location as Keiko, and in this case Pichet as well, draw upon on the mood of the setting and incorporate that into the performance. There was a Q&A afterwards chaired by the university's drama teacher and the audience learned that 'Loss' recently toured in Laos before coming to Thailand and it was interesting to hear Keiko's experience of how her performance changed and how the performers internalise their interpretations of each new environment. After the Q&A Pichet was presented with the Chevalier of Arts and Letters from the French minister for culture.
The Sodsai Pantoomkomol centre at Chulalongkorn University is on the ninth floor of the Maha Chakri Sirindhorn building close to BTS Siam.
On the 18th of June the Pockemon Crew gave a performance at the Aksra theatre titled 'Silence On Tourne', the show was a journey through the music and dance styles of 1930s and '40s cinema. The Aksra theatre usually plays host to a mini puppet performance and its design is synonymous the classic elegance of the Thai arts. From the moment you step off the elevator at the 6th floor of the King Power building on Soi Rangnam you notice the sculptures of characters from Ramayana literature. The wide stairs split up and circle back round to the second entrance area called 'The Palace' which houses the famous puppets in three separate gold embossed cases. The stairs meet again on a platform to allow patrons an audience before the puppets and then the stairs rise up again and circle round to the 600-seated horseshoe theatre. The ceilings and walls are covered in murals and all manner of fantasy creatures. As soon as the music began the pervasive nature of the sound of the era struck a universal chord and as the performers took to the stage the inspiration that the jazz age musicals have had on modern hip-hop moves became clear. The acoustics of the theatre are quiet, perfect for an intimate performance like a puppet show, but also complimented the music that accompanied the performers physical journey through the post jazz era. The Pockemon crew were joined on stage at the end by the Thai group who won the competition held a few days previously and proceeded to hold a dance off that the entire audience stood up for.
The Aksra theatre is on the sixth floor of the King Power building on Soi Rangnam. Exit the BTS Victory Monument and walk down Soi Rangnam until you see a large glass dome and a wide entrance area.
And still to come.....
The next event is 'Borders' a shadow puppetry performance by the French company Les Remoulers and Chiang Mai's own puppeteers who have worked together for two years and will join the group as they take the show on tour across France later this summer. The show touches on immigration, an issue relevant to both countries and will perform over two evenings on the 23rd and 24th of June. From the 26th of June to the 11th of July the venue will host an exhibition by two Thai art students from Silpakorn University who recently returned from a three month residency at Paris' school of fine arts.
Both events are being held at the Alliance Francaise.
On Saturday 5th of July several galleries all across Bangkok will participate in 'Galleries' Night'. During the evening all of the galleries will be free to enter and stay open until late into the night, during which time you'll see several new contemporary artists be unveiled as part of the "art tour" across the city. Check here at Bkkevents before the 5th for a full program of participating galleries and how to get the most out of the tour.
The final event sees the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra perform the theme tunes from movies like Dr Zhivago and Les Misêrables, as well as other French and American movies. The performance will be held on Sunday 6th July at the Thailand Cultural Centre.
Bangkok Symphony OrchestraBangkok Symphony Orchestra
Contact www.thaiticketmajor.com for tickets, the easiest way to get there is by MRT and exit at the Cultural Centre station.
Originally posted at https://bangkok.oneplace.events/articles/feature/la-fte-a-celebration-of-food-dance-and-music