Recent from talks
Burmese dance
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Burmese dance
Dance in Burma (since 1989 known as Myanmar) can be divided into dramatic, folk and village, and nat dances, each having distinct characteristics. Although Burmese dance resemble the traditional dancing style of its neighbors, in particular Thailand, it retains unique qualities that distinguish it from other regional styles, including angular, fast-paced and energetic movements and emphasis on pose, not movement.
The origins of Burmese Dance are traced to the Pyu, Halin, and Mon cultures in the central and lower Irrawaddy regions from at least two centuries before the Christian era. Archaeological evidence shows Indian influences already in this. There were also influences from Thai and Khmer cultures during the many invasions and counter-invasions that occurred over the next two millennia. There was a particularly well documented infusion of dance forms, such as the Yama Zatdaw (the Burmese version of the Ramayana) in 1767, when the Burmese sacked Ayutthaya (ယိုးဒယား) and expropriated a large component of the Thai court.
Some of the surviving forms (including the belu, nat gadaw and zawgyi dances) honour folklore characters that are quintessentially Burmese, some of these from pre-Buddhist times. There is also a close relationship between the classical Burmese marionette and human dance art forms, with the former obviously imitating human dance, but also with human dance imitating the movements of the marionette.
After independence from Britain in 1948, there was a period of strong Burmese cultural nationalism that resulted in the establishment of the State School of Music in Mandalay in 1953. A well-known dancer of the day, Oba Thaung, is credited with codifying the nearly completely undocumented Burmese dance repertory. Her syllabus at the school was condensed into five dance courses intended as a five-year term of study. Each of the five courses is broken into dance sequences comprising a total of 125 stages, with each stage being precisely ten minutes long.
The Inwa School of Performing Arts in Mandalay is a cultural high school in Mandalay that prepares young artists to perform Myanmar classical dance and music to professional standards.
This dance originates from the time of the Pyu kingdoms (5th-10th century). A small number of relatively crude musical instruments were used and the dance style is slow and sedate. The costumes of dancers, as depicted in wall paintings, were scanty and revealing.
The bilus (demons or ogres) are ancient characters, thought to originate from a legendary race that roamed India and Burma circa 2000 BC. Buddhist literature describes them as primitive and feared by other races.
In literature, the Belus are described as having transmogrifying powers—an ability to take on different physical appearances. There are 24 different classical demon forms, each with its own name and role in stories and plays. One of the best known is Dasagiri, a demon in the Indian Ramayana epic.
Hub AI
Burmese dance AI simulator
(@Burmese dance_simulator)
Burmese dance
Dance in Burma (since 1989 known as Myanmar) can be divided into dramatic, folk and village, and nat dances, each having distinct characteristics. Although Burmese dance resemble the traditional dancing style of its neighbors, in particular Thailand, it retains unique qualities that distinguish it from other regional styles, including angular, fast-paced and energetic movements and emphasis on pose, not movement.
The origins of Burmese Dance are traced to the Pyu, Halin, and Mon cultures in the central and lower Irrawaddy regions from at least two centuries before the Christian era. Archaeological evidence shows Indian influences already in this. There were also influences from Thai and Khmer cultures during the many invasions and counter-invasions that occurred over the next two millennia. There was a particularly well documented infusion of dance forms, such as the Yama Zatdaw (the Burmese version of the Ramayana) in 1767, when the Burmese sacked Ayutthaya (ယိုးဒယား) and expropriated a large component of the Thai court.
Some of the surviving forms (including the belu, nat gadaw and zawgyi dances) honour folklore characters that are quintessentially Burmese, some of these from pre-Buddhist times. There is also a close relationship between the classical Burmese marionette and human dance art forms, with the former obviously imitating human dance, but also with human dance imitating the movements of the marionette.
After independence from Britain in 1948, there was a period of strong Burmese cultural nationalism that resulted in the establishment of the State School of Music in Mandalay in 1953. A well-known dancer of the day, Oba Thaung, is credited with codifying the nearly completely undocumented Burmese dance repertory. Her syllabus at the school was condensed into five dance courses intended as a five-year term of study. Each of the five courses is broken into dance sequences comprising a total of 125 stages, with each stage being precisely ten minutes long.
The Inwa School of Performing Arts in Mandalay is a cultural high school in Mandalay that prepares young artists to perform Myanmar classical dance and music to professional standards.
This dance originates from the time of the Pyu kingdoms (5th-10th century). A small number of relatively crude musical instruments were used and the dance style is slow and sedate. The costumes of dancers, as depicted in wall paintings, were scanty and revealing.
The bilus (demons or ogres) are ancient characters, thought to originate from a legendary race that roamed India and Burma circa 2000 BC. Buddhist literature describes them as primitive and feared by other races.
In literature, the Belus are described as having transmogrifying powers—an ability to take on different physical appearances. There are 24 different classical demon forms, each with its own name and role in stories and plays. One of the best known is Dasagiri, a demon in the Indian Ramayana epic.
Recent media