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General Description of Work: As in other Southeast Asian cultures, music and dance in Laos can be divided into classical and folk traditions, but the division rests more in the performance context (temple or court vs. village) rather than in the social class of the artists or in the repertoire. Traditional Lao music and dance likely originated in Cambodia; the Khmer, who ruled the region for nearly 1000 years, brought this tradition to Laos in 1353. The Natasinh style refers specifically to the performing arts at the National School of Fine Arts. That genre includes court music for royal ceremonies and the classical dance-drama based on the Ramayana, the Hindu epic that depicts the life and struggles of the Buddha, as well as music and dance performed for social and ritual occasions.
Bio: In 1956, with the support of USAID funds, the Natasinh School was founded in Vientiane, the capital, to preserve the music and dance traditions of Laos. The Indo-Chinese and then the Vietnam War caused many Lao, including the Natasinh dancers and musicians, to flee to refugee camps in Thailand. In the early 1980s, the Natasinh Dancers and Musicians resettled in Des Moines, Iowa, thanks to Iowa’s Refugee Resettlement Program and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Folk Arts, which enabled the group to tour the region and the US. This lasted for some years until several of the members migrated to Long Beach, California, where a much larger Lao community was established.
Based at the Ecole National de Musique et Danse Laötien in Vientiane, Laos, the Natasinh dancers reflect the influences of Asian Indian, Thai, Khmer, and Lao folk and court dance traditions, a result of hundreds of years of migration and cultural interchange in Southeast Asia. Typical of this style of dancing are carefully and outwardly curved hands and fingers, exaggerated flat feet and outwardly bent knees. The dancers perform occasionally for various community events and for Lao New Year festivities in mid-April.
The Natasinh musicians are integral members of the Lao Natasinh Dance troupe. In general, dancers are women and musicians are men. They play traditional instruments such as the lanath (curved wooden xylophone), lanath thoum (bass xylophone), khongvong (gong circle), khouy (flute), gong (drum), and ching (small hand cymbals), and perform at social and religious events in Central Iowa.
The main purpose of the Natasinh Dancers and Musicians is to teach and entertain at Lao Buddhist celebrations. Both musicians and dancers are involved in passing their skills on to young dancers and musicians in the Lao community of Des Moines. The Lao Natasinh Dancers & Musicians were featured performers at the 2001 Festival of Iowa Folklife, the Iowa Folklife & Prairie Voices Institute, the Culture Café (Des Moines Playhouse), at the 25th Anniversary of Freedom for the Peoples of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam that same year, at the 2001 Festival of Iowa Folklife in Waterloo, the 2003 Duluth International Folk Festival, the 2004 Midwest Folk Fest, the 2005 National Governors’ Conference, and in 2006 at the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage, the Library of Congress, and the Freer and Sackler Galleries.
http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/artist_detail.cfm?artist_id=NATASINHDM#
Services Offered 1: Performances for concerts, folklife festivals, and special events.
Sample Program:
The Lao Natasinh Dance Troupe of Iowa Program
1. 3 minutes Music- Hom Rong- Ceremonial Music ( Instrumental)
2. 5 minutes Dance-Ouay Phone--Well wishes for New Year and important ceremonies and occasions or 2. 7 minutes Dance-Sinouan: A boy and girl meet and fall in love 3. 7 minutes Dance- Fonh Khorn- Hanuman ( Monkey dance): A masked drama. The performer uses graceful, sinuous body & hand movements to portray the Rammakian (Ramayana) epic with both emotions and actions. The monkey, Hanuman, protects the girl, Sitha, from the giant. Doungta Khanthavongsa
4. 7 minutes Dance- Souliya: Dusk-a dance at sunset
5. 5 minutes Music Performance-Khene and Flute, Inpanh Thavonekham
6. 7 minutes Dance- Lao Houm Phao: A court dance showing the range of ethnic groups united under one kingdom. Individual ethnic costumes are featured.
7. 6 minutes Processions with Music & chanting: Boun Bang Fai: Rocket festival celebrates the Enlightenment of Buddha, which coincides with the first full moon in June & the coming of spring. This piece includes a ritual sword fight, a display of martial arts, and shooting rockets into the sky to pray for rain for the planting. 8. 6 minutes Dance- Fonh Doc Champa- (Frangipani) the national flower of Laos
9. 5 minutes Music Performance—Chanting and Khene
10. 7 minutes Dance- Fonh Keo Khow: Harvest Festival 11. 2 minutes Finale--Introduction of Musicians and Dancers
Services Offered 2: Workshops with smaller group for schools and folklife festivals.
Sample Workshop (small group). Add 15-20 minutes for Q & A
1. 5 minutes Dance- Kinnari: Bird dance (Court dance) for the royal families 2. 5 minutes Dance- Fonh Dok Mai: Flower dance expresses the beauty of nature & is danced by Patti Khanthavongsa’s Iowa-born students. 2. 15 minutes Musical Instrument demonstration Inpanh Thavonekham, Khampheng Manirath
3. 7 minutes Dance-Sinouan: A boy and girl meet and fall in love
4. 5 minutes Dance- Lao Phene: The Happy Girls ( folk dance) 5. 15 minutes Teaching Lao social dance w/audience
Detailed Description of Performances: Music is ubiquitous in Laos. It is heard at Buddhist Temple functions, at celebrations and festivals, and at social events, accompanying sung poetry, dance, and religious rituals. As in other Southeast Asian cultures, music and dance in Laos can be divided into classical and folk traditions, though the division rests more in terms of performance context, whether performed in a temple/court setting or a village environment rather than in the repertoire or social class of the artists. Traditional Lao music and dance likely originated in Cambodia—it is believed that the Khmer, who ruled the region for nearly 1000 years, brought this tradition to Laos in 1353.
The Lao Natasinh Dance Troupe of Iowa, based in Des Moines, is a group of Lao dancers and musicians trained in the Natasinh style of performance. The Natasinh style refers to the traditional forms, techniques, and character of performing arts taught at the Ecole National de Musique et Danse Laötien (National School of Fine Laotian Dance and Music), founded in the capital Vientiane in 1956 to preserve the music and dance traditions of Laos. That genre includes court music for royal ceremonies and the classical dance-drama based on the Ramayana, the Hindu epic that depicts the life and struggles of the Buddha, as well as music and dance performed for social and ritual occasions. The Indo-Chinese war and then the Vietnam War caused many Lao, including numerous Natasinh dancers and musicians, to flee to refugee camps in Thailand. In the early 1980s, the Natasinh Dancers and Musicians resettled in Des Moines, Iowa, thanks to Iowa’s Refugee Resettlement Program and a grant from the Folk Arts Program of the National Endowment for the Arts, which enabled the group to tour the region and the US.
Included in the American Folklife Center’s Lao Natasinh Dance Troupe of Iowa performance are eighteen Lao dancers and musicians as well as a cultural specialist and traditional storyteller from Des Moines. All of these traditional artists are actively involved in passing their skills on to young dancers and musicians in the Lao community of Des Moines.
The Natasinh dancers reflect the influences of Asian Indian, Thai, Khmer, and Lao folk and court dance traditions, the result of hundreds of years of migration and cultural interchange in Southeast Asia. The Natasinh style of dancing is known by the dance form’s characteristic graceful movements and gestures with outwardly curved hands and fingers, exaggerated flat feet, and outwardly bent knees. Local Des Moines seamstress, Seng Sihom, custom-makes most of the dancers’ outfits of imported silk. A fancy version of everyday Lao dress, the costumes include a sinh (skirt) or pantaloons, a fitted blouse, a phabieng (narrow shawl) draped across the bodice, and sometimes a golden headpiece, similar to that of Buddha, or a mask, in the case of the monkey dancer.
The Natasinh musicians are integral members of the Lao Natasinh Dance troupe. For the most part, dancers tend to be women and musicians men. Influenced by Asian Indian, Chinese, Khmer, Thai, Hindu, and Buddhist traditions, Lao instruments fall into four basic categories--plucked, bowed, beaten, and blown. The instruments used to accompany and compliment Lao classical dance include the lanath (curved wooden xylophone), lanath oum (bass xylophone), khongvong (gong circle), khouy (flute), gong (drum), khene (mouth organ made of bamboo reeds) and ching (small hand cymbals).
The Des Moines Natasinh dancers perform for various Iowa community events and for Lao New Year festivities in mid-April. The main purpose of the Natasinh Dance Troupe is to educate and entertain at local Lao Buddhist religious celebrations and social events throughout central Iowa.
Regions: All Regions, Central, East, North Central, North East, North West, South Central, South East, South West, West Central
Months available: : all
Performance fees, mileage charges, related to arts services: : $1,800 - $2,500 per hour plus travel expenses for performances. $600 -1,200 per hour plus travel expenses for workshops.
Accessibility accommodations, space requirements, equipment and all other needs that should be met by sponsors: : (6) microphones, 30x20 foot dance floor (min. size) plus 10x10 raised area with rug for musicians, separate male and female changing areas with full-length mirrors.
