I’ve just finished my turn, the solo experimental show Notice at Patravadi Theater, and am flying to Brazil to help my A L’Abordage friends in the carnival parade at the end of February.

I have been with Patravadi Theater almost 10 years now. Working backstage for many years gave me useful skills in lighting and sound.

Kru Lek (Patravadi Mejudhon) taught me to mix acting into the dance skill that I’ve learned. It has helped expand my range.

Ballet is a fixed art—it’s classic.

I feel better when watching performances without whipped cream or sugar, like the previous performance of String of Fragmentation at Patravadi. Audiences can get the message right away without any unnecessary makeup.

I like conceptual work. I teach my students to convey a message to the audience without them having to read the written program. I want to convey things that people can understand.

Conceptual performance forces you to think and relate the idea to your own life. In contrast, a musical is like watching someone else’s life.

I’ve learned a lot in my seven years working on the ASEAN Flagship Performing Arts Tour. Most of the other artists are masters in their field in their country and they helped teach me, as the youngest kid on the tour.

The best thing I got out of it is the way to manage myself—how to preserve my energy, how to warm up and how to be consistent in every show. It’s what I had never been taught in school or learned from books, and it’s the most important thing for every performer.

Teaching is hard in a way because sometimes teachers don’t know the limits of their students. We cannot set our ability as the standard for them. Many choreographers have the same problem.

Young dancers nowadays are very good. They have very good basic skills, so I don’t teach them how to dance but how to be a performer. What I do is try to bring the best in them out on stage.

I believe that in four or five years, there will be a dance company in Thailand. There are many quality dancers now and soon they will be ready to set another level for Thailand’s performing arts.

Part of this growing trend stems from the fact that there are more dance schools that don’t just teach students how to be a presenter or a pretty.

I like performing more than teaching. I do my show once a year to reset my program. It’s a yearly reminder of how much I like to dance and a test of whether I’ve been too influenced by the styles of other people I’ve worked with.

My body is continuously getting hurt—it’s something that happens to every ballet dancer. I have to find a way of life and style of dance that allows me to stay on stage for another next ten or 15 years.