Why khon?
I worked with Kru Chang (Chonprakal Janrueng) for five years, as production crew, then as an actor. A friend then told me that Pichet [Klunchun] was doing khon courses and asked me if I wanted to join. I had done Thai dancing when playing in one of Kru Chang’s productions, and my friends had laughed at me. I was terrible. So, I just felt like I need to know more about it. During the course, I realized that khon is far more than I had ever thought. It’s the technique of positioning your body before adding the movement. I’m lucky that I studied with Pichet. No offense to other khon masters, but his teaching style makes me understand the core of this traditional art, want to know more and more about it and makes me proud of myself as a Thai who can dance khon.

What else have you been doing apart from khon?
Once I started working with Kru Chang and Pichet,dancing became my full time job. I spend spare my time as a freelance teacher on basic acting, lighting, design and some other technical parts of stage production.

Can khon dancers make a living outside of the hotel and tourist restaurant circuit?
I never thought about how much money I’d make. I just want to learn to do it. Plus, practicing khon requires hard exercise. It’s just good for your health. I think that like any artistic career, there are only very few people who can do it professionally. Not everyone can achieve that point as it requires hard work and lots of practice. I just believe that the more knowledge you have and the harder you keep on practicing, the better your career can be.

What do you think about Thailand’s dance scene?
I got the answer to that question when I went to New York to take an acting course. I was there for a couple of months but I had a chance to watch over a hundred shows. In Thailand, one dance show per month is still hard to find, so this is kind of my answer on why there are but a few Thai people who really watch this kind of performance. When the audiences go watch a dance show, their feedback falls into narrow categories: like, dislike, understand, don’t understand… There’s just not enough shows for them to frame things into a broader picture. I’d like us to stage more productions not only to encourage the Thai dance scene but to inspire audiences as well, and broaden what dance means to them.