When we watched Thai contemporary dancer Pichet Kluchun’s No.60 at last year’s edition of the Esplanade’s da:ns Festival, we were left mesmerised by the way he brought the traditional khon dance into the modern day, reimagining it for a new generation that brought together spirituality, technology and skill. Performing alongside him was fellow Thai dancer Kornkarn Rungsawang, a full-time artist in Pichet Klunchun Dance Company since 2007. Technically skilled herself, Kornkarn is now getting the chance to take the spotlight, as she presents her new solo work Mali Bucha: Dance Offering, as part of the Esplanade’s da:ns focus 2023: CAN – Connect Asia Now programme.

In the same vein as Pichet Kluchun, Kornkarn represents a new generation of dance artists whose aim is to bridge the traditional and contemporary. Trained in diverse Thai traditions, from royal court to popular folk forms, Mali Bucha introduces the virtual world to the ancient Rum Kea Bon ritual performed at shrines and temples in Thailand. In the work, Kornkarn combines augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and dance to complete this wish-fulfilment ritual, and becomes the interface between the material plane (the real-time audience) and the digital realm (a virtual shrine), to communicate individual wishes and thanksgiving to higher beings.

“My practice involves exploring how technology could be incorporated into traditional dance to find new ways of communicating traditional content,” says Kornkarn, on her work. “Mali Bucha itself started as an online experiment in 2021, when people still couldn’t freely move around outside during the pandemic. So I streamed a performance via Facebook Live, and allowed viewers to interact with me in real time, where I would explain the different symbols and offerings, while the audience could send me their wishes in the chat, which I would then fulfil by dancing.”

Speaking on her training and influence from Pichet, Kornkarn acknowledges and explains how he inspired her to explore the technological side of things on her own, and to continue questioning tradition. “Pichet trained me in the way I think and question my art, and how to interrogate these traditional forms, before I took the freedom to choreograph my own dance,” says Kornkarn. “I was also influenced by the Dance Nucleus CP3 programme, which led me specifically to explore more about the idea of the dance offering, and to also explore my own artistry beyond the studio, to really think about and discuss how we could connect with traditional dance in another way, one that makes sense for the future.”

Since then, Mali Bucha has gone through several workshopping processes and has been brought around the world, to Germany (2022, Tanz Kongress in Mainz) and Indonesia (2022, Indonesian Dance Festival). In this live, on-site version, Mali Bucha takes on a hybrid form, where audience members will be able to view, make wishes and offer flowers to a digital shrine accessible through AR and VR, before Kornkarn dances onstage to become a messenger to the gods.

“Regardless of its online or onsite form, Mali Bucha has always been about communicating with my audience and these higher beings. I wanted to make sure it was accessible and easy to immerse in my work, and so I turned to VR and AR, creating my own digital shrine app to facilitate this, and audience members can even perform their own dance instead if they so wish,” says Kornkarn. “To me, technology isn’t a bad thing, it’s more a form of stimulation to help us with our beliefs and our connection. For some it brings them closer, and for others it takes them further, depending on their relationship with it.”

“I do think technology helps support the imagination of the audience, and makes the intangible into something tangible. A lot of the philosophy behind this piece also deals with the idea of belief, and regardless of what religious background you have, Mali Bucha is an invitation to come and reinforce the ‘holiness’ and power of your spirituality,” says Kornkarn. “I believe in how technology is also important in helping people connect via something as simple as a digital shrine. When you think about how for years now we’ve used things like electric candles and incense, or even doing online prayers, technology really makes life easier and even more environmentally-friendly. It is just a tool to strengthen and facilitate our beliefs.”

While performing it at different locations, Kornkarn also noticed differences in the way the audience members reacted and engaged with the work. “Audiences from different cultures had very different ideas, and saw the dance offering from their own perspective. It was a great chance to see the variations in these different cultural backgrounds, like how Germany focused more on the human instinct as compared to Indonesia, which was very big on religion and the supernatural power,” says Kornkarn. “Even in my own creative team, we all hail from different countries with our own beliefs, but by making it clear from the beginning what the purpose of the Ram Kea Boon is, and spending time working together and having conversations, it ensures a collective vision we work towards.”

On what she hopes Mali Bucha will inspire in audiences, Kornkarn simply considers the idea of the future, and the idea of truth in belief. “There is truth in the real world, and truth in the metaverse. I hope that audience members can start to believe in themselves or strengthen their beliefs more, and to think about how something like the digital shrine could contribute to that,” she says. “I do love stepping out of my comfort zone to learn and try new things, and I hope this digital shrine doesn’t end with this project, and that people continue to use it in their own personal lives. I welcome anyone and everyone to try.”

Mali Bucha: Dance Offering runs from 13th to 15th October 2023 at the Esplanade Theatre Studio. Tickets available here

da:ns focus 2023: CAN – Connect Asia Now runs from 13th to 15th October 2023 at the Esplanade. More information available here

Production Credits:

Concept, Choreography and Dance: Kornkarn Rungsawang (Thailand)   Sound Design: Zai Tang (UK/Singapore)   VR/AR Design: The Virtualizers (Thailand)   CG Supervisor/VFX Director: Asst. Prof. Gomesh Karnchanapayap (Ph.D)   Technical Director/Lead Programmer: Siwat Suksri   3D Scanning/3DAnimator/Rigging: Piyanon Somboon   Assistant Technical Director: Wijittra Prasatkaew   Lighting Design: Asako Miura (Japan)   Dramaturg: Tang Fu Kuen (Singapore/Norway)   Costume Design: Manit Theppatimaporn, Kanapoot Viruttanachai (Thailand)   Production Stage Manager: Yap Seok Hui (Singapore)  Technical Direction: ARTFACTORY  Producer: Sojirat Singholka (Thailand)   Residency supported by: Kinosaki International Arts Center (Toyooka City)