Trained in Thai classical dance, twenty-six-year-old Prowrave Chinkamol, goes through the long ritual of getting ready. She is applying eye makeup while holding her handheld mirror.
A Thai Dancer is wearing finger stalls of beaten and polished brass; these "fingernails" are about 15 cm (6 ins) long and give a graceful extension to already supple fingers. They are also designed to accentuate the fluid hand movements of Classical Dance. Many of Nora's basic poses are named after various animals, which may indicate their archaic roots in ancient animal movements.
Twenty-two-year-old Wilasinee Phongpansak displays her costume. The Nora requires great interpretive skills and experience. To learn this Nora it must be studied from a very young age so that the body can achieve the flexibility necessary to execute the complicated movements. The female dancers follow a demanding exercise regime and strict discipline.
Twenty-two-year-old Wilasinee Phongpansak poses in her costume. A celestial being, half woman, half bird - is the figure known as Manohara, a heroine from one of the stories of the past lives of the Buddha. Dance students usually start their training between eight and ten years of age. In the first phase all of them study the fundamental series of movements, the so-called “slow movements” (phleng cha) and “fast movements” (phleng reo).
Manohara is the kinnari (half-woman, half-bird) heroine.
The Nora is a traditional dance of South Thailand whose origins lie in various legends of which there are different versions. Manohara is the youngest of seven daughters of the Kimnara king.
#Thailand #manora #Manohara #kinnari #dance