Royal Thai Dancers and Musicians To Perform at East-West Center

Media Contact:

Derek Ferrar
Media Relations Specialist
East-West Center
Phone: (808) 944-7204
Email: ferrard@EastWestCenter.org


HONOLULU (Feb. 21) – Eleven of Thailand’s finest traditional musicians and dancers will be giving concert performances at the East-West Center on March 1 and 2. The company, drawn from among the most accomplished masters in the Thai government’s Royal Fine Arts Department in Bangkok, will perform classical and folk styles from diverse regions of Thailand, including the impressive Khon mask dance, which depicts the Ramayana story.

Leading the ensemble’s five musicians will be Dr. Sirichaicharn Fackjamroon, who studied ethnomusicology in Hawaii as an East-West Center participant in the 1970s and has since served as president of a number of arts institutions in Thailand, as well as musical tutor to members of the Thai royal family. Wooden xylophones figure prominently in Thai traditional music, and a folk dance from Thailand’s northeast region, Isan, will include a type of xylophone known as bonglang, which is a delight to watch as well as hear.

The ensemble’s evening concert on Saturday, March 1 will be from 8 to 9:15 p.m., while the matinee performance on Sunday March 2 will be from 4 to 5:15 p.m. Both concerts will be at Imin Center-Jefferson Hall at the East-West Center, opposite UHM’s Kennedy Theatre.

The cost is $15 general admission; $12 for students, seniors and military. Tickets are available at UHM Campus Center Box Office, or at HonoluluBoxOffice.com, telephone: 550-8457.

For more information, call 944-7584, or visit http://arts.eastwestcenter.org.

Performances linked to princess’ visit
The Royal Thai Dancers and Musicians are appearing in Hawaii in connection with the visit of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand on Feb. 29 and March 1. Although the two concerts will be the ensemble’s only full performances, brief selections will also be offered at the princess’ dedication of the royal Thai pavilion at the East-West Center on Saturday, March 1 at 10:30 a.m., and at the East-West Center’s gala “International Affair” dinner on the evening of Feb. 29, where the princess will be the guest of honor. The pavilion dedication event is free and open to the public, while the cost for the dinner is $200. For more information on those events, visit http://www.eastwestcenter.org/events/.

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The EAST-WEST CENTER is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. The Center contributes to a peaceful, prosperous and just Asia Pacific community by serving as a vigorous hub for cooperative research, education and dialogue on critical issues of common concern to the Asia Pacific region and the United States. Funding for the Center comes from the U.S. government, with additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and the governments of the region.