Khon Lakhon Performances at Dance Colleges in Central Thailand

This is a qualitative investigation that aims to analyze the current state and problems of Khon Lakhon performances in educational institutions of Central Thailand. The investigation was conducted from 1 May 2011 to 30 September 2012. 150 individuals were purposively selected as respondents for the research from five purposively selected institutions. The results show that Khon performances have been inherited by general society and incorporated into the education system at specialist dance schools and colleges. The performers have inherited their dance technique and understanding from teachers at a variety of institutes nationwide and honed their skills under the supervision of qualified instructors.Khon productions must be performed by skilled students, who have been trained according to a set curriculum. There are some problems with the Khon performances because the numbers of suitable candidates for each role in each age group are not equal and performers with a mixture of different age and skill levels must be used to complete the cast. The costumes, music, staging and props used by the five sample groups are very similar because they follow the traditional khon customs of the royal courts. The performance costumes and props used by educational institutions are not complete sets and cause the production quality to suffer. There are two clear areas of Khon Lakhon production in educational institutions that require development- the performers and the components.