KATALOG (ke stažení) - Prague Quadrennial

Aprěs la révolution en 1975, la politique culturelle de la République
populaire démocratique de Laos a créé les conditions favorables pour
la renaissance de ce tresor national culturel. Le ballet a quitté les jardins
de Luang Prabang pour s'établir a Vientian, capitale de Laos, oú on peut
1'étudier et exécuter a PAcadémie des Arts et de Danse, ensemble avec
ďautres formés de musique et de ballet, classiques et populaires mais
aussi contemporaines ďorigine européenne. Gráce a Pafflux de nouvelles
excellentes danseuses on a réussi á consolider un nouvel ensemble
dramatique, musical et de ballet. II y a ici également plusieurs ensembles
qui se consacrent aux danses populaires de différentes ethnies de Laos
ayant chacune sa langue, sa culture, ses coutumes; a coté de ces
ensembles il y a également plusieurs groupes se spécialisant dans la
musique classique et populaire de Laos et méme, tout récement aussi
dans la musique, la danse et le ballet européens.
The theatrical culture of Laos is for the remaining world an almost
uknown offspring from the great theatrical tradition of the Orient. Nevertheless
as early as the 14 th
century remarkable theatrical forms developed
there, which are been preserved unchanged until the present
and belong among the precious treasures of the world culture.
From a number of Laotian principalities (rich with legends) arose in
1353 on the upper flow of Mekong first statě formation with the capital
in Luang Prabang. Its founder Fa-ngum spent his youth in exile at the
royal court in Kampuchean Angkor. To his new empire he brought refined
artists, builders, men of letters, musicians and theatre experts. In the
traditions of Angkoťs culture primarily female dancers participated performing
the goddess Apsara. She finally disappeared, but what retained
and in an originál way developed, was Laotian branch of music dance
drama on the themes of Indián epic Ramayana or of legends about
different Buddha's transformations so-called djatak.
A pentatonic melody produced by playing gongs, xylophones, drumms
and hoboe, accompanies these classical productions with dance and
mimic scenes, which are as a whole the unique form of a synthetic
theatre, with a number of symbols and conventional signs applied mainly
by masks, hand, eye and leg movements. In these productions performed
always only women — also in men's roles. Presumably just in Laotian
music dance drama is preserved the ancient tradition of Khmeťs theatre
in the most untouched form.
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