Recycling: old and new in step

The one-evening-only performance on May 15 was held at the Alliance Française auditorium. Presenting his experimental approach to Khon, in the context of global warming, Pichet was the figure of artistic provocation.

In the prologue, words projected onto the backdrop reminded this reviewer of the handouts given out by the Natural Resource and Environment Ministry. Then suddenly, the dancer appeared in a casual attire. In the first scene, titled "Rewind", he performed the Khon dance. Slow movements and indifferent facial expressions, hidden by the mask, are the signature styles of this traditional art that Pichet discovered separated Khon from modern people's blatant and expressive tastes.

Pichet's performance covered the six steps of  how to efficiently "recycle" traditional dance - "rethinking" of an individual's power to change the world; "reducing" excessive adherence to Western values; "reusing" the indigenous heritage; "repairing" or adapting them to better fit the present time; and hoping this cultural work would also inspire people to take care of Mother Earth in "return".