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This is probably due to the growing number of performance venues and presenters, in addition to an increasing amount of organisational and financial support by foreign embassies, cultural institutions, and corporations.

However, when one closely examines the styles of these productions, one finds that most are either classical or commercial works with which audiences here are already familiar, but which they may not watch very often. In other words, they are not truly representing the world of performing arts today in which "intercultural" and "interdisciplinary" are the buzzwords.

Luckily, once in a while some presenters take risks, especially when culture is prioritised over cash.

Some dance aficionados might have opted to bypass La Fête's "Hip Hop of the World" at Patravadi Theatre earlier this month partly because of "Hip Hop" in the billing. They might have pigeonholed or over-generalised this dance genre as being part of a street performance culture which they believed has no place on a legitimate stage. Such prejudices were somewhat shattered by the intriguing performances by France's Cie Etha-Dam and Cie A'corps. The former creatively blended hip-hop with modern dance and ballet into a full-length dance performance; the latter ingeniously drew links between hip-hop and traditional Laotian dance, as well as a rural way of living. To put it simply, they showed us what we never expected from hip-hop. Unfortunately, by the time some members of the audience realised this, the public announcer let everybody know that "Elvis has left the building".

A young Thai company, Free Soul, was also featured in the same programme. And while their movements were similarly stunning, they were more interested in showing off their talents, rather than communicating ideas or telling stories with their art.

This may be because our Thai performers - some of whom were sporting "bling" costumes and accessories in contrast to the generally plain attire worn by their French and Lao counterparts - were either confined to the boundaries of this modern art, or stuck to the public prejudices about it. As a result, they sought only to imitate the moves and grooves they watch on DVDs, instead of exploring and questioning how this Western performing art matters to them, and hence creating a unique performance of their own.

The audience's reaction was noteworthy as well. The cheers were the loudest when the performers showed spectacular moves, and not at the end of each performance piece. Apart from focusing on the individual actions rather than the whole performance, some audience members even commented that the French and Lao performers were not as highly skilled as they had expected. The question remains whether one needs to empty his refrigerator in order to cook a delicious meal.

On the other side of the coin, at the very same venue one week later, Russia's Federal Agency of Culture and Cinematography and the Embassy of the Russian Federation, Thailand, co-hosted a free ballet mini-show put on by the technically advanced, and perfect in terms of physique, principal dancers from the Kremlin and Nemirovich Danchenko Theatre. The sold-out crowd, comprising mostly professional ballet dancers, teachers, and students were enthralled by their downright classical finesse and they are now hoping to watch them in a full production soon.

A few questions crossed my mind, though: whether Russian audiences would give an equally warm welcome to our Khon mini-show if it's ever presented with similar elegance by our embassy in Moscow. Of course, neo-imperialism and arts-management issues in the scope of cultural exchanges need to be brought forward in this discussion, so let's depart from that for now.

Next, I wonder about the future direction of classical ballet in Thailand. Now that the world of arts has opened its arms to the "contemporary classical" and "glocal" concepts, we should never be satisfied with watching DVDs of world renowned ballet companies and presenting annual showcases replicas of classical choreographic works by late masters in our ballet schools.

Certainly, when it comes to classical arts, preservation is key, but many classicists are neither blind nor narrow-minded. We also, perhaps, need to keep asking ourselves how we can make the form relevant to us in the here and now.

Another relevant anecdote: an hour before a press preview performance of Theatre 28's "Man of La Mancha", a woman in her mid 30s said to her friend in a dim-sum shop five floors below Rachadalai Theatre, "Well, I don't think I'll see it; the stars are not so appealing as those of 'Khang Lhang Phap: The Musical'".

It turns out that "La Mancha" is the most highly acclaimed theatre production ever staged at this playhouse, even though the ticket sales tell the opposite story. Rumour is that "Khang Lhang Phap", which will open its run two months from now and yet has already put its aggressive advertising campaign in full gear, has already sold more tickets than "La Mancha".

Many are wondering if this is partly because the house company Scenario has been spoon-feeding their audience with star-studded entertainment in the form of sensational melodramas and light-hearted comedies to the point that many of us are giving the cold shoulder to thought provoking and engaging dramas on stage.

When we go to a playhouse, do we really expect to watch the same style of performance again and again?

If the answer is yes, then we have yet another kind of stereotype, and Bangkok, we have a problem.

When it comes to buying tickets and driving through evening traffic jams to watch a performance, most of us probably want to be in "the comfort zone" - to experience what we think we will fully understand and wholeheartedly appreciate. But when artists all over the world are experimenting in breaking stereotypes, crossing borders, opening minds, and erasing prejudices in an attempt to share their stories and ideas in ways we cannot experience in other media, let us, the members of the audience, take some risks and step into some unfamiliar territory once in a while. We may find the unexpected.

Otherwise, we can simply sit comfortably in our sofas holding remote controls, or go to movie cineplexes, buy overpriced popcorn and soft drinks and watch what producers, thanks to their thorough marketing research, are certain we will enjoy.