Dragon dance percussion
About this recording
- Creator
- Kristin Post
- Date created
- October 3, 2000
- Duration
- 1:33
- Location
- Trang, Thailand
- File
- MP3
- License
- This recording copyright ©2000. Terms of use
Related media
Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for dance, dragons, drumming, music, percussion, performance, Thai, Thailand, and Trang.
In the classroom
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On the streets of Trang one night, people gathered to watch a dragon dance. This involved a few men, a beautiful dragon costume that fit over their heads so only their legs were showing, and several poles spaced apart on the blacktop. These men are more like puppeteers than dancers, manipulating the dragon costume so that it takes on its own life. The music accompaniment adds to the drama. The most exciting part is when they jump from pole to pole, landing, and balancing, doing this all in sync to the music and with each other beneath the costume.
In this clip, you can hear the percussion that accompanied the men as they jumped from pole to pole. Every time the drumming dies down, that was when the men prepared to jump from one pole to the next. Once they made the jump, the music crescendoed. At the end of the clip, you can hear an announcer.
From my journal:
See Duan, and she takes me to dragon festival. Two men in character, jumping from pole to pole to music. That was quite special.
