Thai Dance : The Synthesis of Knowledge From Thai Dance Thesis

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze and synthesize the characters of theses on Thai dance, which involves 79 Master’s theses of Chulalongkorn University, published during 1995 - 2006.

The study divided into two parts : first, the analysis of the characters, including the length, the types, the subject, the content, the case, the data collection, the data analysis, and the usefulness of the study; secondly, the synthesis of the findings of the study according to the Kippendoff theory and the outcomes are classified by Uthumporn Jamornman’s method of content analysis. The majority of theses involving Thai classical dance are descriptive, focusing on ‘Rum’, solo or group dance of Thai classical music. At present, Thai classical dance includes 1. Traditional court dance, 2. Adapted court dance, 3. Traditional folk dance, 4. Modern folk dance, and 5. Contemporary Thai dance which adopts old styles and gives them a novel interpretation.