ABSTRACT
Contemporary dance in Thailand is not new, but is part of a long and ongoing evolution involving both local and global dimensions and developments. Picking up some threads of this evolution, this chapter will consider several specific examples of “contemporary dance” that were formative in establishing the current Thai dance landscape, focusing on those that the author was involved with. Doing this will permit us to better see how “contemporary dance” has been a moving target, in part because those involved in it have different visions of the significance of dance. Another aspect that emerges from this chapter is the relation between contemporary dance as a practice and a product for artists, which occupied the author when he was younger, and the perspective offered by that of building the institutions and infrastructure within which contemporary dance can emerge, evolve, critique, and sustain itself, which now concerns the author more. Both perspectives and dimensions are important for the survival of contemporary dance.
