Kafka and the khaen

Ten years ago, Jitti Chompee, founder of 18 Monkeys Dance Theater, brought into being the first Unfolding Kafka Festival, a world-class performing arts platform. Now, he is composing its spectacular end -- a celebration of the centennial anniversary of Franz Kafka's death and the festival's own 10-year anniversary.

Eclipsing previous editions in scale and range, the ambitious programme of 15 performances (including two world premieres and six Asian premieres), four exhibitions and a screening will feature 40 local performers and 25 international guest artists from 13 countries.

Reflecting on the festival's journey, his exploration of molam in his latest works, and the relationship between Thailand's art, culture and economy, Jitti shares what makes this festival special and where he's heading next.

Above A lam pifah ceremony. Photo: Piyatat Hemmatat

Why will this be the last edition of the Unfolding Kafka Festival?

Over the last 10 years, the festival's growth has been unprecedented. I was driven to rally support, build a broad network of performing artists, and realise a model for the expression and development of Thailand's international performing arts potential. Now that the festival is ending, it's not all bleak -- I feel grateful, too.

I envisioned the festival as a kind of experimental model that would provide enrichment in the performing arts to artists and audiences. Its afterlife will be as an archive of rigorous and cutting-edge projects of cultural exchange between Thai and international artists that can rival the best in the world.

I don't want to keep pushing the festival until it feels like I've exhausted its potential, or when it becomes an arts platform that's just a business in disguise -- and that's already happening. That's why I'm switching directions and seeking new challenges in upcoming projects that hopefully will be even more beneficial to the performing arts community.

When you launched the Unfolding Kafka Festival, it was the first contemporary dance festival of its kind in Thailand. What ignited your desire to create such an event?

I was bored with the lack of activity in Thai contemporary dance, which is stunted because of the scarcity of contemporary dance education programmes, as well as teachers and mentors who can keep up with the current landscape of global contemporary dance and its evolution.

What is noticeably weak is our ability to choreograph, to create our own work. In order to have good choreographers, it is essential to have a platform that allows artists to practise, experiment and showcase their work, has space for creators and performers to collaborate and exchange, and room for developing and reworking based on feedback and mentorship from other artists to open up new directions for growth and exploration.

I wanted the Unfolding Kafka Festival to be that space where anyone can learn and encounter new perspectives on choreography and production design.

From coordinating with artists and securing sponsors in Thailand and abroad to creating your own works for the programme, how have you managed to realise a festival of this calibre as a one-man show?

I have to admit that it's been difficult, but the festival has done well and exceeded expectations.

Of course, I've had to put a bit of time into it. Choosing the performances for the programme, researching and calibrating a balance between the preferences of Thai viewers and international audiences, readying all the information alongside strategic promotion to make people receptive to the unusual content and style of the programme, which often simply involves explaining to them what contemporary dance is.

I like visual arts, and so have always had a knack for designing and bringing together all elements of the festival. I also have to say that the Unfolding Kafka Festival has survived and thrived all these years because of the strength of its branding and conceptual ideas.

When I do everything myself, it all just falls into place, and it's fun. It's like the satisfaction of organising your house -- you wouldn't want someone else to move your belongings around.

Sombat Simla, a master of the khaen. Photo: Piyatat Hemmatat

Your pieces in the programme, Mo[ram]lam [a collaboration with Bonn-based CocoonDance company] and the Mo[ram]lam Fashion Show, both bring molam, an Isan cultural tradition, into new contexts. Earlier, you directed Miscellany Of Khon, which brought artists of the National Theatre on a world tour. As a contemporary dance choreographer, why are Thai performing arts traditions central to your creative interests?

I have worked with traditional dancers since the beginning of my career. The first piece in my company's repertory [18 Monkeys Dance Theater] featured dance techniques from khon, a Thai classical masked dance drama, and music by Astor Piazzolla, a revolutionary Argentinian composer. It was performed at the Teatro San Martin in Buenos Aires.

Then, I had an opportunity to do a residency and further my research into traditional khon masks at The Hague with the Kylian Foundation and Korzo Theater. I found it fascinating to return to my own roots, and dig into Thai performance art in my own choreography.

Across my works, I often return to visuals and choreography, and to the themes of human/non-human, objects, skin, identity and philosophy, which are all found in Thai culture. We have to recognise the treasure trove that is our cultural heritage, and engage with it in the way that is most useful.

That doesn't mean I work under tradition. Rather, I go back and forth, which keeps me from getting stuck on old motifs, and ensures that I am always encountering fresh and compelling ideas for new works.

You've spent over two years studying molam, travelling to Isan to meet with molam artists and observe the lam pifah ritual, an increasingly rare shamanistic healing tradition believed to be key to the origins of molam. Can you tell us about the research behind the creation of Mo[ram]lam?

Approaching the folk origins of molam as an outsider, I was able to observe it with a fresh pair of eyes and see the bridges that have to be built to bring molam into a radical context. My contemporary background allowed me to perceive many interesting connections within the original forms of molam, and the way a more expansive context can open up new possibilities for the preservation and development of folk traditions.

My personal experience of a lam pifah ritual, which I was invited to observe in a rural community in Isan, was fascinating. Well, I was beginning to feel a little bored and annoyed as it wore on, but then, as more time passed, that melted away into what I can only describe as a feeling of transcendence. How did that happen? How can people be healed by spiritual belief?

I wanted to keep working with lam pifah because of its function as a healing ritual, and the presence of symbolic objects such as flowers, coconuts and rolling tobacco, which, to me, looked like object theatre. The symbolic language of the ritual makes it a kind of performance.

I was also drawn in by the trance-like feeling of the ritual, arising from the hypnotic pulse of the music and the practitioners' movements. In my two pieces, the khaen [bamboo flute] creates the same natural ambient sound, punctuated by animalistic noises.

Right A rehearsal with the CocoonDance Company in Germany. Photo: Jitti Chompee

What are some of the qualities of molam that you have found compelling and integral to the creation process?

Improvisation -- freedom from constraint -- is what I first found enchanting about molam. It led me to ask questions of structure, rhythm, feeling, sensation and the way sound resonates in the body of the listener. How can all these elements be interwoven into an interdisciplinary work? It's important to highlight that molam is not just entertainment, but a tool for establishing a raw, spiritual connection that brings healing, strength and stability to individuals and the community.

Most exciting of all, these qualities of lam pifah and molam that we have amplified are directly connected to the themes of Kafka's literature, whether that be the boundary between human/animal, illness, sound, music or ritual. I am proud of what we have created -- exquisite additions to the festival's programme and the ever-growing body of art and scholarship on Kafka's works.

Unfolding Kafka Festival 2024 runs from Friday until Nov 21 at different venues. Tickets are available at ticketmelon.com or email unfoldingkafkafestival@gmail.com. For more information on the festival programme and participating artists, visit unfoldingkafkafestival.com.