Mon Dance: Creating Standards to Continue the Performing Arts of Thai-Raman

This investigation, Mon dance- Creating standards to continue the performing arts of Thai-Raman, has the following objectives- 1) To understand the history, current conditions of and problems with Mon dance of the Thai-Raman; 2) To examine the standards of Mon dance; 3) To create standards to continue the performing arts of the Thai-Raman. This qualitative research was conducted in three central Thai provinces- Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan. Data was collected from documentary study and field data by means of observation, interview and group discussion. Workshops were also held with a total of 100 attendees, comprised of 20 key informants, 50 casual informants and 30 general informants. Data was validated using a triangulation technique and findings are presented using a descriptive analysis. The research highlighted current conditions and problems in dancing process, melody, costume, performers, time and rituals,which have similarities and contrasts depending on the environment and the social and cultural changes in each area. The standardization of the dance was found to be similar to the dancing process, melody, costume, performers, time and rituals. Traditions are not supposed to change in order to demonstrate the identity of Mon Dance. It was concluded that the dance process has 6 indicators and points were set in the performance judging criteria as follows- 170 points for the melody with 3 indicators, 195 points for the costume with one indicator, 30 points for the performers with six indicators, 80 points for the time with 2 indicators, 25 points for the rituals with 3 indicators and 40 points for meeting the assessment criteria. The passing score for the dance will be 80%.