Myanmar Dance

Dance appears to come naturally to the Burmese. The pursuit of dance as a distinctive art appears to be comparatively of recent origin. It has always gone with music and the various kinds of “pwes” (dramatic shows). All royal functions of the old Burmese Kings began and ended up with music and dance. Pagoda festivals, opening of new capitals, the start of battles, “shinpyu” (novitiation ceremony) and weddings and, in fact, every conceivable occasion meant a lot of dancing and music. Special songs were written for special occasions and the accompanying dance was, in most cases, improvised.

A striking feature of the Burmese dance is its perfect timing and the remarkable tension of the human body.