Daring young Leng rises above it

Bangkok fans of physical marvels finally got to see a “contemporary aerial dance” show last weekend. Rajanikara “Leng” Kaewdee’s wonderful “Lang Ling the Aerialist” was believed to be Thailand’s first such performance. 

And, to the surprise of cynics, this airborne tale of Hanuman the monkey warrior from the Ramakien was not nearly as abstract as contemporary dance tends to be. It was easy to digest thanks to the performers’ impressive skills and a multidimensional, modern take on the classic saga.

Leng played the monkey king and narrated the story, while his celebrity “protégés” – actresses Katreeya English, Tanyares Engtrakul and Yossinee Nanakorn and pop singer-turned-TV host Suthida Kasemsant Na Ayudhaya – portrayed the key female characters on Hanuman’s journey. 

“The idea was to present a contemporary show about the Ramakien that wasn’t boring and that everyone could relate to, with the use of aerial skills,” Leng tells us at Kara’s Vic, his school of aerial dance on Praditmanoontham Road. “It’s a very new concept and a lot of people were sceptical, expecting it to fail. 

“I had proposed this to a big-time production company, but they didn’t buy it, saying it wouldn’t make money. So I decided to do if myself – with some help from friends and sponsors, of course. 

“I had a message in mind and it would have felt wrong not to do it when I had the energy, the material and the people to do it with. I saw it as my duty, not just selling tickets to a show.”

Leng gained phenomenal attention last year by becoming the champion of Season 2 of “Thailand’s Got Talent”. The prize money helped him get on with a life-long dream to bring the art of aerial dance to Thailand. He opened his school soon after and “Lang Ling the Aerialist” was his first full-scale show. 

Long before “Thailand’s Got Talent”, though, Leng was determined to achieve aerial success – and despite his parents’ disapproval. “When I was still a teenager in my hometown, Si Sa Ket, there was a beauty pageant on TV and all the contestants were dancing – the typical, flowery beauty-queen act, but to me it was awesome and inspiring. 

“Unfortunately my parents wanted to me have a ‘real job’, so they shipped me off to Rajamangala University of Technology in Bangkok to get a diploma in marketing.”

But his instructors there spotted his athletic potential and guided him into classes in Latin and ballroom dancing. That’s where he got his first proper training. In 2004 he won the bronze medal in a Thai Dance Sport Association competition. 

“I really didn’t know what the future held – I only knew that I wanted to dance,” Leng says. He took up various mundane jobs, sometimes several at a time, so he could save up for more dance training. Eventually he became a student of Patravadi Meechuton, one of the country’s great coaches in the arts of the stage. Leng finally found his compass in life at the Patravadi Theatre. 

“That’s where I got my first glimpse of acrobatic dancing. Aerial performance was a just a tiny part of the training, but it got me hooked and I wanted to learn more.” So he emptied his bank account and signed up with the National Circus School in Montreal, Canada. 

“I learned so much in my year there and I was sure I could become a professional aerialist, but when I returned to Thailand I still couldn’t figure out what to do next. Could I even get a job as an aerialist? Was it a total waste of time and my life’s savings? 

“That’s when I realised I didn’t want to follow the typical path of artsy, hardcore-contemporary artists who do shows that no one can understand. I wanted it to be fun, easy to digest and creatively inspiring. So I decided to compete on ‘Thailand’s Got Talent’, to introduce aerial art to the bigger audience.”

It worked out far better than he imagined. Leng got the title, the funding and, at long last, the approval of his parents. Not everyone was sold, though, even then. “Most of my artist friends hate me!” he says. “They think I’m selling out, that I’ve gone commercial and I’m not artsy enough. 

“But I don’t care. I’m offering an alternative to contemporary performing art, which is slowly dying because it’s too abstract. I’m nurturing my own little world – an overlap between the artsy contemporary world and mass entertainment – to continue my craft and make my audience happy.”

An expanded production of “Lang Ling” is in the works for next year, this time with cabaret flair. 

 

Up you go

_ Kara’s Vic is on Tonsoong Avenue off Praditmanoontham Road in Wang Thonglang, Bangkok.

_ Find out more at (085) 479 5400 and www.Facebook.com/KarasVic.