Oba Thaung

Oba Thaung (Burmese: ဩဘာသောင်း; born Thaung Tin, 11 April 1898 – 13 January 1971) was an eminent Burmese anyeint dancer and singer, who is credited for codifying the previously undocumented Burmese dance repertory.[1]

Oba Thaung
ဩဘာသောင်း
Burmese Dancer Oba Thaung
Born
Thaung Tin

(1898-04-11)April 11, 1898
Pazundaung Township, Rangoon, British Burma
DiedJanuary 13, 1971(1971-01-13) (aged 72)
Mandalay, Burma
NationalityMyanmar
Known forKabya Lut Aka (Dance without Verse)
Spouse(s)
Htun Wai (m. 1936⁠–⁠1941)
AwardsWunna Kyawhtin

She started her dancing career since she was fourteen and had had twenty four years of experiences. In 1953, the State School of Fine Arts was open in Mandalay and Oba Thaung served as first dance instructor for female students. There, she codified 125 steps of the traditional Burmese choreography, literally named Kabya Lut Aka (ကဗျာလွတ်အက; Dance without Verse), which consists of five dance courses intended as a five-year term of study. Each of the five courses is broken into 25 dance sequences comprising a total of 125 stages, with each stage of precisely ten minutes.[2]

She was awarded the title Wunna Kyawhtin, the highest honor given to an artist by the Burmese government.

See also

Further reading
  • Oba Thaung: Who Systematized Myanma Dance, Zaw Pale and Khin Win New, (translated to English by Than Tun, 1995)

References
  1. Ludu Daw Amar (1973). Anyeint. Ludu Kyi-bwa-yay Press. p. 69.
  2. "Training Exercises in Classical Myanmar Dance". Retrieved 2016-03-15.
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