Morlam Collective

Morlam Collective by National Choreography Centre of Thailand Project – NCCT In Morlam Collective, artistic director Jitti Chompee continues his exploration of movement, trance, and the transformative power of folk performance by reimagining Morlam—the deeply rooted musical and performative tradition of Northeastern Thailand (Isaan)—through a contemporary choreographic lens. The work unfolds in two parts, each revealing a distinct facet of cross-cultural and cross-temporal dialogue.

Part I: Fon Français

The performance opens with Fon Français, a collaboration with French artist Alexandre Fandard, whose practice of gestural improvisation and visceral physicality resonates strikingly with the folk-dance vocabulary of Isaan. Alexandre’s movement—at once grounded and spontaneous—echoes the bouncing, pulsing rhythms of Morlam music. His oscillation between tension and release mirrors the hypnotic repetitions found in lam pifah, an ancient shamanic healing ritual of Northeastern Thailand. Through this encounter, Jitti invites Alexandre to work hand-in-hand with Morlam musicians to decode and translate his movements into a living dialogue with the soundscape of Morlam. The meeting between the French contemporary body and Thai traditional rhythm opens a shared trance state—a liminal space where two cultural expressions merge into one continuum of healing, vibration, and collective resonance. This collaboration recalls Morlam’s original role as a form of spiritual and communal healing, practiced for centuries across rural Thai communities to restore balance to the mind and spirit.

Part II: Fon Farang

In the second part, Fon Farang, Jitti expands his choreographic research by developing a new performance framework with the Khon Kaen Choreography Development (KKCD) collective. Here, Morlam becomes choreographic material—its rhythms, vocal intonations, and performative gestures are deconstructed and reassembled through contemporary dance. The result is a physical dialogue between tradition and transformation, where folk wisdom and modern bodies coexist within an ever-evolving process of reinvention.

Together, both parts of Morlam Collective embody Jitti’s vision of a living archive—a performance that listens to the past while improvising toward the future. It positions Morlam not as a relic of cultural heritage, but as a dynamic, breathing force within the landscape of contemporary performance.