Lanna Dream is a 45-minute solo contemporary dance theatre performance that reflects the choreographer’s perspective on the recent historical progression of arts and culture in the Lanna region of northern Thailand. Within the context of the Lanna identity from the late 19th century to the present, Northern Thai/Lanna people have had an archetypal and stereotypical image imposed on them from outside and inscribed into their everyday surroundings and lives. This work is in response to the 1980s “Lanna Renaissance,” a critical and commercial movement towards “Neo-Lanna” cultural identity.

Through a series of dance and monologue sequences, “Lanna Dream” directly addresses and critiques this cultural movement while also acting as a metaphor for larger issues around oppression, resistance, and self-knowledge.

Writer, director, choreographer, and lead performer Waewdao Sirisook has been one of the leading artists of the Neo-Lanna movement for the last 30 years and fully embodies the show’s themes.