นาฏศิลป์: สื่อเพื่อการประชาสัมพันธ์ และเผยแพร่วัฒนธรรมไทยในเวทีประชาคมอาเซียน

Abstract

                   The research Thai Traditional Dance: A Media for Promoting and Disseminating Thai Culture in ASEAN Community aims to study and compare the way in which the Thai Ministry of Culture and Chanthaburi Traditional Dancing College use Thai traditional dance to publicize and distribute Thai culture to ASEAN Community. Moreover, it analyzes the motivation driving the Ministry of Culture and Chanthaburi Traditional Dancing College to choose the traditional dance as a tool to publicize Thai culture during June 2013 to June 2014. This research is based on a qualitative method including a documentary review, an electronic media analysis, and an in-depth interview with experts and representatives from organizations that handle tranditional performances. These informants are from the Ministry of Culture and Traditional Dancing College. 
                    Result of the study shows that using Thai traditional dance to publicize and distribute Thai culture among ASEAN Community must have been considered and chosen by experts and professionals depending on variety and appropriateness of the occasion. According to the case study of this research, the expertise team who considered the properness of the performance is Bunditpatanasilpa Institute and Traditional Dancing College. The selected performance must be able to share and expose Thainess through performance features including costume, performance mechanisms, music, and dancing steps and styles. In this matter, each performance has its uniqueness and expresses Thainess in a different way. Additionally, the research found that using Thai traditional dance, which is the cultural heritage, as a mechanism to advertise also provides a hidden agenda where the country is able to negotiate and exercise its power at the international level. This causes the well-equipped performance that is completely full of acting features including costume and music. The costume and music have to reflect the beauty and distinctiveness of Thai culture as well as encourage the country image. And at the same time, the performance must have also been mixed with the localness in order to create an exchange and learning of way of living and similar culture between member countries within ASEAN. As a result, this will build the sense of closeness and bring a positive relation between nations.
                     the other hand, the research further pointed that Thai traditional dance still have an important role from time to time. With its unique identity and qualification, Thai traditional dance is another significant factor driving Thai identity. Since Thailand is a high context culture country and consists of cultural identity transferring process from generations to generations, it makes the people value their culture and tradition. Cultural identity transferring process through the case study of this research can be categorized into three types, that is, an original performance conservation, an applied local performance with more beauty and customization, and a new organized performance identifying that culture and tradition can always be created and shaped. The new idea and culture make Thai traditional dance more creative, new, and interesting to the audiences. Perhaps, Thai traditional dance is another tool that can entirely transfer and publicize national culture, particularly to publicize Thailand as the case study shows. The research also points out that Thai traditional dance has to be designed as well as acts as publicizing tools. The creating and developing process is considered as designing process and developing message to match the target audiences. This process is prominent in which the PR person needs to plan and gives the priority as well as study and understand the behavior and interest of diverse groups of target audience. The understandings will, therefore, benefit communication process improve-ment to the most effectiveness.