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Imagine beautiful girls wearing coconut shell bikini-tops and grass
skirts performing a romantic hula dance under a clear tropical sky
with a warm, gentle breeze blowing off the Andaman Sea. Or a foot-stomping,
Maori war dance replete with tattooed faces and bodies.
Khun Khumpoon's King Kong Dance Entertainment Company performs
these authentic Polynesian dances at various hotels in Phuket. Wearing
costumes of grass skirts and polished coconut shell bikini tops,
these beautiful dancers seem to come to life right out of a Gaugin
painting.
The troupe performes a difficult Maori dance with four twirling
balls - with each ball twirling in a different direction. This was
followed by the exhilarating Tahitian fire-eating dance. And no
Polynesian performance is complete without beautiful lei-bedecked
Tahitian dancers performing a fast-paced hip-gyrating dance to the
beat of wooden sticks. This rich cultural heritage of Polynesian
dance is a refreshing, enjoyable experience for everyone.
"The original concept was to bring a taste of exotic Polynesian
culture to the local Thai population," says Khun Khumpoon,
the general manager of the dance troupe. She trains all of her dancers
genuine Maori, Hawaiian, Tahitian fire-eating and other Polynesian
dances from seven different Pacific Island groups.
About ten years ago, Hawaiian dance teacher Jamie Lum Long moved
to Bangkok. She trained local Thai dancers for her Hawaiian dance
troupe based in Bangkok. Khun Khumpoon was one of the first dancers
hired by Jamie. "I used to work for an electronics company,"
says Khun Khumpoon, "but I liked to dance. I quit my job and
haven't stopped dancing since." They started their show at
the Central Plaza Hotel in Bangkok and performed at various hotels
in the city. From Bangkok they moved to King Kong Island in Bangna,
near Bangkok.
In 1990 during Thailand's economic boom, Khun Wicha and Khun Wichai,
two Thai entrepreneurs decided to build an elaborate, Polynesian-style
village larger than Phuket Fantasea in Bangna. They called their
creation King Kong Island. "It had a waterfall and a stage
as tall as a three story building," says Khun Khumpoon. Jamie
Lung, the only Polynesian dancer with a dance troupe in Thailand
was hired for the project. Jamie trained thirty Thai dancers the
art of Polynesian dancing. King Kong Island with daily Polynesian
dance performances was a huge success with Thais as well as tourists.
Unfortunately, King Kong Island could not survive the economic
crisis of Thailand. The Polynesian show then moved to Min Buri,
a water theme park with an artificial sea. They performed there
for six months.
Khun Khumpoon with her husband, Khun Wuttikrai could not let the
Polynesian show disband and disappear. They did a market survey
and found that Phuket was the best location for the survival of
the dance troupe. "Our first show in Phuket was at the Kata
Beach Hotel. Khun Pramuk, the owner, promoted the show to other
hotels and resorts which has given us a lot of success."
"We'd like to move the show to a permanent location, similar
to the Simon Cabaret, where we can develop it into a larger more
professional performance," commented Khun Khumpoon.
The King Kong Dance Company currently performs at the Phuket Cabana,
Phuket Island Resort, Club Andaman, Pearl Village, all the Laguna
Resort Hotels, Chedi Phuket, Kamala Bay Terrace Resort, Karon Villa,
and the Patong Merlin.
You can have a fun night with the King Kong Dance Troupe by calling
any of these resorts and booking a table for a dinner when these
Polynesians dancers perform
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