Tactics in nora tambot dance

Abstract

Nora is a southern traditional performing art, containing singing, dancing, and acting. The choreography of Nora is based on the principle of ‘Sorot’ – harmoniously synchronizing gestures and dynamic movement, balancing the body, and showing great coordination and flow in hands and arms movements. The research study aims to investigate tactics in Nora Tambot - the improvised dance from poems interpreting-employed among five Nora instructors, and other instructors performing in southern region. Data were collected and analysed on steps, methods, principles in conveying the meaning through movements, as well as the music. The analysis was drawn both directly and indirectly from theoretical frameworks in communication arts in order to identify tactics in Nora Tambot.

The findings indicated that a Nora performer has the following qualifications. 1) Singing : understanding the verse rhyming, having expertise in poetic composition, being competent to converse in poetic verses. 2) Dancing : having good basic skills in major postures and movements, and being able to adjust the choreographic movement to coordinate with the singing and music. 3) Personality : being a well-rounded entertainer who can sing, play, dance, and perform. 4) Possessing the skills and intelligence inadapting the performance to suit emerging contexts. The study found that choreography of Nora Tambot is grounded on the following frameworks. 1) Designing the posture in accordance with the physical feature of the item being mentioned. 2) Employing the body parts to show the meaning of the mentioned words 3) Using sign and symbol to convey the meaning 4) Using body movement to gether with singing to stimulate the spectators’ imagination 5)Imitating human manners  6) Applying pre-dance gestures or Nora Mae Bot. Aesthetics in Nora Tambot depends on singing styles, music rhythms, and dancing gestures that smoothly and appropriately coordinate. The erformer must be skillful in both singing and dancing. The singing styles vary depending on individuals’ skills. Rhythms in verse singing in Nora Tambot are categorized as ‘chan’ or level. The basic Tambot dancing movement in one verse is called chan three. The first step starts with a slow rhythm, followed by the faster rhythm of Chan two, sung in separating words. The fastest rhythm speeds up and invites more encouraging dynamics before the chorus comes in.

The synthesis of singing styles of five instructors showed four singing techniques. 1) Combining words, 2) Separating words in accordance with the ‘na tap’ percussion rhythm, 3) Combing words in a faster rhythm to present high talent in coordination of singing and movement, and 4) Chorus. On creation of gestures, it was found that dancing movement synchronizes with singing and rhythm. Gestures are imitated from nature, adapted from basic Nora movements, and taken from Nora Tua Oon, a refined one with highly flexible body movements. Factors influencing a gesture selection are the meaning orientation, word rhyming, and the performer’s skills.