Dance troupes in Arakan State struggle amid fighting, travel restrictions

By Admin 01 Dec 2023

DMG Newsroom
1 December 2023, Sittwe

Traditional performing arts troupes in Arakan State are having a hard time as they can’t perform due to the fighting between junta troops and the Arakan Army (AA), and junta travel restrictions in the state.

In Myanmar, traditional performing arts troupes stage performances during the dry season, travelling from one place to another. They either perform at pagoda festivals or are hired by individuals to perform during their donations. But troupes in Arakan State dare not stage performances these days due to safety concerns and also because of the junta’s travel restrictions.

“We didn’t expect this. We might have been very busy at this time of year otherwise,” said a member of Arakan State Thabin Asiayone, who asked for anonymity.

There were only 13 traditional performing arts troupes in Arakan State last year. However, seven more troupes were formed earlier this year with the hope that stability would be restored in the dry season.

However, the regime and the AA renewed their fighting on November 13, dealing a heavy blow to those dance troupes.

As all 20 troupes can’t stage performances, around 1,000 members of those troupes are jobless, and their owners have also suffered losses.

The owner of one traditional performing arts troupe said: “I fed around 70 people the whole rainy season as they rehearsed for the tour in the dry season. But when the time comes for us to earn money, we can’t stage performances. It was a waste of time and money for me.”

There are around 70 members, including lead dancers and musicians, in each troupe.

Some troupes could perform some four times before the fighting. But some groups could not stage any performance at all. And they have been forced to cancel their planned performances.“We don’t know when the fighting will stop. We are concerned that we won’t be able to do our business,” said a manager of the Ariyan Moe Chit troupe.

Some dance troupes were also trapped in places where they had arrived due to the junta’s blockading of transport routes.

Traditional performing arts troupes in Arakan State were forced to halt operations from 2018 to 2021. Many were able to stage some performances in 2022.