Oba Thaung | |
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Burmese Dancer Oba Thaung
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Native name | ဩဘာသောင်း |
Born |
Thaung Tin April 11, 1898 Pazundaung Township, Rangoon, British Burma |
Died | January 13, 1971 Mandalay, Burma |
(aged 72)
Nationality | Myanmar |
Known for | Kabya Lut Aka (Dance without Verse) |
Spouse(s) | Htun Wai (1936-1941) |
Awards | Wunna Kyawhtin |
Oba Thaung (Burmese: ဩဘာသောင်း), birth name Thaung Tin (born 11 April 1898) was an eminent Burmese anyeint dancer and singer, who is credited for codifying the previously undocumented Burmese dance repertory.
She started her dancing career since she was fourteen and had had twenty four years of experiences. In 1953, the State School of Fine Arts was open in Mandalay and Oba Thaung served as first dance instructor for female students. There, she codified 125 steps of the traditional Burmese choreography, literally named Kabya Lut Aka (ကဗျာလွတ်အက; Dance without Verse), which consists of five dance courses intended as a five-year term of study. Each of the five courses is broken into 25 dance sequences comprising a total of 125 stages, with each stage of precisely ten minutes.
She was awarded the title Wunna Kyawhtin, the highest honor given to an artist by the Burmese government.