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Dear Readers,
I have the most remarkable story to tell you. It is the story of two
people, separated by time, distance and culture, whose story has not
only a happy ending, but who now work together, as this loving
couple says, to “transform lives through culture and collaboration.”
Pla, the Lovely Thai Classical Dancer
When I first met Suwatana Rockland, the lovely Thai dancer, teacher,
choreographer, and costume designer, I was fascinated by her story
which reminded me of the title of the Italian opera La Forza del
Destino, but with a happy ending. This opera, translated into
English as The Force of Destiny or The Power of Fate, tells the tale
of two star crossed lovers which ends in tragedy, yet for the
happily married Suwatana, known as “Pla” and her husband Jeffrey, it
seemed that nothing short of the Force of Destiny could have brought
together two people separated by oceans, culture, philosophy,
religion and language.
Currently studying at Kent State University to earn her Master of
Fine Arts Degree, Pla had shown me newspaper articles from her
native Thailand honoring her talent as a dancer, actress, teacher
and choreographer. Having achieved fame within her own country, what
could have induced her to abandon a successful career and move to
the United States? In the West we might say that it was Cupid, the
ancient mythological god of love, but this love would wait a decade
to fulfill its destiny.
A Dashing American Ballet Master Travels to Thailand
Visiting Thailand as a Ballet Master, for Les Ballets Jazz de
Montreal, Jeffrey Marc Rockland first met Pla at Thai Cultural
Center in Bangkok while giving a Master class for Patravadi
Dance-Theatre. Soon after Jeffrey visited Patravadi-Dance Theatre as
a guest choreographer and teacher. The artistry of his work touched
Pla deeply, yet communication was difficult as neither spoke the
other’s native language. Jeffrey, however, had a good command of the
French language, and as Pla had some knowledge of French, they spoke
in this language, also known as the language of love. When it was
time to depart, Jeffrey gave Pla his mother’s phone number … and the
years of subtle longing began.
Separation and Flourishing Careers
As Pla’s career flourished, so too did Jeffrey’s. A soloist in the
U.S. and abroad, Jeffrey’s acclaim as a Ballet Master brought
requests from cities worldwide for him to give master classes and
lectures. Jeffrey was then invited to the University of California,
Irvine where he taught for the University as well as several
professional schools while completing his Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
degree. Immediately upon completing his MFA, Jeffrey began a ten
year period in Colorado where he was Associate Professor and the
Founding Artistic Director of three dance organizations still in
existence today.
Reuniting: Dreams and Destinies Fulfilled
And then came the phone call from Pla to Jeffrey as she had a
student who she believed could be most helped by the expertise,
skill and knowledge that only Jeffrey could offer. Pla explained to
me that it is common for families to live together in Asia, but that
when she phoned Jeffrey’s mother she found that he was not living
there. His mother provided Pla with the correct phone number and
when she spoke with Jeffrey, she was surprised to learn that at that
time he had taken a hiatus from his beloved career. But Fate was
ready to take a hand and Jeffrey did travel to Thailand to instruct
the student, yet Pla by this time was engaged to be married to
another man.
Meeting Jeffrey again, Pla knew she must break her engagement, but
her father was skeptical as might be expected of a father wishing to
protect his daughter. After all, she is Buddhist, Jeffrey is Jewish,
their native lands are separated by oceans and they could barely
communicate with spoken words. Never-the-less, the unspoken words
prevailed, and Jeffrey’s father advised him to follow his heart.
Today while Pla completes her master’s program at Kent State
University, Jeffrey is not only an Associate Professor there as
well, he is the Founding Artistic Director of East Meets West, a
program including collaboration between Kent State University and
Suan Sunanha Rajabhat University, with instructional courses,
cultural exchange field trips between students of Kent State and
Thailand as well as live performances of international dance.
It was at a recent performance, Dance ’17 Mosaic, produced under the
artistic direction of Jeffrey Marc Rockland that I had the
opportunity to see visually stunning and thoroughly captivating
classical dance from various regions of Thailand, including the
Gingala bird dance, Peacock dance, Kinnaree bird dance and Nora
dance. The images which you see accompanying this article, while
still images, none-the-less display the movement and grace of these
dances. The sumptuous costumes were a veritable feast for the eyes
with the classical music transporting the listener through time.
True to its name, Dance ’17 Mosaic included performances both
historic and modern and ranged from those which were deeply thought
provoking to those which calmed the senses.
Producing exceptional art and spreading the joy of that art across
cultures and countries fulfills the dreams and destinies of the hero
and heroine of our story, along with the bliss they now experience
from their blended family.
Drama on a Grand Scale with a Fairytale Romance Ending
It is a final interesting irony to note that at the age of four,
Jeffrey played the character of Sasha in the award-winning film
adaptation of Dr. Zhivago, the classic Russian novel set against the
backdrop of the Russian Revolution.
While many life lessons may be learned from great drama, who would
rather not personally experience a fairytale ending?
Perhaps the story of Pla and Jeffrey combines elements of both, with
all of the grandeur and artistry of a great opera and the happy
ending of a fairytale romance.
*****
For More information on East Meets West, see:
http://www.jeffreymarcrockland.com/east-meets-west---kent-state-in-thailand.html
Special Credits
The beautiful professional photographs from Dance ’17 Mosaic are
credited to Andrea Hallgren
Kinnara-Kinnaree Credits Choreography: Sun Tawalwongsri; Costume
Liaison: Suwatana Pla Rockland; Dancers: Pakhamon Hemachandra,
Wanasak Padungsestakit, Apirak Sarapee, Sun Tawalwongsri, Pakorn
Atanthee, Rangsima Srinarang, Kitiya Choojun, Thadchakorn
Nantharattanachai; Lighting Designer: Cory Sprinkles; SSRU Stage
Mangement: Kusuma Teppharak, Pukkaporn Pimsarn;
Music: Kent State University Thai Ensemble, founded by Terry E.
Miller, Ph.D.; Music Director: Priwan Nanogkham, Music Assistant
Director: Nattapol Wisuttipat, Musicians: Andy Martinez, Charlie
Occhipinti, Denise Dupree, Elizabeth Recob, Haochen Qin, Jiaqi Sun,
Jie Cao, Kayla Raville, Khadija Mohammed, Lydia Snyder, Xiaorong
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