pkdc

Reimagines Thai Dance.
Builds Future Knowledge.

Our Vision

To challenge inherited cultural beliefs and build a spiritual foundation for the future through the transformative power of art.

Our Mission

PKDC exists to evolve Thai dance into a dynamic platform for critical thinking, artistic innovation, and global cultural dialogue. We produce cutting-edge works, build systems of embodied knowledge, and support artists in shaping the future of performance.

at PKDc,

We keep moving, exploring, and creating.

20

year-journey
About

Pichet Klunchun Dance Company

(PKDC) is one of Thailand’s leading contemporary dance companies, founded in 2010 by internationally acclaimed choreographer Pichet Klunchun. Grounded in Thai classical dance—particularly Khon—PKDC creates performance works that challenge conventional boundaries, reframe cultural narratives, and offer new vocabularies of movement for a rapidly shifting world. By integrating classical Thai forms with contemporary aesthetics and critical inquiry, PKDC has become a pioneering force in Southeast Asian performance.

Since Pichet’s early solo tours in 2004–2005, PKDC has created and toured numerous internationally acclaimed works, including Nijinsky Siam (2010), Black and White (2011), Tam kai (2013), Nay Nai (2014), Dancing with Death (2016), Bird (2018), No.60 (2020), Malibucha: Dance Offering (2023), and Cyber Subin (2024). These pieces have been featured at major festivals and venues across Europe, Asia, and beyond. Learn more about our productions here.

No.60 (2020)

Movement as Knowledge System

A major turning point in the company’s evolution came in 2020 with the premiere of No.60 at the Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama (TPAM), Japan.

More than a performance, No.60 is a knowledge system — developed by deconstructing all 59 codified Thai classical dance positions (Mae Bot Yai) into a diagrammatic structure, analyzed through the principles of physics. The result is a six-part framework for dance training and creation — offering dancers a method to build personalized movement vocabularies.

At its core, No.60 is about artistic freedom: a system that empowers the dancer, rather than constrains them.

Our Artistic Philosophy

At PKDC, our work is grounded in cultural knowledge and expressed through a distinctly contemporary language. Our performances do more than entertain — they interrogate the present, reflect on injustice, and offer new pathways forward.

  • Creating contemporary performance that embodies cultural knowledge and expresses a unique artistic identity.
  • Creating performance works that reflect and reinterpret lived realities, revealing the unseen structures behind current events and social conditions.
  • Catalyzing change through performance — to inspire dialogue, provoke action, and move toward equity and inclusivity.
  • Innovating within cultural forms — generating new knowledge, new experiences, new data, and new artistic strategies to question, reshape, and improve society.
  • Exploring possible futures — through performance that imagines what lies ahead, preparing audiences for the complexities of tomorrow.

Pichet Klunchun

OUr STORY

Key Milestones

in the Evolution of PKDC

2003
  • The Start of the Journey

The seeds of PKDC were planted in 2003, when Pichet Klunchun made the pivotal decision to leave his university teaching position and pursue life as a full-time independent artist. This transition marked the beginning of a bold inquiry: how might Thai dance evolve without losing its roots?

2004-2005
  • Crossing Borders, Breaking Forms

Pichet premiered Pichet Klunchun and Myself, a landmark intercultural dialogue performance with French choreographer Jérôme Bel. This piece, performed in over 20 countries, sparked international recognition for its radical juxtaposition of Thai classical and Western conceptual dance. The following year, he debuted I Am a Demon, his first major solo work—an introspective deconstruction of the Khon tradition through contemporary sensibilities.

2010
  • The Birth of the Company

To deepen and expand this evolving artistic vision, Pichet Klunchun Dance Company was formally founded in 2010 in collaboration with producer Sojirat Singholaka. The company became a home for like-minded artists, dancers, and collaborators, dedicated to producing contemporary performance rooted in Thai knowledge.

2025
  • Rebranding to PKDC

The company entered a new chapter with the official rebrand to PKDC — a name that reflects its evolution from a founder-centered company to a collective ecosystem for research, education, and international collaboration. While the vision remains grounded in the legacy of Pichet Klunchun, PKDC now positions itself as a future-facing organization dedicated to sustaining and transforming the landscape of Thai contemporary dance on both Thai-national and global scales.

Our Team

A collective of creators, thinkers, and builders of movement knowledge.