Bala Pyan ( my, ဗလပြန်, ; born Saw Nan Shwe; 27 June 1914 – 1987) was a 20th-century Burmese ''Aka Weizza'' ()
[''Weizza'' designates an expert in a particular branch of knowledge or skill.] who invented the ''Sandawgyein Aka'' ().
She was believed to be the
reincarnation of
Aung Bala
Aung Bala ( my, အောင်ဗလ, ; 1883 – 1913) was an influential Burmese dancer during the early British colonial era of Burma. He was especially famous for playing female lead roles. He is said to have been the only male artist in the ...
, who was also a dancer.
Early life
Saw Nan Shwe (in
Karen tradition), or Sein Mya (in
Bamar tradition), was born on 27 June 1914 in , ,
Bago Township,
Pegu Division to U Chan Aye and
Naw Shwe Mi.
She became interested in singing and dancing, and began learning traditional dance under Shwegon, a ''myay wine''
[Burmese traditional dance and drama performed on the ground in the middle of the audience.] dancer, as well as from Ba Maung, a ''
zat saya'',
[Male lead dramatic performer.] and his wife Zawbyan
[Zawbyan was famous for performing the '' zawgyi dance''; she was so flexible that she could put her legs on her shoulders while dancing.] in
Mandalay
Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census).
Mandalay was fo ...
.
[
]
Career as a dancer
She started performing alongside Burma Sein and Naypyidaw Ba Thet when she was sixteen. Her best known partners were Sein Aung Min and . The Saopha of Hsipaw, Sao Kya Ohn, recognized her performance in the '' kinnara'' by awarding her, along with Bo Kay Sein, two silver swords and a silver bowl.[
She was honored with a gold medal and the title of ''Aka Weizza'' by Colonel Tun Sein of the ]socialist government
A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. The term ''communist state'' is ofte ...
for introducing a new dance into ''yoke thé
Yoke thé (, , literally "miniatures") is the Burmese name for marionette puppetry. Although the term can be used for puppetry in general, its usage usually refers to the local form of string puppetry. Like most of Burmese refined art, ''yoke th ...
'' shows in which the dancers imitated the movements of the marionettes.[ In 1969–1970 she introduced the ''Sandawgyein'' with partner Sein Aung Min.][
]
Later years
Her final partner was Pantya Kyi Lin. She tutored at the Ministry of Culture in the cultural department and performed the bird-crooning dance in ''kinnara yein'', raising the standard for '' yein'' dance. Along with Shwe Man Tin Maung
Shwe Man Tin Maung ( my, ရွှေမန်းတင်မောင်, 21 December 1918 – 29 November 1969) was an influential Burmese dancer and founder of the Shwe Man Thabin family dance troupe, the last of its kind in Burma. He was con ...
and Sein Aung Min, she was sent on cultural exchange tours to China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and Vietnam.[
She died in 1987 in Yangon.][
]
Works
Her best known performances with Sein Aung Min were ''Ngamo Yeik'', ''Yaza Thingyan'', ''Min Nyi Naung'', ''Maung Missaka'' and ''Wizaya Kumma''. With Aung Maung she performed ''Maha Paduma'', ''Pabe Maung Tintte'', ''Tanoyakkha'' and ''Thudhanu Medawi''.
Relationship to Aung Bala
U Chan Aye and Naw Shwe Mi became close to Aung Bala during a pagoda festival in Bago. He told them that he wanted to adopt their son, Shwe Zan, and novitiate
The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...
him, but died before the plan could be carried out. Many believed that he was reincarnated as their daughter, Bala Pyan.[
]
Notes
References
{{reflist
External links
Sandawgyein dance (male)
Sandawgyein dance (female)
Burmese dancers
1914 births
1987 deaths