Welcome to Taj Express.

Art and Culture Festival

For live performance enthusiasts like us, the 20th Bangkok International Festival of Dance & Music offers a plethora of shows to choose from. However, we rarely attend this event due to the inconvenient journey from the MRT station to the Thailand Cultural Centre. Despite advertisements claiming a shuttle bus service from the MRT station on performance days, we have yet to encounter it.

This year's performances include ballet, symphony concerts, magic shows, and dances from various countries. Wow! They all sound interesting, but with a limited budget, we can only afford to see one show.

After several years of absence from the Cultural Centre, we are returning this year to visit the Bangkok International Festival of Dance & Music. This time, we will be watching Taj Express, a performance from India.

Bags will be checked before entering, and no beverages of any kind are allowed inside. Please leave any beverages you bring at the table outside.

Upon entering, there are a limited number of seats available, insufficient to accommodate all visitors. A book sale and photo booths sponsored by various organizations are also present.

We arrived at the venue well before the show began, so the crowd was sparse. Look, it's so empty.

Today, we bought the cheapest tickets and went all the way up to the 3rd floor, which is very high. The seats were spacious enough to stretch our legs, but we found them to be narrow and uncomfortable. Even though we don't have long legs, we still felt cramped.

I usually buy tickets for seats closer to the stage. Today, I decided to try a seat with a distant view to see if it's good enough.

I have previously attended a ballet performance on the third floor several years ago and found it soporific, inadvertently falling asleep during the show.

Ignite Your Passion with Taj Express

Initially, when we asked a friend to book tickets for Taj Express, we assumed it was simply a showcase of Indian dance. However, upon attending the performance, we discovered it was much more than we anticipated. Taj Express is actually a **Bollywood musical** directed by Shruti Merchant, with choreography by Shruti Merchant & Rajitdev Easwardas and music by Salim & Sulaiman Merchant.

This performance is sponsored by the Embassy of India. It will be shown in Thailand for only two rounds: Friday, September 28, 2018 (7:30 PM) and Saturday, September 29, 2018 (2:30 PM). The performance is divided into two parts: the first part is 54 minutes long, the second part is 56 minutes long, and there is a 20-minute intermission.

The Taj Express is a performance that incorporates a variety of musical styles with Indian influences, including songs by renowned composer A.R. Rahman, who has won awards at the Golden Globe and Oscar ceremonies.

The Taj Express showcases the power of dance and Indian music. From the moment the curtain rises to the final bow, the energy is palpable. One wonders where the performers find such boundless energy, even reaching the audience in the highest balcony seats.

Another aspect of the Taj Express performance that I enjoyed was the beautifully layered backdrop, which created a dreamlike depth and dimension.

The advantage of purchasing a high-angle ticket this time is that you can see the play of light on the stage floor during the performance... It's far away, but it's good in another way, right?

For those who missed the performance in Thailand and would like to see the Taj Express show, they are touring around the world. You can find more details on the Taj Express website http://www.tajexpressthemusical.com/bollywoodmusical/.