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Local Color
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2006-12-27 22:29:04-05
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Queen prompts Thailand to restrict 'Coyote Ugly' dance troupes
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Bangkok, Dec 28: Scantily clad dancers are nothing new in Bangkok, but a recent performance by a troupe known as the Coyote Girls near a Buddhist temple has prompted a crackdown by Thailand's royal family. Queen Sirikit was upset toward the end of Buddhist Lent when she watched news reports show footage of scantily-cladded dancers, named after the film "Coyote Ugly," promoting a motorcycle shop. The queen thought the performances on holy days, in a majority Buddhist country like Thailand, were "inappropriate." So, the Culture Ministry launched a moral crusade, banning dancers from performing in public places, particularly near Buddhist temples, and more measures are in the works. "Coyote Girls have to be in the right place, like an animal has to be in the zoo," opined Ladda Thungsupachai, director of the Culture Watch Center, a division of the Culture Ministry. "Coyote Ugly," a film about a group of sassy 20-somethings who dance seductively on a New York City bar, inspired mainstream Bangkok nightclubs to feature their own brand of Coyote Girls. Soon they were dancing at auto shows. Shopping malls and businesses hired them to promote new products, and their sexy dancing became a regular feature of outdoor festivals. A troupe even entertained soldiers manning their tanks in Bangkok on a September afternoon after the military staged a coup.
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