Kyaukse Elephant Dancing Festival is one of the famous festivals in Myanmar. It is held in Kyaukse surrounded by paddy fields and 30 miles (50 km) to the south of Mandalay. Elephant dance competition is celebrated at annual Light Festival on full moon day of Thadingyut mostly in October. A huge elephant figure is made of bamboo, cloth, paper and marvelous decoration with two men inside to perform. An elephant dance goes around the town to the accompaniment of Dobat and Drums and circles three times at the foot of the hill to pay homage to the Shwe Tha Lyaung Pagoda. People from far and near come to visit and offer food and flowers to the pagoda and watch the dance competition. The elephant with the best performance and behavior wins the gold prize. This year full moon day of Thadingyut falls on 30th October 2012 (Tuesday).
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