(D) June 25, 2006 - Sanggar Koreografi 2006

MORE than a hundred kids actually gave up the World Cup in favour of dance, can you imagine? There is hope for the arts yet!

The event was Sanggar Koreografi Malaysia 2006, a platform for choreography presented by the Akademi Seni Kebangsaan’s dance department that is headed by the indefatigable Joseph Gonzales.

The event, called ilham, proses, karya (inspiration, process, creation), comprised a weeklong workshop for dance professionals beginning on June 11 at the academy’s campus in Kuala Lumpur and three nights of performances at its Experimental Theatre over the last weekend.

Participants hailed from all over Malaysia as well as the Victorian College of Arts (VCA) in Australia and Institute Seni Indonesia Yogyakarta (ISIY) in Indonesia.

In the heady early days of dance in this country, Malaysian choreographers attempted to fuse various local dance genres (especially classical, traditional and folk dances) with Western ones to create a “contemporary” style. The outcome was awkward and shallow – works that tried too hard to incorporate anything Malaysian.

Looking at the works of the academy’s lecturers and choreographers such as Umesh Shetty (Alla Rip Pu), Wong Kit Yaw (Under the Moonlight), and Zhou Gui Xin (Journey), as well as that of graduate Firdaus Mustapha Kamal (Om Swasti Astu), it is evident that Malaysian choreographers have progressed from merely “fusing” dance genres to reinventing classical, traditional and folk dances. For sure, the shape of “contemporary dance” in Malaysia is emerging, and it is a shape drawn from our own dance traditions.

The performances over the three nights could be loosely categorized into three types: contemporary Asian, thematic, and technical.

Umesh’s Alla Rip Pu is surely one of his best works. He merged the pure dance style of barathanatyam (allarippu) with contemporary dance. Originally performed by dancers trained in classical Indian dance, this version was performed by dancers who were not. Those who saw the earlier version might agree that the advantage of classical Indian dance training was very clear, but the advantage of this version is that it made barathanatyam accessible to other dancers.



Under the Moonlight by Wong was pure delight despite its done-to-death theme of youth and love. His perception of culture and life is deeply original and his interpretation, fresh. It made me say, “Hey, I’ve never seen it this way before!” Drawing movement vocabulary from Chinese folk dance, he recreated the simple lives of villagers and the vitality and exuberance of youths in love.

Journey by Zhou explored the xin jiang (a type of Chinese dance) style in a dance that portrayed the nomadic journey of a tribe and its quest for a home. The dancers, proud in their smart uniforms, marched to an anthem – grandiose music added to the nationalistic feel. Zhou used minimal movements focused mainly on the hands and upper body and maintained the clean-cut simplicity in formations.

Firdaus’ Om Swasti Astu (“welcome” in Balinese) is a Balinese dance contemporised by reinventing the context while maintaining the movement vocabulary. Originally a war dance (baris, a Balinese warrior dance) performed by a group of men, it was presented as a duet (between a male and female dancer) that told the story of the choreographer’s personal journey in life. And to Firdaus, it seems, life is a road full of battles. The two characters, in sudden and accented movements, nodded their heads violently as if they were having a fierce conversation.

Sonata Borobudur by Hendro Martono of ISIY did not successfully project the splendour of Borobudur (the biggest Hindu-Buddhist temple in Indonesia) and the sad feeling of how it’s degenerated into a tourist attraction did not come through. The pace was also too slow. In the end, it was not choreography but traditional costumes that bound “classical” and “contemporary”.



Two compositions by Suhaimi Magi were presented – Dulang and Paut. Dulang is an exploration of movement that is taken from the vocabulary of tari piring (“saucer dance”, a Malay dance). Far from reflecting a farmer’s daily activities (typical in tari piring), solo dancer Liu Yong Sean looked like he was exploring the many ways with which to play with the metal tray. Lack of direction notwithstanding, he danced it like he meant it – a highly commendable effort.

On the other hand, Paut was a beautiful duet, a love story of a couple never apart. The connection between the couple was symbolised by an umbrella (held by the woman) with a sash (held by the man) tied to it.

Theme, concept or idea-based choreographies were obvious favourites among the choreographers, both local and foreign.

Mew Chang Tsing (ASK lecturer and choreographer) derived her work from the concept of qi (energy) in her work Qi.vi. The idea is to feel the qi and allow the (invisible) energy to move the body. One cannot find qi within a week – and it was obvious that the workshop participants presenting this dance had not.

9 to 5 depicted the hectic and bitchy life of the office. With wigs and wit, this piece by Gonzales (ASK lecturer and choreographer), offered fun and drama.

Angin-Angin by Sukarji Sriman (Indonesian choreographer, now Universiti Malaya lecturer) told of the winds of change. From a serene jungle setting, the dance moved on to concrete pavements. The transition was underlined by the soundscape that began with a Quran recital and then changed to jazzy tunes.

Graduates from ASK who presented their works were Arif Nazri Samsudin (Hai! Kak Long), Siti Ros Ezeeka Rahmat (Kejar), Fairuz Tauhid (Lemak Berjangkit), Sharip Zainal Sagkif Shek (Hitam Putih Kelabu), and Gloria Anak Patie (H...U...J...).

Of these performances, Hitam Putih Kelabu was the most captivating. And Sharip himself composed the mesmerising score that accompanied the dance. In the dance, two dancers dressed in black “flew” gracefully like birds, one behind the other. The dancers in white seemed to be the evil ones and they were envious of the grace exuded by the dancers in black. Is black good and white evil, or vice versa? Sharip left the matter grey.

On the last night, graduates of VCA presented Glimpse (by Yi Zhang), Playmate (by Marisa Wilson), Up to My Eyes (by Holly Durant, Harriet Ritchie and Amber Haines), Parental Guidance Recommended (by Sara Black), Persona (by Suhaili Ahmad Kamil), and 4 Phase (by Anna Smith).

The graduates were here in Malaysia because of the Persona Project initiated by Suhaili Ahmad Kamil, which is part of her Bachelor of Dance (Honours) program at VCA.

It was quite clear in VCA’s works that technique (especially in Persona and 4 Phase) was emphasised more than elements of culture and tradition. Delightful as the themed and character-based choreographies were, they seemed to be a little obsessed with “little girls” (Playmate and Parental Guidance Recommended). Another choreographic direction is the exploration of emotions and how that emotion can be heightened and conveyed through dance; for example, fear in Glimpse and angst in Up to My Eyes. Both were very dark pieces.



After three nights of such diverse dance delights, I must say that Sanggar Koreografi Malaysia 2006 was a great event, one that even suggested Malaysia has the potential to become a centre for international dance education. Kudos to the dance department of ASK.

(D) July 2, 2006 - Choreography for Non-Choreographers

THE arts? “Oh, they're only for the arty-farty lah,” many people would say. Well, they shouldn't be. The arts need to be accessible to everyone, otherwise it's all just artistes being horribly precious and performing for themselves and a handful of pretentious fans.

Marion D’Cruz firmly believes in making the arts as democratic as possible. She began doing that by working with people who were interested in dance but who were not dancers, introducing them to movement and demystifying what happens on stage.

After years of putting non-dancers on stage, she thought about the next step: “If I can make non-dancers perform, I should be able to make the process of choreography accessible to non-choreographers.

“Basically, it’s a way of opening up the ‘sacred realm’ of the choreographer. It’s one more step in the democratisation of creative space.”

Her Choreography for Non-Choreographers is the second workshop in the Krishen Jit Experimental Workshop Series 2006 organised by of the Five Arts Centre.

Concluding the workshop two weekends ago, 11 participants put up a five-minute performance each at the mobile-phones-allowed makeshift performance space between Central Market and the Liquid Room dance club in Kuala Lumpur. Bravo! The average “Central Market Jo(han)” now has access to such performances.

So there were two levels of democratisation: choreography for non-choreographers and a performance for a “non-audience”, i.e., people who wouldn’t normally go to a dance performance. It's access, in other words.

D’Cruz was quick to qualify that this event was not about dance but choreography – perhaps she was a tad wary that the performance would be judged on dance techniques.

Although the word “choreography” can be applied in situations other than dance, the workshop blog at www.boxspots.blogspot.com revealed that Choreography for Non-Choreographers was about dance-skewed choreography. It included conceptualising ideas, finding inspiration, understanding and expressing emotions (pain, anger, etc), communicating meaning and messages, understanding quality of movements, forming floor patterns, exploring improvisation, and making others execute your vision.

In her dance creation for non-dancers, certainly technique was not the prime concern. Because dance is not always about technique, why renounce it altogether? At the end of the day, what did the average Central Market Jo(han) see? Certainly not choreography, but dance - dance as they’ve never seen before and will never pay to see.

Not all trained dancers become choreographers. Most are merely executioners. The point where they start to become a choreographer is when they start to think.

So, were the 11 workshop participants able to think? Did they “get” choreography? Well, some more than others.

Indie film director and part-time photographer James Lee’s piece, Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?, was a good choice with which to kick-start the performance. Performers shocked passers-by by telling them very rudely to keep quiet. This form of audience interaction effectively grabbed people’s attention and made them stay on to watch.

Throughout, the performers had to say, “Will you please be quiet, please?” Travelling across the stage, animated, they told each other to shut up in various ways – begging, shouting, whispering, and screaming. The appeal of this format was the comforting familiarity of repetition and the oxymoron of individuals telling others to keep quiet when they themselves aren’t being very quiet!

24 Minutes in Kuala Lumpur, 64 Minutes in Jakarta was a study of greed and consumption. This piece by NGO worker and theatre practitioner Gabrielle Low was certainly entertaining and fun. The skinny labourer (Mark Teh) works hard to feed the capitalists. It’s a glutton’s dance – one that saw the performers stuffing themselves silly and getting bloated. Finally, they are bowled over, constipated.

Kakiseni.com editor Phang Khee Teik choreographed Hallelujah, an emotional piece that celebrates the right to love. Although the pace was a bit slow, the piece demonstrated that, regardless of the type of relationship (man and woman, man and man, woman and woman), we all experience the same thing: happiness and hurt, fights and make-ups.

Actor Mark Teh's piece meant to disturb – and its title obviously not meant to be understood! What on earth does Buang Ruang Kurang Kurung atau Tiap-Tiap Hari, Khabar Angin Lama, Surat Khabar Sama (Space Displace These Fears Erase aka Every Day, Old News Maker, Same News Paper) mean?

Title aside, I would say this was a great piece that described Malaysia all in one space. Malaysians live in denial: someone shouted, “There is no crisis.” Malaysians are shoe-polishers: someone shouted, “Yes, boss.” Malaysians are obsessed with celebrities: someone shouted, “Erra Fazira. Siti Nurhaliza.” Malaysians are hysterical: someone screamed bloody murder. And so forth. For the slap-in-the-face ending, the performers all grouped together and waved mini Malaysian flags shouting, “If they are not happy, they have to leave!” before putting the flags in their mouths. This is Malaysia, so swallow it.

The More We Get Together by assistant theatrical producer Kiew Suet Kim explored the touchy issue of showing affection in public. She asked, “How far can the hands of the State probe into our personal lives?”

Unrequited by advertising consultant and theatre practitioner Vernon Adrian Emuang, made one feel the agonising pain of unrequited love – though I’m not sure if that was also because the piece just felt too long. The performers walked in a dazed group from one corner to another, playing follow-the-leader. Although the point where a girl dropped “dead” and is carried by a saddened man was good drama, it was not a good call to have her walk on the other performers’ backs (forming stairs). Her fear of falling disrupted her focus.

Cita-Cita Saya by biologist (and frequent stage manager) June Tan tried to depict ambition but instead spewed over-optimism and over-confidence before nose-diving into sad reality.

According to the programme, Damaged by Five Arts Centre’s Adrian Kisai was followed by In One Piece by (theatre company) Dramalab’s Wyn Hee. I couldn’t tell that by watching as it wasn’t clear when Damaged ended and when In One Piece started – it seemed like both were actually one long piece of work. It sort of made sense: While one damages and the other puts back into one piece.

There was very little difference between Don’t Wake Me Up, I’m Sleeping by journalist Hari Azizan (who works at The Star) and A Sleepwalker in Transit by Universiti Teknologi Mara graduate Myra Mahyudin (aside from a big alarm clock in the latter). The execution was similar and after watching, one felt like asking, “So what?”

So what? Even professional choreographers sometimes produce choreographies that are not up to par. The point is, D’Cruz did make choreographers out of these non-choreographers.

However, this group of participants are not strangers to theatre in different forms. Wouldn’t it be interesting to try this workshop on an entirely different set of people, say, a mathematician, a bus driver, a nurse, a computer programmer and a chef?

(D) June 11, 2006 - Evolving Horizon

Pix Source: The Star

THE sun rose on the choreographic horizon and turned the sky fresh-blood red. That was new hope painted by the young dancers and choreographers of the Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Kwang Tung Association Youth Section’s dance troupe in Evolving Horizon. For the past seven years, the troupe has organised an annual showcase series, titled Kua Bu (taking the leap forward) for its student dancers to perform and learn to produce shows.

This year, the troupe took the leap towards a professional production in a proper theatre setting.

Evolving Horizon, staged in Kuala Lumpur early June, featured works by six young choreographers. Of these, three showed great potential, namely Love in 4.28 by Tin Tan, Walk Out by Samantha Chong, and Passages by Faith Toh.

In Love in 4.28, dancers dressed as clownish waitresses were slaves to time. Like clockwork, they struck a pose at the end of each dance phrase. There was also a brilliant touch of humour as dancers reacted to music that sounded like it came from a scratched record. The notion of “love”, however, was less evident and only revealed itself vaguely in the tango scenes.

Sign language, the mode of communication used by the deaf, literally echoed through Walk Out. It successfully evoked feelings of immense emotional pain and lured the audience into the psyche of a person trapped by circumstances.

Underneath the soothing strains of string and voice lurked a deep sense of loss. Then, as the music became more vigorous, the dancers doubled their speed – sometimes in unison, and sometimes one after another – creating diagonal and triangular formations. Release!, Let go!, and Walk out! were what they intended to do in the latter part of the dance as they pulled their hair upwards to “over-extend” their bodies. They finally ended with a decisive clasping of hands.

Passages, which looked at man’s evolution, was also reflective of karma. Three dancers in diagonal position - one standing, one bending forward and one kneeling – formed a plane that rose on the left and dropped on the right.

The dancer on centre stage moved like an animal - she bent forward, almost on all fours. As though watching a scene from Animal Planet, I relished the graceful vertebrae-by-vertebrae movements. Evolving from animal to man, the second dancer took bigger steps and larger, sweeping movements whilst the third, standing upright, travelled across and around the stage.

It seemed like they had regressed from man to animal when, with backs bent towards us, the dancers flopped forward and shook their butts like birds ruffling their feathers after the rain. The “birds” then frolicked with a huge rubber ball but quickly abandoned it before taking flight in single-file migratory position.

Though I would have preferred a less jittery ending, the dancers, with their backs towards each other, shook their bodies repeatedly as they moved in circles until the lights blacked out. Thus is the passage of life, being born and reborn, and who knows what next?

Teresa Chian’s Two Pages for Kim differed from the other works in the showcase. This short piece featured a solo (performed by Chian herself) and used only the confines of a space encircled by lit candles placed on the floor. The movement vocabulary was primarily defined by the tugging of an invisible rope from both directions. I wondered if she was using ropes to turn two gigantic pages.

Busy. Rest by Louise Yow managed to create a busy environment on stage. The dancers moved in one direction but were rudely pushed by some invisible brute force that set them on the opposite path. There was a clear sequence of movement that was subsequently repeated in whole or in part. The soundscape alternated between music and silence, hence “busy” and “rest”. But the piece fell short of a balance between those two elements, as there was no “rest” for the body.

Behind by Chin Kah Voon and Mak Foong Ming lagged behind the other works, conceptually. It is great to be able to stitch together a series of movements but the choreography also needs to express something. What the pair aimed to say did not resonate clearly.

Dancers in this showcase comprised the above-mentioned choreographers, as well as Tan Bee Hung, Foong Siew Ching, and Kho Chin Aun. All of them proved to be competent dancers who certainly have the potential to improve.

It certainly looks like the Kwang Tung dance troupe’s efforts in training the younger generation are paying off.

(D) May 19, 2006 - Babel

Pix source: The Star

Babel, a full-length contemporary hip hop performance, kicked off the week-long French Art Festival 2006 last weekend. The tri-culture (French-Malaysian-Chinese) full-length work, conceptualised by Najib Guerfi, sought to find a common language in dance.

I must admit that I went to the Istana Budaya with some reservation, having endured an awful performance (Recital by Compagnie Kafig) of the same genre at the American Dance Festival last year.

Thankfully, my fears were dispelled with the first flick of Guerfi's head (he was also dancing). Something good had come out of this collaborative attempt. The French (Guerfi and Lyliane Gauthier), Malaysian (Umesh Shetty and Elaine Pedley) and Chinese (Wang Tao and Cao Peizhong) dancers took to the stage to introduce their respective movement vocabularies.

Then Guerfi broke into a “windmill” (body on the ground and legs spinning in circle in the air) while Wang and Cao spun in continuous “butterfly kicks” (Wushu-influenced backward kick with one leg flying up, immediately followed by the other).

Quickly, the dancers re-grouped and moved in circular movements – their first common ground. Arms extended and curved at shoulder level; sometimes, arms whipping to define turns, or waving above the head, directing the body to bend.

Babel tells of man’s evil ways and, as a result, his impending doom. Using expression, the most basic of body language, the dancers affirmed that we are evil by grinning like the Joker (one of the bad guys in Batman) on and off throughout the repertoire.

When the three-tiered metal scaffolding, representing the Tower of Babel, arose on stage, the dancers rushed toward it and started climbing. Swinging and swaying precariously, they revealed moments akin to an audition for Cirque du Soleil.

Audition over, they moved to position standing in three tiers forming an inverted pyramid, and danced in unison. That was a brief visual delight before the “tower” sank and the dancers tumbled back on stage.

Pix source: The Star

Picking themselves up, they started to run in a slow and restrained manner. Like marionettes (directed and expressionless) controlled by the puppet master, they attempted “popping” and “locking” (robot-like movements) in a group.

Heavy drum beats heralded fight scenes in which group interaction and kungfu duels were central. But unlike the “challenge”, common in hip hop repertoire, the confusing duels resembled Capoeira (an Afro-Brazilian martial art).

The music, specially composed by Gregory Guillemin for Babel, was an excellent Western-Chinese-Indian fusion piece. In a passage that was clearly Chinese, a melodic flute played against the steady rhythm resonating from a string instrument. Four solos were featured to this music.

Under a spotlight on the dimmed stage, Gauthier fluttered uncertainly and lazily like a butterfly discovering her wings. Pedley playfully showed off a headstand and froze in various inverted positions. However, when she rendered her bit of Odissi (an Indian dance ), it was obvious that her movements were not as and masterful as Shetty’s.

Tempo, another common ground in dance, was more obvious in Shetty’s and Guerfi’s solos. Guerfi’s arm wave (arms rippling like waves) and isolation of various body parts were performed slowly and steadily to the steady rhythm of the haunting Chinese music. Body part after body part appeared and disappeared on the darkened stage, creating an illusion that a row of lights and shadow were streaming across his stationary body. Shetty, sure and precise, took an off-beat approach in his contemporary Odissi solo. He burst into movement when you least expected it and left you begging for more.

Finally, the last common ground was how the three dances used varying heights in their approach to movements: the breakdance featured “drop down” sequences; Wushu had bended knees, and the Odissi, squats.

Babel as an intercultural contemporary hip hop package is funky, cool and engaging. Although it had a limited range of breakdance moves, the amount of hip hop was just right. And the incorporation of Chinese and Indian movement vocabularies was done smoothly and tastefully.

Merveilleux! Babel has taken street culture and made it art.

(D) May 14, 2006 - Qi.vi

WHAT creases a piece of cloth that is flung into the air? What shape do those ripples describe? Something that is there, yet cannot be seen?

Choreographer Mew Chang Tsing used soft, golden cloth to great effect in trying to capture qi, the energy that surrounds us invisibly. The cloth took on the form of anything with substance, be it a dancer’s body or the qi around the dancer – thus, shapes outlined by the cloth in the air.

This was Qi.vi, the sixth in Mew’s series on qi, presented in Pebbles 3 at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre in Kuala Lumpur last weekend.

In this version, the dancers try to heighten their sensitivity to surrounding energies by being lightly blindfolded. By reducing the sense of sight they hoped to increase their sense of touch. Standing around a swath of the cloth encircled on the stage, they tried to draw from the qi chang (arena of energy). They stood relaxed and allowed the qi to gently sway their bodies. Two dancers, Kiea Kuan Nam and Liu Yong Sean, continued in this meditative state throughout the performance, even as they climbed the “stairway to heaven”, which comprised “steps” created entirely by lighting. In contrast, Gan Chih Pei seemed to be in turbulence, travelling across the stage, fighting the energies. Only Amy Len “became” the cloth, bent and swayed by the surrounding pressures of qi.

Kiea, Liu, Gan and Len are some of Malaysia’s more matured and accomplished dancers.

Unlike the earlier Qi.v that drew its vocabulary of movement from Chinese dance, this version offers a South-East Asian interpretation of qi.

Mew created motifs with gestures, adding subtle texture to the otherwise purely improvisational technique used by her and fellow dancers. But in this interpretation, I noticed a clash: – entering rasuk, a trance (a common phenomena in several South-East Asian dances), is not the same as being connected with qi. The former is a state of unconsciousness while the latter is a state of consciousness. In the end, Mew spins and spins in confusion, and finally hurls the cloth over her body. Symbolically, qi escapes her – and then, black out! The dance ends.

Qi.vi is set to hauntingly beautiful gamelan music composed by Sunetra Fernando and Michael Veerapan for the album Rhythm in Bronze. However, the power of this piece leaves a gap the dance struggles to fill.

Pebbles 3 also featured two other performances, Catch That Thought and 1+1.

Catch That Thought comprised three items, presented by students from Mew’s Children’s Creative Dance classes – Picture Comes Alive (by children aged four to six), Look at Me (by children aged four and below) and Mark My Moves (by children aged eight to 12). 1 + 1 was an improvisational dance in which the dancers starts off in a position determined by the audience.

This production was aimed at raising funds to allow dancers of Qi.vi to perform at the Global Assembly of World Dance Alliance, which will take place in Toronto, Canada, in July. The dancers, who also make up the committee members of Malaysia’s MyDanceAlliance, will also bid for Kuala Lumpur to host the Global Assembly 2008.

(Break-a-Leg spent a year studying Qi Gong with folks double her age. Undoubtedly, they are all healthier than she is!)

(D) April 30, 2006 - Fire of Anatolia

NOW, did I watch Irish dance show Riverdance or the Turkish effort Fire of Anatolia at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on Wednesday?

It was supposed to have been the latter (previously a production called the Sultans of the Dance), which comprises a mosaic of folk dance and music from the historically and culturally significant region of Anatolia in Turkey.

However, those elements were weaved seamlessly into the mainly soft-shoe Riverdance (Irish folk dance) technique that Anatolia’s general art director, Mustafa Erdogan, had adopted. Confusing, not to mention disappointingly derivative. Each dance, whether it started out Turkish or Western (ballet and modern dance), to my disappointment, ended Irish and (without fail) with shouts of “Hey!” from the dancers. While big-bang endings are fine, quiet moments can have a very powerful effect in dance.

The chance for this was wasted in the piece called A Lament, where life ebbs away from the migrants as they travel the hard road into Anatolia. (The region has seen much migration over thousands of years as it has been populated by a host of peoples, including the Hittites, Phrygians, Cimmerians, Greeks, Romans, Lydians, Persians, Goths, Kurds, Byzantines, Seljuk, Ottomans, Turks and even Celts.)

The dancers in white, spinning upwards towards God, beautifully and accurately depicted the affirmation of death. But the impact of this scene was short-lived with the insertion of a template ending.

A Lament. Pixsource: The Star

The dearth of information in the RM20 programme did not help the audience appreciate Turkey’s rich culture and history. What were the types of folk dances featured, from where did they originated, what was the significance, if any, of the costumes? What were the instruments used? Who were the mythological characters cast in the story and why are they significant in Turkish history?

Their claim to being Dionysian (the act of worshipping Dionysus, god of law, wine, freedom, passion and fertility) was best reflected in the first scene that comprised a series of fiery dances of fire worship, flame flicker and sun formation. Although faultless in going through the motions, the dancers have not quite mastered what American dancer Isadora Duncan was particularly good at: emanating the spirit of worship.

The best part of the show was, of course, the belly dancing. Who can resist the vision of beautiful, midriff-baring girls with “vibrator” hips? The movement vocabulary was that of isolation – most pervasively of the hips. Isolation of the shoulders, head, and hands and the undulating movements of the torso interrupted with contractions were also used in the choreography.

Although culture and history were not explained, we saw a glimmer of Turkey through the snippets of folk dance performed in traditional costumes, and during the traditional drums performance.

Essentially, the success of the production relied more on mass synchronisation, formation and colourful costumes for spectacle, and less on choreography and artistic direction.

But then, this is just an armpit’s view of the show, seated just four rows from the stage. Fire of Anatolia did receive thunderous applause at the end of it.

To digress, I must say that the seats at the convention centre’s Plenary Hall were more comfortable than the crammed-together seats at KL’s Istana Budaya. Of late, big foreign productions seem to be moving away from the latter venue and heading towards the convention centre, which opened to much praise last year.

Fire of Anatolia, which is Erdogan’s brainchild, was first staged in 2002 and has since performed on several continents. It ran for three nights at the KLCC, beginning on April 26.

The show was brought to Malaysia by Jewels Events & Consultancy (M) Sdn Bhd in collaboration with Turkey’s under secretariat for defence industries, the Turkish Embassy, and Malaysia’s Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry.

(R) GUBRA's Duet

A dance for two, GUBRA’s choreography pairs two parallel worlds as they waltz to interracial, religious, and (extra) marital tunes.

GUBRA is Yasmin Ahmad’s 3rd feature film after RABUN and (the more successful) SEPET.

In GURBA, one story continues from SEPET. Now, Orked (Sharifah Amani Yahya) is a young, upper middle-class working woman married to Arif (Adlin Aman Ramlie), a successful advertising executive who is considerably older than her. Here, Orked who looks way below the legal age gets away with doing things married people do, and exudes unrealistic maturity in emotionally manipulating ‘the other woman’ in her husband’s life.

She meets Alan (Alan), her ex’s brother. In a Veet endorsed scene, currents flow between the two as she plucks hair off his chest while making conversation. But this is less pretentious than the nauseating ‘I support bangsa Malaysia’ conversation in Alan’s cute yellow truck.

The gem in GUBRA lies on the other side of town where a young Muslim cleric and his wife live next door to prostitutes. Yasmin liberally stabs at Muslims in Malaysia in a several scenes. The cleric pets a crippled dog (his hands didn’t get wet, no?), the cleric’s wife does not angry at Temah the prostitute for not wearing tudung, and the couple, in accepting the prostitutes’ company does not practice ‘I’m-holier-than-thou’ hypocrisy.

The story also reveals how economically and spiritually destitute the prostitutes are and that, at the end of the day, they are only human. This perhaps is the sincerest effort on Yasmin’s part.

However, during the press conference to launch GUBRA, Yasmin did not thank her main sponsor, DiGi. Has this restraint got to do with LB winning Maxis?

Whatever the reason, at the end of a duet, it is impolite not to thank the partner.

As for DiGi, maybe it’s Time to Change…

… partner

(R) Happy New Year Cambodia!

This year, the new year falls on 14th of April (a 3-day festival). Read more about the Khmer New Year.

Just back from a trip to Cambodia, I've managed to snap some of the pre-festival cheer. You will see this decorative item hung in homes and business venues. And look, it's also the year of the dog! :)

Pix by Choy Su-Ling

(R) Rise - Even with One Leg

"Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune;

but great minds rise above them"

- Washington Irving

(R) 9MP

While the nation rolls out their Ninth Malaysia Plan, Break-a-Leg rolls out her Ninth Mental Plan for 2006 - 2010. She looks at 5 issues:

Reducing Income Equalities
As part of the poverty eradication programme to resolve the low-income blogger plight, break-a-leg finds herself a proper job

Rethinking Malaysian Education
Mother was right - I should have aimed for MRS before PHD

Making Speed a Competitive Advantage
With the increase in petrol price, drive faster to enhance fuel efficiency

Comprehensive Strategy to Engage China and India
Outsource the strategy development to India and manufacture the plan in China

Strengthening National Unity
Go watch GUBRA, sponsored by DiGi

(M) March 18, 2006 - Dialogue in Skin (by Hands Percussion)

Centre of Gravity

Pix Source: Hands Percussion

EARTH, water, metal and fire – these are the “elements” the Hands Percussion Team sought to portray through Dialogue in Skin, held at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) last week.

Dialogue was first staged in May 2004 in Penang during the opening of the YTL Arts Festival. The group, formed in 1997 by Bernard Goh, creates unique performances using gu or traditional Chinese drums. It is easy to create fanfare with gu – the sounds that reverberate from them are loud, arresting and vibrant. What’s tough is “taming” these drums to express what the performer wants.

The KLPac show pulled the audience in with Centre of Gravity, the first item. Everything has a centre of balance, and the drummers got theirs from positioning their feet and knees in two of the major kungfu stances – “horse” (feet apart with both knees bended) and “bow and arrow” (one leg extended to the back and the other forward with knee bent). The earth-brown costumes of the performers complemented the primitive and tribal feel of the piece. They deployed techniques like beating the surface of the drum (at the centre and edges) and running their drumsticks along the sides of the gu (where there is a ridge of tacks holding down the skin).

The second piece, Fluency, was supposed to depict the qualities of water; it failed in its choreography and composition. The flow was choppy especially when the performers had to carry and move their drums around. The clearest musical reference to the fluidity of water came from the guitarist (Aluba) and flautist (Yii Kah Hoe).

Viewers who expected to see the taiko (Japanese drum) were disappointed. Goh explained that the team did not want to risk using their taiko, which were not in very good condition. However, they employed the taiko drumming methods (seven beats and off beats) on the gu. This piece, with its theme of a wedding celebration, did not bring out the union of the two great cultures, especially with the performers all clad in black. It merely looked like a piece intended to engage audience interaction.

Armour and Skin stood out simply by injecting melody into the otherwise rhythm-centric performance. This point, which seemed like an unfair advantage at first, was quickly dispelled when a delightful “conversation” ensued between “armour” (gamelan and various Chinese cymbals) and “skin” (ju gu or military drum).

Worthy of mention are the four drummers (Jimmy Ch’ng, Chang Yih Feng, Lee Chun Keat and Chew Soon Hing), who humoured the audience by giving the surface of their drums a good massage, and experimented playfully with Chinese cymbals of varied sizes. Guest performers from Rhythm and Bronze were Jillian Ooi, Susan Sarah John, Sharmini Ratnasingam and Wong Yee Ting.

Armour and Skin. Pix Source: The Star

Drumbeat Inferno was a fiery and energetic piece in which the performers were positioned such that man and drum intertwined. The myriad of techniques and man-to-drum combinations brought out the best in contemporary Chinese drumming. The hands of the drummers moved with incredible speed, akin to mo ying sau (shadow hands kungfu).

Despite the many drums and performers on stage, the movements were seamless. The centrepiece of this item was the Shime Taiko (Japanese drum), which has a lighter, more crispy tone than the bass gu. During the piece, Ch’ng rendered an impressive drum solo on the taiko with a tau gu (small Chinese drum) attached to its side.

While Dialogue was enjoyable overall, there were some parts that threatened to bore due to repetition in style and tone. But given the Hands Percussion Team’s enthusiasm, I have no doubt they will drum up something even more creative soon.

(D) Mar 18, 2006 - ASK Wins National Chinese Cultural Dance Competition

Joseph Gonzales, Akademi Seni Kebangsaan's (ASK) Head of Dance dropped me an email on the school's latest win. The man's obviously brimming with pride!

Congratulations, not only to ASK but to all 45 groups. It is always a matter of priority and urgency, preserving culture and heritage. And to ASK, keep up the good work!

Dear Break-a-Leg,

The 2nd National Chinese Cultural Dance Competition organized by the Chinese Language Society of Malacca and Multi-Media University was held at the Taman Budaya Melaka from 10-12th March 2006. A total of 45 groups consisting of Chinese Dance associations, secondary schools, cultural clubs and private dance schools including 7 from Singapore took part in the exhausting 3 day event.

For the first time, I decided to enter the dance students of ASK in this event primarily to gauge the achievement and implementation of the Chinese Dance syllabus into the compulsory curriculum of the Dance Department which began 4 years ago. Besides this, I felt that the students would gain from exposure and immersion in the Chinese culture and thought that it would be extremely beneficial for them to challenge themselves on a different plane.

As Head of the Dance Department, I wanted to use the event to promote and publicize the new intake for 2006 in an effort to attract a more multi-ethnic student population. The tradition of Chinese dance competitions has in fact produced numerous luminaries of dance in Malaysia such as master-pioneer Steven Koh, while cultivating the performance and choreographic abilities of Vincent Tan, Mew Chang Tsing, Choo Tee Kuang, Loke Soh Kim, Anthony Meh and one of the current leaders Cheong Lin Poo, a graduate of Chinese Traditional Dance from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. It is a thriving environment that has flourished through independent patronage since the 70s.

From the first day of competition, we could feel the tension in the air as groups vied for rehearsal time, which was a mere 20 minutes on stage to work the spacing and lighting! Some of the groups had up to 25 dancers and thus the noise and chaos backstage was reminiscent of a busy ‘pasar malam’. There was a wonderful carnival-like atmosphere and it was a pleasure to see the multi-racial interaction between students of ASK, who as it turned out, were the only participants of non-Chinese background and the others. The dancers were nervous and it showed in their performances. However, after 2 nights of preliminaries, 10 groups were selected for the finals and one of ASK’s entries was chosen! We were then drawn as the 4th group to perform and we all know the significance of that number in Chinese beliefs!

Rehearsals were intensive again as the final moments approached, every hand position, eye-line and direction was checked and re-checked by all the groups and it was curtains at 8.00 p.m. The standard of performance was incredibly high showcasing both traditional and contemporary Chinese works. My personal favourite was a beautiful Tibetan dance that possessed an unusual posture with the dancers leaning back slightly with a controlled and light bounce in the step. The competition ended by 10.00 p.m. and then the waiting began.

The results were announced in reverse order and it was all in Chinese language. The ASK group really did not know or understand what was happening but joined in the festivities, cheering and robust applause for everyone. Prizes were given for Best Costume and Best Arrangement.

Finally, the much anticipated moment, and ASK was adjudged the Overall Champion of the Competition!! There was a thunderous response in the auditorium as it appeared that 10 young boys and girls of Malay origin had danced their way into the hearts of the judges Prof. Jiang Dong from the Cultural Institute of China, Nanning, Dr. Chua Soo Pong of the Chinese Operatic Association of Singapore and Mr. Steven Koh, the highly respected dance teacher from Malaysia. The presentation of ASK’s 3rd Year students was entitled JOURNEY choreographed by Zhou Gui Xin, one of its lecturers and a premier artist of China now residing in Malaysia. The dance was based on the movement vocabulary of the dances of the Xin Jiang province which has a broad and expansive style reflecting the nomadic lifestyle and the desert plateaus of China.

We are still waking up from this dream and cannot quite believe it! I feel that this is a glorious example of Malaysia’s multi-cultural heritage at its best. As the Head of Dance, I cannot express how proud I am of the work of the lecturers and students of the department but fully aware of how much further there is to go. This is the validation of the tremendous effort I have made to make dances of minority communities in Malaysia an integral part of dance training here at ASK, so that we can be truly known as the National Arts Academy.

A sincere thanks to all who have supported our work in the last 10 years and still requesting your continued support in the years to come. Take care and God Bless!

Joseph Gonzales

(R) In Memory of Laurence Thong

In memory of Laurence Thong who passed away 12 February 2006.

For the coffee I still owe you, for your zest in life, for your love of the sea, for your love of photography, art and all things beautiful, for your love and commitment to God.

God bless you and keep you and give you peace.

This pix is dedicated to you.

Pix: by Choy Su-Ling