(R) April 28, 2005 - Krishen Jit

Krishen Jit returned to the Lord on April 28, 2005.

When I arrived at Changi enroute to KL, I received a flood of messages informing me of his death. I was stunned and felt deeply saddened. What a lost! Already Malaysia is so short of talent and intellectuals. I knew of his heart failure and that he was in and out of the hospital. But I was betting on him to pull through. A man of great spirit. Of course he'd make it, I reasoned.

****

My first encounter with Krishen was 2 years ago. I do not know him personally but have spoken to him once during a Q&A session in a dance seminar. (Refer to article "October 2, 2003 - Diversity in Motion")

When he declared that "Dance writing in Malaysia is deplorable!", I challenged myself to improve my writing. Now, 2 years and many, many articles later, I had hope he would say, "There is a small glimmer of hope at last!".

****

Learn. Learn from those who has so much to offer as soon as you can.

(T) April 9, 2005 - Monkey Business

Like most experiments, it takes many wrongs before we get a right. And Monkey Business is just learning how to swing.

Everything about this production spelt “experiment” – from the order of appearance of items, to the way the instruments were handled, positioned and repositioned, and to the incorporation of other genres of performing arts. A work-in-progress was staged. This is not to say that the performers were ill-rehearsed, but rather, the ideas are not fully formed and it would take years before the artists are to be accomplished in the new styles under development.

Rhythm in Bronze (RIB) has made a name for itself by experimenting with new styles within its genre. Sunetra Fernando, artistic director, composer and ethnomusicologist, had pioneered the emergence of a Malaysian gamelan with a global resonance.

Now, moving on to the next plane of experimentation, RIB is breaking boundaries by going cross-genres, incorporating voice, drama and dance.

If you put the production under a microscope, you would find some amazing breakthroughs in the process of evolving gamelan. Two very important questions are: how many ways could gamelan come to the fore instead of remaining accompaniment; and how could a symbiosis be created between gamelan and other genres of performing arts?

RIB also found new ways of producing sounds from the traditional instruments, specifically the bonangs (bronze kettles). The bonangs were inverted and filled with water, rubbed around its rim, taken “out of the box” literally, or were simply hit very hard to create new sounds.

Purists and traditionalists would jump from their graves or seats, and say, “Ladies, have more respect for the instruments please!”

But such is the business of evolution – to adapt and change; this message was sung in a wholesome manner by Sunetra in the opening piece entitled From Here to There. She croons,

Bagaikan ditelan gangsa
Ke depan tidak, ke belakang jangan
Bagaimana ada pembaharuan
tanpa silam?

Putting theology aside briefly, Neanderthals precedes Man. Grateful as we are for their initiating existence, we surely do not wish to remain in the original state. So, on that note, Sunetra chose to head forward with her obsession.

There were eight pieces altogether, performed in almost random order. In addition to Sunetra’s piece, there were His Face, Her Eyes (by Jillian Ooi), 180 Degrees (by Sharmini S. Ratnasingam), Carbon (by Susan Sarah John), Main-Main in Details (by Mohd. Sobri Anuar), Single Soul (by Ann Salina Peter), There Was This Dream (by Melvin Ho) and Borderless (by Bernard Goh).

Of the eight pieces, Borderless was my favourite while the other pieces seemed to be trying too hard to be "unique".

Despite having experienced only a very “tempurung” world of gamelan, I shall attempt to offer some observations on the basis of how gamelan moves away as accompaniment and moves toward symbiosis.

Gamelan and Voice

Gamelan and voice actually worked very well together. This does not refer to singing accompanied by the gamelan. Firstly, this concept is not new. And secondly, the ability to sing is another talent altogether, which takes many years to hone.

Gamelan and voice works when the musicians both play their respective instruments and sing at the same time. This form of singing is communal in nature and does not require talent. I am very tempted to call this form “Dikir Gamelan” – the sitting down in a group, singing, and playing percussions stylised with upper body movements.

Very often, gamelan musicians would sit quietly in a corner while some dance or drama or singing takes place on centre stage. Now, the singing musicians take centre stage.

Gamelan and Dance

Gamelan and dance could have been exploited further. By this, I do not mean that more dance should be incorporated, accompanied by gamelan. A symbiosis must take place so that gamelan and dance are wholly entrenched.

The Korean drum dance is a good example. The performers are trained to dance and play music at once. These two elements simply cannot be taken apart.

The drummers from the Hands Percussion Team understood this concept better. After all, Chinese drummers had long been infusing movements and acrobatics into its drumming sequence.

However, it is difficult to take this concept whole because the gamelan is made up of various instruments, some, less portable than others.

I also turn to the Hand Bell Choir in my church as an example of how gamelan and dance can be further exploited. There are many hand bells and each carries a note. The choir comprise of a few musicians and each one of them is in charge of two to three notes. To play a tune, tremendous concentration and coordination is required from each musician.

With Gamelan, the same concept can be applied to instruments that can be “taken apart” such as the bonang. In one instance, the bonangs were “taken apart” and we saw Judimar run about the stage to hit them, coming in at certain points of the score. We also saw two performers moving along the line-up of gongs to play a melody. This is uncommon because gongs are not the melody bearers in a gamelan. Taking the gambang apart would be a nightmare!

Gamelan and Drama

This combination fared the worst in this production. Again, acting requires a different sort of talent and vigorous training to boot. On several occasions, it was fairly obvious that one who plays music may not necessarily know how to act.

The themed fillers were interesting and funny at first but later lost its allure when it became predictable.

Each composer seemed to be sharing their own experience with gamelan but I'm still not sure as to how each item in the production relates to the title "Monkey Business". As a whole, the production lacked clarity.

*****

Can a musician also be a dancer, an actor and a singer all at once? Nothing is impossible. However, this is reasonably not achievable within the span of time that they took to put up Monkey Business.

(Monkey Business was put together by Rhythm in Bronze, Five Arts Centre and The Actors Studio)

It is with regret that I jot this. On this day, 11 April 2005, Cikgu Ahmad Omar, joget gamelan maestro from Kuala Trengganu, succumbed to bone cancer.

(D) April 3, 2005 - Finks by Leni-Basso

LAST week, Malaysian dance enthusiasts feasted on Finks, a critically-acclaimed contemporary dance performance by Leni-Basso, a Japanese dance company. The show was organised by the Japan Foundation, Kuala Lumpur, and co-organised by The Actors Studio Bangsar.

Akiko Kitamura, who is artistic director and choreographer of the company, created Finks along the theme of “communication by discommunication”. The hour-long piece, performed by Akiko and seven others, explored the possibility of communication in dance.

The choreography, which worked hand-in-hand with multimedia, did grasp some of the key concepts of communication.

Four cameras, supported by microphone stands, were positioned at the four corners of the stage. In the background were two huge screens, placed side by side. The stage was bare except for chairs that the dancers brought on and took off with them.

While waiting for the show to start, the audience were teased with pre-recorded images of an empty Actors Studio.

In line with the theme, I was reminded of two ideas expounded by media guru Marshall McLuhan: “the medium is the message”, and “the media are extensions of man”.

McLuhan’s first idea is based on the premise that the “content” of any medium is always another medium. If dance is the medium of the human body, then movement is its content.

Throughout Finks, we saw “hesitation”, “restraint” and “obstruction” in the dance vocabulary. When these movements persisted, “discommunication” was the result. Subsequently, the dance and dancers also became the content of the different media.

A pre-recorded dance sequence shown on screen was shortly actualised on stage. This teased the audience’s expectations. When the screen events were not played out on stage, they felt a sense of being denied. This technique dislodged our logical “cause and effect” thought process, resulting in a somewhat disorientating yet refreshingly engaging effect.

Concurrent events captured and projected on the screens were rare – this only occurred when dancers, one by one, went up to the cameras and looked them in the “eye”.

The “media are extensions of man” idea was evident in the interplay between the three mediums: dancer, lighting, and multimedia. Through these, the dancers were able to “reproduce” themselves in the form of shadows and video images.

Consciously, we knew there was one dancer. But our senses accepted the presence of three figures dancing on stage (dancer, shadow, and video image), in different sizes and densities.

The key to this piece was the cohesive effort of dance and multimedia to create expectations, and then block or terminate them.

Early theories that the mass media is an influential tool held true, too. No matter how “active” (as opposed to passive) we assumed the audience to be, the messages did not reach them on the intellectual or rational level. As such, they were susceptible to the emotional and intuitive effects the performance had on them. In Finks, there was no storyline, yet the audience could not help but be affected by the movements and collective visual effects.

The choreography itself was presented in several sections. In the beginning, the dancers entered the stage, acknowledged the presence of the cameras, then left. The first phase saw them accumulating energy in their bodies, which tingled and shivered with excitement. There was a sense of wanting to do more with this new-found power but the bodies were unprepared and self-conscious. Akiko’s style, in her solo part, had a sense of funk, executed in a restrained manner.

The next phase very obviously showed the dancers being released from this restraint. One could almost see them fly. The music was now furious, in accordance with the movements. With the energy released, the dancers found they could not contain themselves. They flung their limbs in all directions and thrashed about on the floor.

Once they gained control of this power, the dancers became selfish and possessive. This was depicted with some sense of humour – they clung to their chairs and refused to share them with others. A male dancer who tried to find his seat – or perhaps his place in society – was rejected, ostracised and mocked.

A “fink” is defined as a person you dislike. This could explain the hostility the dancers had towards each other in the final section. There was no sense of co-operation and affection among them and the dance eventually ended in violence.

The use of multimedia in dance is not new, even in Malaysia. However, the kind of cohesiveness between the two elements, as shown by Leni-Basso, has yet to be explored here.

The standard of the dancers in Finks is not exceptional. In fact, I’ve seen local dancers who can perform just as well, if not better.

But our choreographers could do well to exercise both the physical and mental aspects of dance.

(M) March 13, 2005 - Gambus Jazz

THE fourth of the Avanti Friday Night Jazz Series on March 4 showcased Farid Ali & Friends, who gave an enticing performance.

A guitarist, Farid fuses modern jazz with the traditional gambus (Malay lute). His electric gambus was crafted by luthier Jeffrey Yong of GIM Custom Guitar, and bears his name on its chest.

“The gambus was invented some 3000 years ago. It only arrived in Malaysia in the 13th and 14th centuries,” said Farid. “Some scholars even claimed that it was invented by the sixth grandson of Adam.”

The gambus is made of wood (hence the name oud). But unlike the guitar, it has 12 strings and no frets-ridges on the fingerboard.

“One can play the gambus by reading notes written in the Western notation system (treble clef) except that there are quarter tones and micro tones (similar to Indian ragas).”

Farid has evolved gambus-playing in three ways – by infusing it with jazz; by introducing an electric gambus; and by playing it standing. Traditionally, a gambus player in a ghazal would play the instrument sitting on the floor.

Fusing traditional instruments with western music is, of course, not a new idea. Ravi Shankar, the Indian sitar maestro, introduced Indian music to the world when he collaborated with The Beatles in the 60s. In fact, so well received are these “sounds” now that they have been adopted into the mainstream rock and alternative genres.

Farid attempts to introduce the concept of Jazz Gambus to local and international audiences, using the same successful formula.

At the Friday Night Jazz performance, he was accompanied by some of Malaysia’s best home-grown talents – Eric Li on keyboards, David Yee on bass, John Thomas on drums, and Kamarul on (traditional) percussion.

Together, these “friends” helped Farid prove that a traditional instrument like the gambus can be combined with piano, modern drums and guitars to produce great jazz.

All in, the group performed 15 pieces, including Farid’s original compositions as well as his interpretations of jazz standards. Among the former are Thank You & Goodbye, Zapin Blues, The Gift of Love, Heartstrings, Love You More, We’re All the Same, Deep Within Me and Peace & Friendship. These can be found in his CD, Turning Point, released late last year.

The jazz standards and classics that the group delivered were Moody’s Mood, Ain’t No Sunshine, Billy’s Bounce, Close to You, and Route 66. The gambus injected a kind of freshness into the first two songs.

I found Billy’s Bounce particularly interesting as strings took the limelight. The gambus and bass duet was at once a contrast of high and deep sounds, yet they gelled effortlessly.

Heartstrings was a romantic and emotional piece, as its title suggests. With Farid on electric guitar, the piece started off with asli melody (a Malay music genre) and progressed to samba (Brazilian), then ended with asli again.

Not wanting to knock the audience out with too much oud, he then picked up his electric guitar and introduced more vocals after the intermission. And what do you know? This guitarist can sing!

The audience was hooked the moment he belted out English, Malay and Indonesian numbers. His concluding item, Route 66, was smooth. It was certainly one of the better renditions I’ve heard throughout the Friday Jazz Nights.

(R) Tabulation 101 for Judges

In my view, the judging process can be sub-divided into two sections:
1. Scoring - done by Judges (Music, Dance, Theatre)
2. Tabulation – done by Award Organiser for all Judging categories

Scoring

Objectivity (30%)
§ Scoring methods differ from category to category (Music, Dance, Theatre) because of the nature of each category

§ Throughout the year, Judges attend performances and enter scores into Score Sheets. Each category has a different Score Sheet. These were developed after much debate on basic principles, parameters, criteria, exceptions, etc. The Score Sheet is also constantly being improved or updated in view of current trends or oversight

§ Judges also adhere to guidelines provided by Award Organiser – Judging Processes and Judging Criteria – which are updated year to year

§ A minimum of 5 judges must attend each performance to ensure that all shows are fairly represented

Subjectivity (70%)
§ The Judges come from a variety of music/dance/theatre-related backgrounds

§ Each Judge has the subjective and creative right to assign a score that he/she deems fit. They also have the right to PMS, bad hair days, and other forms of emotional imbalance due to social/political/economic impact in their personal lives.

§ At the end of the Award Year, all Judges would submit the scores of all the shows they have judged to the Award Organiser

Tabulation

Objectivity (90%)
§ The Award Organiser collects scores from all judges from each category and tabulates the scores with one standard methodology

§ The calculation - for each show, the Award Organiser adds up the scores given by all the judges and divides it with the number of judges who judged the show. The average of the scores is the final score of each show

§ The top 5 scorers for each Award Category (Best Dancer, Best Script, etc) will make it to the nomination list

Subjectivity (10%)
§ The Award Organiser reveals the nomination list to all Judges over a half-day sitting (by category)

§ Award Organiser and Judges debate over the nomination list over grey areas. The nomination list is finalised once both parties come to an agreement


Commonly Asked Tabulation Questions by Judges

1. What happens when there are not enough Judges to judge a performance?

Let’s revisit the minimum number (5) of Judges criterion:

As earlier stated, there should be a minimum number of Judges judging a show for fair representation.

For the mathematical rational, please refer to The Law of Large Numbers. This law states that the larger the size of a random sample, the more it approximates the true population and the smaller the amount of error (and, thus, a smaller confidence interval).

In relation to scoring, let’s say in a competition there are:

100 judges and scores
You can be quite sure that the final score is significant and represents the views of population

10 judges and scores
The scores represent the views of a percentage of the population, so you can’t really be sure that these views represent the entire population. However, in the absence of large numbers, this would suffice

1 judge and score
Whether the scores are high, low or medium, you really cannot be sure at all that this score represents the views of the population. One or two persons should not dictate the views of the population

It does not matter how the judges score (high, low or medium), the number of judges scoring affects the credibility and the accuracy of the final score when tabulated.


2. What happens when there are extreme scores?

Each Judge has the subjective and creative right to score as they please. Hence, the argument on how they score has no basis.

However, this question can be answered objectively. The Award Organiser uses the system of average (mean only) to tabulate the scores.

There are two methods of finding the average of scores – Mean and Median.

Mean – this is used when scores are centrally distributed (scores that are more or less similar).

Median – this method is used when scores are highly skewed positively/negatively (extreme scores).

Judges---------- 1-----2-----3-----4-----5----Mean--Median
Extreme score--28-------------------------------28---------28
Extreme score--10-------------------------------10---------10
Extreme score--28---26---24----27----11----23.2-------26.0
Extreme score--10----9----12----14----29---14.8-------12.0
Similar scores--28----26---24----27---25----26.0-------26.0
Similar scores--10-----9---12----14----15-----12.0------ 12.0

Let’s look at the simulation above. When there is only one Judge (Law of Large Numbers), there is no choice but to take the score that the Judge had given – the average is the same as the given score itself so there is no credibility.

Let’s look at the minimal 5 Judges with one Judge scoring extremely low (11). By using Mean to calculate, the score is pulled down by 2.8 points even though the other 4 judges (Law of Large Numbers) feel that the performance deserves more merit. By using Median to calculate the average, this would give you the true average that is reflected by the majority of the Judges.

Likewise with the one Judge that gives an extremely high score (29). By using Mean to calculate, the score is pulled up by 2.8 points even though the other 4 judges (Law of Large Numbers) feel that the performance does NOT deserve the merit. By using Median to calculate the average, this would give you the true average that is reflected by the majority of the Judges.

Look at the last two samples where scores are almost similar (high or low). Judges are in agreement that a particular show is good or bad. Observe the scores tabulated by using Median. It reflects the views of the majority more accurately (26 at high; 12 at low for both Extreme scores and Similar scores models).

Recommendation: Use Median to obtain the average score, not Mean

3. How come this undeserving performance/individual made it to the nomination list? I did not score him well!

The answer to question 2 answers this somewhat – tabulating the scores by using Mean pulls up or pulls down the true average score resulting in some surprises in the nomination list.

The following explanation bring up another problem:

Assuming that we have calculated all the scores for each performance, we move on to rank the scores. The Average is obtained by using Median.

Judges ----------1--- 2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---10---Average
Performance 1--22--27-25--26--24-------------------------------25
Performance 2--22--26-24--26--24-21--25----------------------24
Performance 3--22--26-24--25--23-21--25--23--26--21------23.5
Performance 4--22--26-24--25--23-21--27--25---------------- 24.5

Nomination List------ Scores---- No. of Judges
Performance 1---------------25----------------5
Performance 4---------------24.5-------------8
Performance 2---------------24---------------7
Performance 3---------------23.5-------------10

The scores are rank from the highest to lowest numbers.

Now, let’s look at all the scores from an Algebra perspective (or "Pecahan" rather?) (25/5, 24.5/8, 24/7 and 23.5/10):

Performance--------1---------4---------2---------3
Scores------------------25------24.5------24------23.5
---------------------------5---------8---------7-------10
-------------------------Apple--Orange--Durian--Banana

How can you tell if the actual value of 25/5 is larger or smaller than 24/7; or how can you tell if the actual value of each of these scores are larger or smaller than the other? It would be comparing apple with orange with durian with banana.

First, you need to normalise the base number (compare apples with apples). In this case, the base number is 280.

Performance------------1--------4--------2--------3
Scores (face value)-------25------24.5----24------23.5
-------------------------------5--------8--------7-------10
----------------------------Apple--Orange--Durian-Banana
Scores (actual value)---1400----858------960----658
------------------------------280----280------280----280
-----------------------------Apple--Apple---Apple--Apple
-------------------------=-----5-----3.06-----3.43---2.35
Actual Nomination List
Performance-------------1--------2--------4-------3
Scores (actual value)------5------3.43----3.06-----2.35
Scores (face value)--------25------24------24.5----23.5


Based on this calculation, it is clear that the scores on face value (how the judges score) does not reflect the actual value (considers both how the judges score AND the number of judges scoring).

See how the rank of the performances shifts (Performance 2 is now higher than Performance 4) after the scores are properly tabulated. The shifts can vary from one rank up/down to several ranks up/down. Some good shows are eliminated from/bad shows make it into the nominee list simply because the ranking is done by face value.


3. How about the issue on live judging and video judging?

Some Judges feel that the ‘live’ experience can influence the impact of the performance and hence the scores. While others feel that watching the performance on video enables the Judges to replay moments missed out while watching a performance live. This issue also came about because some Judges are not able to attend the performances but yet still want to Judge.

The first way to resolve this issue is to come to an agreement that Judges should exercise professionalism in Judging regardless of whether it’s judged live or video.

The above is a subjective exercise.

Objectively, this can be resolved by computing the mean and standard deviation of the set of scores obtained by live judging (x-score) and video judging (y-score) and compute the standard scores (z-scores) of the x and y scores.

z-scores allow us to compare scores obtained from totally different methods; they allow for comparisons of “apples and oranges”.

(References:
A big thank you to
· Dr Teoh Hsien-Jin (bet you didn’t know that he’s Meng Jin’s brother!)
· Dr Scott (US)
· and the anonymous fresh graduate of a genius Electrical Engineer

… for vetting through and affirming the simulation/model of scores that I’ve created in my bid to offer one way of tabulating scores. There are of course many other ways to tabulate. Please feel free to offer your knowledge and share your model.

· Mass Media Research: An Introduction
· Investigating Communication: An Introduction to Research Methods)

(R) Another Letter from Inland Revenue

Dear Break-A-Leg,

We wish to remind you again that you are not contributing to the growth of the nation and it is regrettable that we have to reimburse you with the 'miscalculated' amount of RMXXXX.XX.

Once again, we regret that a cheque will be coming your way soon.

Thanks and regards,
Will-Definitely-Tax-You-Soon

(This letter is true but rephrased. ...Woo hoo! Show me the money!)

(D) February 20, 2005: Spellbound

THE Hindi word parampara roughly translates as an identifiable style of dance. For a Malaysian dance school to come up with its own distinct and identifiable style of odissi, the ancient Indian classical dance form, is pretty amazing. But that seems to be what Sutra Dance Theatre has done.

Sutra’s founder and artistic director, Ramli Ibrahim, has been pushing for recognition and affirmation of odissi’s roots in Malaysian soil for almost two decades. He’s worked at educating Malaysians about one of the most beautiful classical dances in the world, and has taken odissi performances around the country three times. This year’s Spellbound – Odissi Live is his fourth effort, and has so far appeared in Langkawi, Penang, Ipoh, Seremban, Johor Baru, and Kuala Lumpur; in March, it appears in Singapore.

From what I saw at Istana Budaya on Wednesday night, I think I can say that, after 18 years of hard work, Ramli can now lay claim to establishing his own parampara with a Malaysian identity that still manages to remain true to the dance form’s Indian origin.

Using Istana Budaya’s sophisticated stage to full effect, the production combined dance, music and imagery with the use of multimedia technology. Images of temples and sculptures from Orissa in India from where odissi originates were projected to mesmerising effect onto a screen at mid-stage.

Sutra’s set and lighting designer, Sivarajah Natarajan, created a wonderful see-through effect with the images so that, sometimes, dancers standing behind the screen looked superimposed on the projected images; on other occasions, the images seemed hollow and the dancers looked as if they were posing inside the temples.
Through these larger-than-life images, Ramli was trying to say that odissi from Orissa has indeed come to life in Malaysia, its presence duly seen and felt.

Spellbound was segmented into six parts: Mangala Caranam, Pallavi (Rag: Mukhari), Ashta Sambhu, Krishna Tandava, Ashta Nayika and Aditya Archana. During most of these segments, the stage was set at two levels with the inner part raised and filled with temple arches and columns.

Mangala Caranam is an invocatory dance dedicated to the Goddess Saraswati, goddess of revelation, song, myth, art and learning. The dance started off slow and sensual and surrounded with images of fluorescent, flying lotuses created by lighting in the background. This first dance is simple and introduces basic odissi movements such as sculptural poses, the chowka (square positions) and some bhava (expression).

The Pallavi was executed by four primary female dancers and one male dancer. This is mainly a pure dance exposition in which Ramli elaborates on the movements of odissi and the use of space. The poses in this segment were more challenging as they required the element of balance. Perhaps not quite warmed up yet, some of the dancers struggled to keep that balance. In a series of lyrical movements, the tribhanga (three bends of head, torso and hip) was observed when the dancers were in movement as well as when stationary. As if to show a contrast, arm movements were not only circular and fluid, but also angular and interruptive.

This was followed by Ashta Sambhu, a piece on the god Siva that unveiled eight-fold forms describing his divine attributes and recounting his triumphs. This piece utilised only a very small space on stage and, except for entries and exits, the dancers mainly moved within the confines of the spotlight that shone on centre stage. Ramli was the male lead and was supported by some of the younger Sutra dancers to support him in a piece that involved substantial drama in telling the story of Siva.

“This piece is very masculine,” explained Ramli after the performance. “The dancers I selected have not had more than one and a half years of odissi training, hence they are still very pure in their approach. At this young age, they are also not that aware of their femininity yet.”

Krishna Tandava is a composition by the late Guru Deba Prasad Das whose parampara Ramli had inherited. It is a work that celebrates the god Krishna. This piece is most colourful in terms of costume. Both the male dancers, Ramli and Praveen Nair, wore headdresses of peacock feathers just like the one that adorned Krishna’s head in the paintings that were projected onstage before the piece began. Krishna was depicted by lifting both hands to the right side as if holding a flute. Flautist Abhiram Nanda, part of the live orchestra accompanying the performances, led this piece and took the opportunity to shrill the flute excitedly.

“Ramli’s style is outspoken, masculine, filled with adrenaline, crisp and dynamic,” said Geetha Shankaran, one of Ramli’s former students and now a full time odissi teacher at the Temple of Fine Arts.

Ramli is aware that others share the same opinion, hence his decision to insert a sensual piece, Ashta Nayika, during which eight female dancers enact the dramatic situations into which nayikas (heroines or maidens) get themselves.

This abhinaya (expressive) item – which was mostly the work of January Low, another Ramli student who has made a name for herself – was rather lengthy, not to mention difficult. The dancers have to display their mastery over the various rasa (moods), especially sringara (the mood of love), and use an intricate language composed of facial expressions, hand gestures, and body movements to convey their meaning. In this piece, the dancers interacted with each other. Sometimes, two events took place simultaneously (related or not), one on the front of the stage and the other on the raised platform behind.

This item is best watched in Sutra’s open-air theatre in Kuala Lumpur where the audience can be close to the dancers. At Istana Budaya, much of the mood of this piece was lost on those seated too far away to see the dancers properly, much less connect with them.

The last item, Aditya Archana, broke away from the conventional moksha (final item in an odissi performance). In form, it was different but in meaning, it paralleled the concept of liberation in Hinduism. The form it took is that of Ramli’s parampara: odissi with an infusion of modern dance and ballet, forms in which Ramli was trained.

“The modern and ballet training helps to improve our posture and make our bodies fitter. It provides the muscular conditioning that is absent in classical training,” said Low. “It helps us with spatial understanding.”
The theme in this concluding piece centred on worshipping the sun. The modern elements were used well to model an image of flickering sunrays and the ebb and flow of the ocean on which the sun shone in mid-rise. While some movements were beautifully reconstructed and restyled, one part of the sun salutation act looked too much like a convenient cut and paste of an entire yoga warm-up sequence.

Overall, the dancers exuded confidence on stage and were well rehearsed – though, perhaps, balance, body alignment and synchronisation could be improved on.

Noteworthy were the Orissan musicians: Sukanda Kumar Kundu (vocalist), Guru Dhaneswar Swain (mardal), Abhiram Nanda (flute), Niranjan Biswal (violin) and Swapneswar Chakraborty (sitar).

(R) Kissed on Valentine's Day

(... by a 3-ton lorry no less, last year. Already maleless and flowerless, that incident also rendered the author penniless and carless.

This year, still maleless and flowerless, she resolves to stay home and maintain her NCD.

Happy Valentine's everyone! @;-- )

(R) Letter from Inland Revenue

Dear Break-A-Leg,

We regret to inform you that we are not able to yet again tax you this year due to insufficient revenue on your part.

Kindly work harder and make yourself useful, and duly fulfill your long overdue obligation to give back to the nation.

Thanks and regards,
Tax-You-Soon

(The letter is true but rephrased.... Meanwhile, the author has set up the Break-A-Leg Poverty Eradication Fund. She welcomes ang pows especially this time of the year. Thanks and Happy Chinese New Year! :) )

(T) Feb 4, 2005 - Hamlet

Cerita Hamlet yang dipentaskan baru-baru ini oleh Actor’s Studio merupakan versi yang bukan sahaja dimodenkan malah dimuhibahkan; tetapi, yang paling berani, di“bahasamelayu”kan. Ini merupakan kali ketiga Faridah Merican mementaskan Hamlet dalam Bahasa Melayu.

Usaha ini boleh dikatakan “berani” kerana sudah kita tahu bahawa makna sebenar sesebuah karya akan mudah hilang dalam proses penterjemahan.

Dan “berani” kerana sudah kita tahu bahawa sesebuah puisi ataupun sajak yang dipena dalam sesuatu bahasa seringkali dihasilkan dalam konteks patos dan budaya tempat dimana penulis berasal.

Hamlet, dalam bentuk asalnya, diiktiraf sebagai salah satu hasil kerja Shakespeare yang paling masyur kerana kemahiran bahasanya. Beberapa frasa dalam karya ini merupakan yang paling popular dan paling banyak digunakan dalam teater ataupun dalam percakapan harian.

Misalnya, frasa “To be, or not to be: that is the question...” telah diterjemahkan sebagai, “Bertindak atau tidak? Itulah persoalannya” dan bukannya “Jadi atau tak jadi? Itulah persoalannya?” dimana “bertindak” adalah lebih tepat berbanding dengan “jadi” dalam konteks ucapan Hamlet tersebut. Namun demikian, terdapat juga beberapa bahagian yang tidak sempurna terjemahannya.

Jadi, bagi saya, orang yang paling penting dalam produksi ini ialah Penulis Skrip yang boleh membuat penterjemahan dan penulisan semula yang setepat-tepatnya dapat menginterpretasikan objektif dan makna disebalik pengarahan Hamlet dalam Bahasa Melayu. Tetapi, peliknya, peranan ini tidak dinyatakan dalam program.

Tugas Sobri Anuar sebagai Pelatih Dialog memang mencabar. Watak-watak utama – Hamlet (Gavin Yap), Claudius (Reza Zainal Abidin) dan Polonius (Patrick Teoh) - dalam produksi ini dimainkan oleh pelakon-pelakon yang lebih senang dengan Bahasa Inggeris. Selain itu, dia perlu melatih pelakon menutur Bahasa Melayu seperti yang ditutur oleh pelbagai bangsa – Melayu, Cina dan India.

Bimbingannya yang baik menonjol apabila pelakon-pelakon Hamlet cukup fasih dan lincar penuturan mereka. Gavin Yap, terutamanya, berjaya mengkagumkan para audien dengan persembahannya yang baik, manakala Patrick Teoh dan Christina Orow jelas menggagap. Oleh itu, kualiti penuturan dan sekaligus kualiti lakonan adalah saling menjejas.

Kebanyakan dialog diucap terlalu pantas. Kemungkinan besar penterjemahan yang tidak tepat menghasilkan ayat-ayat yang begitu panjang berbanding dengan bahasa asalnya dan untuk menghabiskan persembahan dalam masa yang suntuk, pelakon-pelakon terpaksa berucap dengan begitu pantas. Malah, ada juga babak yang dikeluarkan untuk memendekkan jangka masa persembahan. Malangnya, audien susah menikmati atau menghargai pementasan ini apabila dialog tidak dapat ditangkap.

Selain daripada itu, terdapat juga masalah dengan penggunaan bahasa. Sebaiknya, bahasa yang indah tidak harus dicemari. Misalnya, jika bahasa istana digunakan, maka seluruh ayat ataupun dialog tersebut haruslah mempunyai sifat tersebut dan tidak harus dicampuradukkan dengan bahasa rakyat.

Walaubagaimanapun, pengecualian diberi apabila penggunaan bahasa disengajakan untuk menghasilkan kesan kelucuan. Misalnya, apabila Si Penggali Kubur (Nell Ng) mencampuradukkan Bahasa Cina dalam penggunaan Bahasa Melayu.

Jika tidak disengajakan untuk tujuan jenaka, kelucuan akan tetap timbul tetapi tidak kena pada tempatnya. Misalnya, dalam babak terakhir dimana semua watak mati, Horatio, dalam penggunaan dialeknya telah menimbulkan kelucuan yang tidak sesuai dengan suasana tragis itu.

Contoh tersebut hanya merupakan salah satu daripada beberapa contoh yang menyebabkan Hamlet, yang sepatutnya sebuah “tragedi”, dikomedikan dan terus hilang unsur-unsur tragis yang perlu untuk melahirkan perasaan simpati terhadap watak Hamlet serta memberi rasa tragedi kepada pementasan ini.

Tidak salah jika memasuki unsur-unser jenaka dalam pementasan ini. Horatio (Wan Kanari Ibrahim) dan Pelakon-Pelakon Upahan (Joseph Gonzales dan Nell Ng) telah berjaya menggunakan jenaka dengan baik untuk menceriakan keseluruhan persembahan.

Dari segi perwatakan, Gavin sebagai Hamlet berjaya menimbulkan konflik dalaman yang dihadapi watak tersebut. Sharifah Amani Yahya yang mengambil watak Ophelia tidak dapat menonjolkan perbezaan yang ketara dalam wataknya sebelum dan selepas kematian ayahnya, Polonius. Cara percakapan dan sifatnya, serta jatuh naik nadanya hampir sama melainkan ia lebih kuat atau lebih cepat sahaja (selepas kematian Polonius).

Joseph nampaknya lebih sesuai untuk watak yang lucu. Tetapi sebagai ‘hantu’, dia gagal menimbulkan rasa seram dan serius dalam babaknya. Watak Horatio, yang dipegang oleh Wan Kanari Ibrahim, yang sepatutnya lebih intelektual. Ini tidak disebabkan oleh lakonan yang buruk tetapi kerana penggunaan dialek yang dengan tidak sengaja menyifatkannya sebagai seorang yang lebih kasar dan lucu.

Dalam teater moden, seseorang Pengarah sudah pasti akan menggunakan peralatan-peralatan moden untuk menimbulkan suasana yang sesuai untuk mengindahkan lagi pementasan. Oleh kerana teks Hamlet sudah kaya dengan kiasan, maka penghiasan pentas, pencahayaan serta kostum boleh diringkaskan.

Unsur-unsur moden tertera dalam penghiasaan pentas (pentas atas pentas yang bertangga dan putih), kostum (baju kontemporari) dan peralatan lakonan (senapang).

Muzik yang digunakan yang terdiri daripada pelbagai alat-alat paluan sesuai untuk versi Hamlet yang disesuaikan untuk rasa tempatan. Akan tetapi, komposisi yang sama diulangi dalam beberapa babak. Sudah nyata tidak banyak masa diluang menyesuaikan muzik dengan babak.

Pengarahan Faridah kali ini kelihatan longgar dan beliau perlu lebih prihatin dalam segala aspek produksi. Bagi kumpulan teater yang profesional, sudah tentu audien mengharapkan pementasan yang lebih bermutu.

Begitulah kritikan untuk Hamlet....

“Jika tidak sekarang, kemudian datangnya; jika tidak kemudian, sekarang datangnya, namun datangnya pasti.”

Sekian.

(...nasib baik tak buang Kamus Dwibahasa you....)

(D) Jan 29, 2005 - Bharatanatyam Ipoh

AN arts connoisseur living in the Klang Valley can usually indulge in a veritable feast of visual and performing arts events throughout the year. Arts practitioners, too, have it pretty good: the population is large enough that there is a real demand for the arts, there is exposure to works of international standard, even enough money around for some artistes to work full time at their craft.

If you're trying to pursue your passion outside the Klang Valley, though, it's a different story. Ask Sri Santiago Samathanam and Sudha Sasikumar, principals of Natyakalamandhir and Nritya Kalanjali dance schools respectively in Ipoh.

Santiago juggles a full time job, time with his family, and teaching dance and running the school. Sudha, who joined her husband when he was posted to Kuala Lumpur three years ago, travels north twice a week to teach her students.

These two principals' schools are among the more active of the handful of classical Indian dance schools in Perak with both teachers sending their students to Kuala Lumpur to take part in public performances, such as Alarippu to Moksha 2005. In its fourth year, this annual event organised by Ramli Ibrahim's Sutra Dance Theatre showcases students from classical Indian dance schools around the country.

It was a welcome opportunity for these students to perform, and a rare one at that. While there are opportunities to perform in Ipoh, of course, they tend to be limited to corporate and state functions, say the teachers. In a dancer's long journey towards growth, maturity and perfection, much more needs to be done and experienced.

They need events like Alarippu to Moksha (which, by the way, means “from the beginning to the end”) to give them sorely needed exposure to what's happening in their field so they can grow. This is the third consecutive time students from Santiago's school are taking part, and the principal says he has, indeed, seen tremendous improvement in his students.

“When my students watch students from other schools perform and interact with other teachers, they learn more and mature with the exposure,” he said.

Indeed, it was Santiago's students who gave one of the more innovative performances in this year’s Alarippu to Moksha. Keen to expand new ideas within bharatanatyam, he infused a Christian theme into the classical Indian dance form in a piece called Christubhagavatam.

His piece is an extension of the pioneering efforts of Indian dancer Dr Francis Barboza, who began exploring Christian themes through bharatanatyam in 1980 and created Christian hasta (gestures) for the principle figures in Christianity. These hastas were carefully applied in Santiago’s production, which detailed the life of Jesus Christ from birth till resurrection.

While Santiago's piece explored new gestures, Sudha’s focused more on expression. Bhavna (meaning “expression”), which showcased the young talent emerging from her rank of senior students, challenged the dancers' ability to express subtle nuances with composure and dignity.

Both pieces showed just why these teachers have made names for themselves in the northern region.

For Sri Santiago Samathanam, teaching classical Indian dance in Ipoh is a labour of love.Santiago, who has been teaching for 20 years, is now a guru to 35 students and hopes to establish a natya (dance) ashram where all dance enthusiasts can learn this divine art and transcend relifious, racial and language barriers.

Sudha founded Nritya Kalanjali in 1996 and has, over the years, produced some of the most promising young talents in the region, dancers who have won awards and accolades for their polished performances.

“Some parents still feel that dance would get in the way of studies. However, this is not true,” said Sudha firmly. “Dance, in fact, gives the child mental relaxation and physical fitness. A child who dances is very focused and disciplined. One of my older students scored seven A’s for her PMR last year. In fact, in India, it is not uncommon to find that some of the more established dancers are PhD holders and doctors,” she pointed out.

But things are changing, she notes, saying that parents are becoming aware of the importance of cultivating an interest in art and culture in their children.

(M) January 25, 2005 - Classic vs Modern, Chinese Classical Orchestra

An interest in blow jobs led me to one of the most exhilarating experiences in my life – playing the Di Zhi (Chinese flute) for a wonderful 2 years with University Malaya’s Classical Chinese Orchestra.

Attending their concert for the first time this year after many years brought back fond memories. They have grown leaps and bounds, I thought, beaming a little with pride.

The orchestra was initiated by a small group of twenty students in 1967 who were members of the Chinese Language Society at the university. They were led by Mr Ng Chun Poh, a lecturer from the Mathematics department of the Science Faculty. Ng, a competent Erhu player, was both teacher and conductor to the small group.

As the years grew, the orchestra was recognised by the Cultural Centre of University Malaya and came under its wing in 1981. Besides the annual concert and Music Camp, their activities have extended to playing for other university events such as Orientation Night and Tanglung Festival. With its member base growing as well as its activities, the Chinese Cultural Society was formed last year (2004) to manage the orchestra better.

In the early years, the orchestra faced with many challenges. Not only did they not have proper place to practice, they also could not afford to purchase all the instruments that makes up an orchestra. Over the years, they’ve held concerts to raise funds, and have now managed to acquire most of the musical instruments. They now possess a complete range of string, woodwind and percussion instruments.

The availability of these instruments has many important consequences. First, more students have the opportunity to learn and they can select the instrument of their choice. Secondly, it allows the orchestra the flexibility to perform many more pieces that would otherwise not be possible with a limited range of instruments. This, of course, contributed to the growth and maturity of the musicians.

The Orchestra was certainly aware and took full advantage of this in their offerings in this years’ concert themed Classic vs. Modern.

The night began with the full-scale orchestra presenting four Chinese classical pieces: Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower), Muk Min Sin Ge (New Shepherd Song), Yit Jek Siow Niu (A Little Bird) and Ping Guo Fung Nien (Abundance of Apples).

For the first song, the musicians were probably not warmed up yet as the sounds from the Erhu was evidently slightly off-tune. Nonetheless, the gentle bounce that came with the plucking of the Erhu and the most beautiful sounds coming from the Yang Qin lead made this an overall pleasant piece.

In the second piece the Di Zhi was initially drowned by the excited Erhus but a soloist of the former instrument who managed to produce the sound of a horse neighing, more than made up for it.

The third song was festive, just like the upcoming Chinese New Year. The two Yang Qin players managed speed and accuracy well especially towards the end of this lively piece.

And the fourth song sees an interesting Di Zhi trio, each player with a flute of different key.

The Orchestra then retreated leaving behind the Strings - that comprise of a Cello lead, 2 Bass, 2 Yang Qin, a handful of Pipas and Ruans, and Erhus – to tackle two Western pieces. It was interesting to hear how the Classical Chinese instruments tackle pieces from a different tonal system from theirs.

They did not do so well with Danzez De Panama. The lack of collective precision of the Erhus made the sound drag unnecessarily. Canon, a safe choice, was opened by the Yang Qin and a Cello, and was later joined in by the other string instruments. The sharper sound of the violins was replaced by the more mellow Erhus. The net effect was quite beautiful.

The piece that truly impressed was Ching She (Emotions). It sounded as if it came out directly from a Zhang Yimou movie! A movie score in nature, the musicians successfully carried the storytelling and cinematic elements to great effect.

The last three pieces presented a different style altogether – Chinese Opera. This time, the Percussion and Woodwind team came out in full force in Wu Shou (Wu Shu), Chin Teow (Opera Tune) and Lan Hua Chau (Lan Fah Grass).

Although there is still more work to be done to hone the skills of the student musicians, kudos to the conductor, Stephanie Lem, who challenged them to attempt versatility and perfection with bravado.

(The author deliberately joined the Classical Chinese Orchestra to de-banana-nise herself. She is still half ripe….)

(T) June 25, 2003 - Rashomon

As human beings, we struggle with the many perceptions of truth everyday. What then is "truth"? That was the timeless and uncomfortable question thrown at our face in the play Rashomon currently playing at the Actors Studio Bangsar.

Rashomon, written by Ryunosuke Akutagawa and adapted for stage by Joe Hasham and directed and produced by Faridah Merican, is a story about the murder of a samurai, the rape of his wife, and the confession of a bandit. The story explores man’s shortcomings with universal themes such as lust, greed, vanity, honesty, and cowardice.

The genius of Akutagawa, who is blessed with a keen insight into the complexities of human condition and the darker dimensions of human character, also left him a despaired and tortured soul, which resulted in him committing suicide at the age of 35.

He left behind a great intellectual literature in the works of Rashomon.

The play transpired at Kyoto's crumbling Rashomon gate, where several people sought shelter from the pelting rain and while waiting for it to subside, found conversation in discussing a recent crime.

Told through conflicting testimony of witnesses, including the spirit of the murdered samurai, the play demonstrated that facts could have many facets coloured by intentions and perceptions of individuals.

Faridah, who once played the role of the wife in a version of Rashomon staged in the 1970s directed by Abdullah Zainol, was inspired to bring to play to life again after watching a staging of In A Grove last year, a story also by the same author, Akutagawa.

She brought together actors and performers from Malay, Chinese and English performance art disciplines.

The cast include talents such as Ramli Hassan (voice of King Chulalongkhorn in 20th Century Fox's "Anna and the King") as Tajomaru the bandit, Ari Ratos (last seen in 'The Importance of Being Earnest' and 'Ubu Roi') as the Samurai, Merrisa Teh (most recently seen in 'Stories for Amah') as the Wife, and Lee Swee Keong (much acclaimed Butoh choreographer of Nyobah & Dancers) as the Monk. Equally capable are Ceacar Chong (the Court Officer), Terence Swampillai (Woodcutter 1), and Mark Wong (Woodcutter 2).

Joe Hasham's inspiration for his adaptation came primarily from Akira Kurosawa's film version of Rashomon and Takashi Kojima's translation of Akutagawa's original work.

He created an additional character, The Gatekeeper, played by Gan Hui Yee, who plastered herself to the remaining pillar of the crumbling Rashomon gates, while removing herself on and off to speak in rhyming couplets. Then we have the Monk's disciples played by Kiea Kuan Nam and Ian Yang who fleeted in and out of the scenes in a ghostly manner.

As the rogue bandit, Tajomaru, Ramli's performance was most commendable. In each of the four versions (of the narrations), he presented himself unmistakably as the same man but yet subtle differences. Though always a bandit, he was a bandit in love, a bandit with honour, a merciless bandit, or a bandit manipulated by the cunning words of the Wife.

Merissa Teh portrayed the Wife brilliantly. Her character varied the most from narrative to narrative. She is all that a woman chooses to be - wholesome, treacherous, sexy, sympathetic, shameful, or vicious. Seen from various perspectives, she is a victim, a manipulator, an innocent, or a vixen.

Ari, as the Samurai, was a tad too calm and emotionless as he watched his wife being raped by another man. Only his 'spirit' displayed some fiery emotions as he relayed his own death.

The character of the Monk was modified to give the whole play a more aesthetic twist. As the director and cast were exploring the characters during practice sessions, they found it more fitting that Lee coming from a Chinese background should bring out, rather than subdue his cultural and linguistic ability. Hence, the role of the Monk was fashioned as a scholar who speaks in Mandarin.

It does not matter that not everyone could understand the language - the gentleness and calmness of his speech, typical of a Monk, added poetry to the play.

And being a play of Japanese origin, the Japanese language was also used and spoken by the unseen Judge in the Court scenes.

The play began and ended with the Monk guiding his disciples in movements that seemed like a blend of Butoh (dance) and Tai Chi. Since these three actors are talented dancers in their own right, what better way than to exploit expression and story-telling than with graceful dance.

The manipulation of time sequence in the play was superb with the past and present seamlessly woven. Within a scene, the story unfolds, moving forward and flashing back at recollections all at the same time. This was done without change in the set but rather with the help of theatre lighting design by light maestro, Mac Chan.

There was no changes in the set, and that meant that the lighting was also responsible for the smooth transition from location to location. The audience was transported from the gates of Rashomon, to the Court, to the forest where the murder took place, and even briefly, to hell. The lights cast on the bamboo trunks not only created a semblance of leaves gently wavering in the wind, but also an illusion of movement as the Samurai and his Wife traverse the forest.

When it came to choice of colours, there were plenty of greens and reds lit at different levels of intensity. In scenes of conflict, Mac contrasted intense green and red on each sides of the bamboo, which also resulted in very strong shadows as well.

The permanent set was a blend of new and old, designed with the flexibility to be all of the above locations at any one time. Looming in the back is a curtain of bamboos and hidden mechanisms to create the special effect of rain. The impression of straight vertical lines created by the vertically hung bamboos and rain pouring downwards gave a contemporary feel to the set.

On the right, the remaining pillar of Rashomon's gate still stands whereas the other had fallen. The stage floor was scattered with dried leaves. The pillars and stage floor were coloured in fades of grey - a subtle reminder of ruin and moral decadence.

Live music was an important aspect of the play. Led by none other than the gifted Bernard Goh, founder of Hands Percussion Team, he brought the play to life with his original compositions. Like the traditional Japanese Noh theatre, he made the flute and percussion instruments key accompaniments to the play. The small ensemble, sitting by the stage, was made up of a guitar, an electronic keyboard, Chinese flutes (Di Zhi), a Gambang, and several Chinese percussion instruments.

The production took creative liberties with its costumes. The designs, although contemporary, were distinctly Japanese. Costume designer, Cinzia Ciaramicoli, took pains to create the beautiful Samurai’s costume whose long glittery robe flowed gracefully in fight scenes. The sleeves of the Wife’s costume ended with an oval shape held together by metal wiring, giving the outfit a futuristic look.

Overall, the play was put together very well. For its realism, some scenes may not be suitable for young children but it's a play every adult should not miss.

It is worth mentioning that, today nearly a century later, the story (written in 1915) lost none of its fascination or power. The universal and timeless theme of man's shortcomings still prevails and in this sense, Rashomon is a must-see classic.

It's definitely an enjoyable eighty minutes.