Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Berlari Mengejar Terompah: Dari Annexe-DBP-ASWARA ke Kuala Selangor(UITM)






Ada email dari teman Indoensia yang berada di negeri penuh salji waktu ini, US-Minnesota, yang bertanya apakah dia sudah tersalah cakap atau tersalah laku, tapi ternyata tak ada dan tak pernah, mungkin aku yang ada pernah ngomong yang salah, kerana mulut ku emangnya dibilang "Big Mouth", nothing to hide about what I like and what I don't like. But frankly, in the past few weeks aku sibuk banget, dengan permohonan bantuan kewangan dari kementerian kebudayaan dll yang tidak mudah, kerana banyak yang diperlukan, tempat dance talk yang berubah tarikh dari 4 Nov ke 3 Nov kerana double booking oleh orang2 di Annexe, sehingga aku terpaksa bercakap dengan 3 orang pekerjanya(talking about co-ordination and delegartion!!). Rasanya bukan aku yang harus bercakap dengan 3 pekerjanya. Seharusnya aku cuma bercakap dengan satu orang saja. Worse kepalanya didn't book me, for whatever reason, on top of saying confirmed. Now aku tahu, dalam negeri ini kata tak boleh dipegang sebagai janji, perlu ada agreement, dalam tulisan. Kita semakin jauh menjadi Melayu/ Malaysia, walaupun mereka bukan orang Melayu. Tapi benda yang sama berlaku di organisasi Melayu kerajaan, DBP yang juga double book venuenya, Balai Syed Nasir. Jadi terpaksalah mencari venua lain, walaupun tak sedap hati dengan kawan aku kat situ. Nasib baik jugaklah ASWARA bersetuju dan ada tempat. Terima kasihlah En.Amir Hakim dan Puan Balkis dari Teater. Dapatlah guna Black Box.

Tapi sebenarnya bagus juga buat kat situ, ramai pelajar yang boleh datang tengok karya2 yang berbeza dari apa yang sering dipertontonkan dalam Jamu DSB di ASWARA. Pelajar2 dari dua kelas Pengajian Budaya 2 dan Sejarah dan Falsafah Seni datang, tapi tak ramai pelajar dari Pemikiran Kreatif dan kritikal yang datang, maklumlah dah besar panjang, ada pemikiran sendiri dan sibuk agaknya. Di facebook aku dok cakap2 kata kawan2 ramai janji nak datang, tapi tak datang, itulah baru tahu, facebook tu cuma tempat bermain kata2 dan janji2 tapi bukan bermakna apa2, begitu juga yang kata kawan dalam atau friend dalam tu, sebenarnya bukan kawan, itulah dalam bahasa Inggeris ada bezanya antara kenalan, rakan, kawan dsb. Apapun aku nak ucapkan terima kasih atas sokongan semua pihak walaupun payah, tapi itulah hakikatnya!

Tapi semuanya berjalan lancar dengan bantuan students, staff dan kawan2. Terima kasih kepada semua koreografer-penari-performer, Ananya yang datang jauh dari Uof Minnesota, US, Pak AGI dari UITM Shah Alam, Mek Nab yang tampil dalam karya aku, juga dari Shah Alam bersama dua pelajarnya yang datang sejak pagi lagi untuk latihan dan jamming session, Suhaili yang sibuk, begitu juga dengan Rathimalar yang membawa rombongan kawan2 dan keluarga, Dayang Mariana yang menampilkan Mohar dalam karyanya(takut aku tak tahu macamana nak bayar dia, tapi dia yang undang, itu bukan soal aku kan!!!), Kuan Nam yang sibuk dengan kelas yoganya di Pahang. Aku sendiri yang kena buat semua benda.

Apapun semuanya berjalan baik, termasuk talk yang walaupun cuma ada 13 orang yang datang, tapi penuh bermakna seperti kehadiran Ramli Ibrahim dan kawan2 lain termasuk Roziana Aziz dari Astro Awani, Reza Zainal Abidin, dalam hujan ribut tuh, serta Fringe Excursion ke Lembah Bujang bersama Ananya.

This weekend aku kena siapkan projek dengan pelajar2 UITM Produksi Teater Moden yang akan menampilkan "Terompah Manik", shooting teater ke dvo, sesuatu yang baru di sini tapi tidak baru di dunia. Ini terjadi kerana katanya pelajar tidak boleh mementaskan karya di luar(sesuatu yang pelikkan). Untuk seorang seniman, kita harus terus mencari peluang dan ruang, itulah lahirnya idea tersebut.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Projek KL Fringe 2/2009 - Metro Ahad

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Festival seni




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FESTIVAL seni berskala kecil, KL Fringe, kembali lagi tahun ini. Menggabungkan teater, muzik, filem dan tari, festival ini dilihat sebagai platform untuk pengkarya antarabangsa berkongsi pentas di Kuala Lumpur.

Menurut Kurator KL Fringe, Dr Zulkifli Mohamad, Fringe Festival selalunya menjadi festival seni di samping festival besar seperti di Edinburgh, Adelaide dan Minnesota.

“Memandangkan keadaan ekonomi tidak memberangsangkan tahun ini, kami hanya mampu mempersembahkan program siri Teater Tari (Danstheater Series) yang menampilkan tujuh pengkarya dalam persembahan 20 hingga 30 minit.

“Siri Teater Tari KL Fringe mempersembahkan Cetus pada 6 dan 7 November ini di Aswara. Terlebih dulu, pada 3 November diadakan sebuah persembahan syarahan oleh Prof Ananya Chatterjea dari University of Minnesota, di Annexe Gallery, Pasar Seni, Kuala Lumpur pada jam 8.30 malam,” katanya.

Menurut Zulkifli, KL Fringe ini bakal memeriahkan lagi kegiatan kesenian di Kuala Lumpur, sekali gus mempopularkan genre teater tari serta pengertian Timur dan Barat dalam gaya moden dan tradisi. Apa yang menarik katanya adalah karya yang ditampilkan oleh Zubin Mohamad meletakkan Mak Yong dan Manora bersama.

“Danstheater diambil dari kata Tanztheater yang berasal dari Jerman. Ia seterusnya menjadikan persembahan teater tari untuk menarik perhatian penggemar tari kontemporari dan teater,” katanya.

Cetus turut menampilkan Rathimalar yang lama bergiat bersama Ramli Ibrahim dan Sutra Dance Theatre, Suhaili Ahmad Kamil yang hangat dalam You Think You Can Dance? musim pertama dan Kie Kuan Nam (Nyoba Dance).

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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

KL Fringe:Dansteater - CETUS 6 & 7 Nov 2009

CETUS

SIRI TEATER TARI – DANSTHEATER SERIES

PROJEK KL FRINGE 2009


Pengenalan

KL Fringe Festival kembali lagi pada tahun 2009 ini dengan nama yang sedikit berbeza,“Projek KL Fringe” yang sesuai dengan keadaannya yang bersifat projek dan bukan festival, serta untuk mengekalkan kedudukannya sebagai festival kecil yang mulai menumbuh akar sebelum menjadi sebuah pohon rendang, walaupun masih berada di dalam keadaan ekonomi yang muram. Pada tahun lalu festival yang berlangsung pada bulan Julai itu menampilkan empat siri seni – Teater, Muzik, Filem, Teater Tari. Tahun 2008 menyaksikan enam buah karya teater baru dipersembahkan oleh pengarah dan penulis - Hamzah Tahir, Syarul Fitri, Francis (USA), Marlenny Deenerwan, Arifwaran (Jerman) dan Zubin Mohamad. Begitu juga dengan filem, masing-masing menampilkan enam buah filem pendek dan dokumentari serta enam kumpulan muzik independen yang kuratorkan oleh Fathullah Lokman. Manakala Siri Teater Tarinya diadakan pada bulan November 2008 dengan menampilkan dua kumpulan serta dua penari solo dari Jepun serta San Francisco, USA, yang diketuai oleh Katsura Kan dan diadakan di ASWARA Music Hall. Festival Fringe Kuala Lumpur 2008 dipelopori oleh Dr.Zulkifli bin Mohamad selaku Pengarah Artistik dengan kerjasama Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka dan Stor Teater dibawah kelolaan Wahab Hamzah. Memandangkan DBP dan Stor Teater telah menganjurkan 2 festival teater kecil – iaitu teater 10 minit dan satu lagi festival 10 minit sempena Hari Kemerdekaan Malaysia 2009, Festival Fringe 2009 mengambil keputusan untuk memfokuskan kepada Siri Teater Tari/ Danstheater Series. Memandangkan kedudukan organisasi nirlaba ini masih baru di dalam menguruskan festival skala kecil, keputusan diambil untuk mewujudkan program-program yang berbeza dalam jangkawaktu satu tahun melalui:

Teater Tari

Filem Pendek & Dokumentari

Band Muzik

Teater

Memandangkan keadaan ekonomi yang tidak memberansangkan pada tahun ini, kita hanya mampu mempersembahkan program “Siri Teater Tari” (Danstheater Series) yang akan menampilkan 7 pengkarya yang akan mempersembahkan karya 20-30 minit.

Objektif Program

Objektif utama program “CETUS” Siri Teater Tari – Danstheater Series, Projek KL Fringe ini adalah untuk:

  • Memeriahkan lagi kegiatan kesenian di Malaysia khususnya di ibukota Kuala Lumpur, sekali gus menarik pelancung untuk sama-sama menikmati seni dan budaya
  • Memperkenalkan dan mempopularkan genre teater tari, gabungan teater dan tari serta pengertian timur dan barat serta moden dan pasca moden
  • Mengabungkan kelompok penggiat, teater Melayu, tari kontemporari, puisi dan teater tradisional Mak Yong dan Manora
  • Mengabungkan kelompok penonton, teater Melayu, tari kontemporari, puisi dan teater tradisional Mak Yong dan Manora
  • Mempopularkan venue baru untuk seni tari kontemporari selain venue yang sedia ada
  • Mengadakan satu pertemuan antara timur dan barat, tradisi dan moden serta generasi yang berbeza
  • Mempergiatkan cabang seni persembahan iaitu seni tari, selain bentuk lain seperti teater, muzikal dan teater tradisional
  • Mengumpulkan sekumpulan penggiat yang terdiri daripada Bangsa Malaysia dari pelbagai kaum yang boleh dilihat sebagai Satu malaysia

“CETUS” Danstheater

Danstheater sebenarnya diambil dari kata Tanztheater yang berasal dari Jerman sejak tahun 1927, yang merujuk kepada Dance Theatre atau mungkin boleh dirujuk sebagai Teater Tari. Pun begitu kata Teater Tari masih berkait dengan istilah Drama Tari dan Taridra, walaupun ianya berbeza dan lebih bersifat kontemporari. Teater Asia sebenarnya mempunyai unsur-unsur drama, tari, muzik, muzikal dan sekaligus bersifat fizikal. Danstheater di sini sebenarnya merujuk kepada gabungan pemikiran, gaya, rupa dan jiwa Timur dan Barat di dalam persembahan teater tari. Ianya menghasilkan gabungan yang dipanggil “CETUS” untuk merepresentasikan pertemuan-pertemuan antara timur dan barat, moden dan tradisi, serta generasi lama dan baru dan seterusnya menjadikan sebuah persembahan teater tari untuk menarik perhatian para penggemar Tari Kontemporari yang seringnya berlandaskan Tari Barat serta para penggemar teater Bahasa Malaysia. Mungkin di sini bukan hanya berlaku satu gabungan penggemar, tetapi juga pemikiran, gaya, rupa dan jiwa yang bersifat Malaysia.

Apa yang menarik kali ini adalah gabungan para karyawan teater tari atau Dansteater yang terdiri daripada koreografer-koreografer pelbagai kaum dalam Bangsa Malaysia – Melayu, India, Cina, Borneo yang sekaligus boleh dilabelkan sebagai persembahan Satu Malaysia – One Malaysia. Hidangan karya pada kali ini juga menampilkan karyawan dari genre pemikiran tari yang berbeza, tradisi dan barat, serta menggabungkan generasi yang berbeza. Selain itu Dansteater juga akan menampilkan A.P. Dr. Ananya Chatterjea dari University of Minnesota, USA, yang juga Pengarah Artistik kumpulannya, Ananya Dance Theatre. Antara yang terpilih untuk menampilkan karya mereka pada tahun ini termasuklah:

AGI IBRAHIM - MALAYSIA

ANANYA CHATTERJEA – USA/INDIA

DAYANG MARIANA – MALAYSIA

KIEA KUAN NAM - MALAYSIA

RATHIMALAR GOVINDRAJOO - MALAYSIA

SUHAILI AHMAD KAMIL– MALAYSIA

ZUBIN MOHD – MALAYSIA


Latarbelakang Ringkas

Agi Ibrahim misalnya bukanlah satu nama baru di dalam dunia seni, terutamanya seni puisi. Seperti Allahyarham W.S. Rendra, Agi Ibrahim terkenal kerana persembahan puisinya yang begitu “animated” dan bersifat fizikal. Beliau yang juga ahli Kumpulan Anak Alam di era teater kontemporari 1970an. Beliau pernah memenangi S.E.A Write Award di Bangkok.

Karya: Tak Tun


Ananya Chatterjea adalah seorang koreografer, penari serta ahli akademik tari dengan buku tarinya “Butting Out” yang menjadikan asas tarinya dari seni tari klasik India, Odissi dari Bengal dan mengenegahkan pemikiran Pasca-Kolonial di dalam persembahan-persembahan teater tarinya di New York dan Minnesota. Kini beliau menjadi pengarah program tari di Universiti Minnesota, USA. Para penarinya terdiri daripada wanita-wanita kulit hitam asal Afrika dan Asia.

Karya: Kali Tandava – Nuclear Winter

Dayang Mariana adalah anak Sarawak yang giat memperjuangkan seni tarinya di persada teni tanah air. Beliau mendapat didikan daripada koreografer Indonesia yang terkenal, Bagong Kusudiarjo. Pernah menjadi pengajar tari di Akademi Seni Kebangsaan dan Universiti Malaysia Sarawak setelah pulang dari pengajian di Amerika Syarikat. Dayang mendapat pendidikan tentang Labanotasi di New York sebelum memenangi pingat Emas dalam pertandingan tarian kontemporari di WCOPA di Los Angeles pada tahun 2004.

Karya: Entangled

Kiea Kuan Nam adalah merupa salah seorang ahli utama di dalam kumpulan teater tari Buto Malaysia terkenal, Nyoba Kan. Sebelum itu beliau pernah menyertai Kwangsi Dance Selangor dan Kuala Lumpur serta pernah belajar dari Lee Swee Keong dan Woon Fok Sen. Beliau pernah bekerja dengan Pappa tarahumara serta Ko Murobushi dan menghadiri collaborative choreographers di Sumatera Barat dan mendapat gelaran Best Choreografer pada tahun 2006 di International Youth Dance Festival in Hong Kong.

Karya: Within the Dark Water

Rathimalar Govindrajoo yang mempunyai asas tari dari tarian Odissi dan Bharata Natyam pernah menjadi salah orang penari utama Sutra Dance Theatre di bawah pimpinan Ramli Ibrahim selama 12 tahun sebelum menari dengan kumpulan tarian kontemporari India di Britain di bawah Shobana Jeyasigh. Apabila pulang ke Malaysia beliau menari dengan Sutra dan menghasilkan karya kontemporarinya sendiri, bermula dari Star Struck. Pernah bekerjasama dengan Bilqis Hijjas dan Suhaili Ahmad Kamil di dalam menghasilkan karya tari kontemporarinya.

Karya: Rebel Without Cause


Suhaili Ahmad Kamil adalah lulusan sarjana muda tari dari Victoria College of Arts di Melbourne pada tahun 2006. Beliau mendapat tempat kedua di dalam pertandingan realiti tv “You Think You Can Dance” pada tahun 2007. Beliau mengajar dan menghasilkan karya tari kontemporari di ASWARA sambil mengajar di Sekolah Tari Aurora dan pernah bekerja dengan Rimbun Dahan, Bilqis Hijjas dan Aida Redza. Pada tahun 2008 beliau kembali ke Melbourne untuk menghasilkan karya baru di dalam program New Wave Festival.

Karya: Satu Sama dengan Dua (Extended)


Zubin Mohamad adalah Zulkifli bin Mohamad, walaupun lebih dikenali sebagai seorang sarjana teater tari dan budaya, beliau pernah belajar tari Melayu kontemporari daripada Azanin Ahmad, tari Bali dari Ibu Ni Wayan Masih, tari Jawa dari Ibu Elly Luthan, teater dari Rendra serta Mak Yong dari Primadona Mek Nab dan pemain rebab, Che Amat. Beliau mula menghasilkan karya kontemporari di Sarawak kemudiannya di Bangkok dan Jakarta. Sepulangnya ke Malaysia beliau banyak menulis dan mengarah teater fizikal serta teater tari yang berasaskan vokabulari tradisi. Terakhir menghasilkan “24102004” di Brown University, USA dan “Ballet of Liggor: Text by Mubin Sheppard” di Asia Conference di Bangkok pada Jun dan July 2008.

Karya: Conversation – Mak Yong & Manora


Program

DANCE TALK - ANANYA CHATTERJEA

4 November 2009

Ahad- Sunday 8.30 Malam

Venue: ANNEX Central Market

“CETUS” Danstheater Series

6 November 2009

Jumaat – Friday 8.30 Malam

Venue: Balai Syed Nasir, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur

“CETUS” Danstheatre Series

7 November 2009

Sabtu – Saturday 8.30 Malam

Venue: Balai Syed Nasir, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur


Ananya Chatterjea

Ananya: based on the Bengali na·anya , "like whom there is no other". Ananya Dance Theatre (formerly Women In Motion ) is a company of women artists of color, diverse in age, race, nationality, and sexual orientation, but uniformly committed to artistic excellence and passionate articulation of our dreams, hopes, and desires.

Ananya Dance Theatre is known for its blending of excellent artistry and high production values with community-building and social change work. Uniquely, it is also noted for seamless blending together the sculpturesque forms, strong footwork, and emotional articulation of the Odissi classical style, the purity of line and breath release of yoga, the efficiency and awareness of the power within human body of Indian martial arts traditions such as Kalarippayattu, the abstract theatrical potential of Indian ritual practices, and the urgent energy of street theater.

Drawing from the passion of women's movements world-wide toward social justice, the choreographic trend of the company's work involves dancing stories of ordinary lives to invoke a broader commentary about social justice and philosophy. Witnessing the political theater created by directors like Badal Sircar and Safdar Hashmi, and by organizations such as the Indian People's Theatre Association and Stree Shakti Sanghatana (a grassroots women's organization), who created and performed political theatre in public forums as consciousness-raising modes, Artistic Director Chatterjea was inspired to search for a dance language that could also articulate a critique. These experiences and the search for a contemporary Indian movement aesthetic started her off on her creative journey that lead to the establishment of Ananya Dance Theatre .

Our mission is to create and stage original works and powerful images inspired by the lives and work of women all around the world. Based on contemporary interpretations of the Odissi dance form, aesthetic traditions of Bengal, and practices of street theater created by women's groups, the company seeks to reach and engage diverse peoples.

Ananya Dance Theatre works with the belief that the search for excellence in artistry forges pathways to galvanize strong communities and generate forces of strength and beauty. With every project we seek to challenge ourselves in terms of artistry, execution, and production values and ultimately to question the widely-held assumption about the lack of artistic excellence in community-based artistic projects.

Ananya Chatterjea, dancer, choreographer, dance scholar, and dance educator, envisions her work in the field of dance as a “call to action” with a particular focus on women artists of color. She is Associate Professor in the Dept. of Theater Arts and Dance and Director of Dance in the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. She is also the Artistic Director of Ananya Dance Theatre, a dance company of women artists of color who believe in the powerful intersection of artistic excellence and social justice (www.ananyadancetheatre.org). Trained initially in Indian classical and folk dance traditions, she became a well-known exponent of the Odissi style of classical dance at a young age. However, disillusioned with the commercialization that had become attendant upon Indian classical dance forms, and vitally interested in the creation of a contemporary Indian dance mode, Ananya began her explorations of form and theme in dance in the 1980’s. But, it is through her study of street theater and feminist praxis across the world that she arrived at her fierce commitment to the immediate relationship between bodily artistic practices and social justice movements. Ananya believes in the integral interconnectedness of her creative and scholarly research. Her book, Butting out! Reading cultural politics in the work of Chandralekha and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, was published by Wesleyan University Press in 2004. At the University of MN, she teaches courses on the cultural politics of dance, the bodily production of knowledge, dance historiographies, and the choreographies of social justice art projects. Ananya is the proud recipient of grants from prestigious organizations such as the Asian Arts Initiative, McKnight Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, Jerome Foundation, as well as a prestigious artist fellowship from the Bush Foundation. In 2001, she was featured as an “Artist of the Year” in the City Pages, and in 2005, she was named a “Changemaker” by the Women’s Press in Minnesota. She is also the proud recipient of awards from the BIHA (Black Indian Hispanic Asian) Women In Action organization and from the MN Women’s Political Caucus, and recently the 21 leaders for the 21st Century Award from Women’s E-News (http://www.womensenews.org/21leaders2007.cfm), a national women-centered news organization, for her work weaving together community-building and artistic excellence and creating a space for women’s voices through artistic practices. She was recently honored by the Josie Johnson Social Justice and Human Rights Award at the University of Minnesota. Recent performances include Erasing Borders Festival (New York, 2008), Bates Dance Festival (Maine, 2008); New World Theater (Amherst, 2007); Museum Theater (Singapore, 2007); Conwell Theater (Philadelphia, 2007); Contemporary Asian Dance Festival (Osaka, 2006); Indonesian Dance Festival (Jakarta, 2006); Women Artists for Peace Festival (Delhi, 2004); Harborfront Theater (Toronto, Cananda, 2003, 2004); Habitat Center (Delhi, India, 2003); National Center for Performing Arts (Bombay, India, 2003); Philippines Cultural Center (Manila, Philippines, 2003) Theaterlabor (Bielefeld, Germany, 2002); Under the Stars Festival (Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, 2002); and Nehru Center (London, UK, 2002). She has been artist-in-residence at Univ. of Surrey (2005), Performing Arts School (Singapore, 2003), and MIT’s Dept. of Theater and Dance (2001, 2002). She was selected to be a Ford Foundation Delegate to Delhi (2002) and an artist in a creativity pilot project initiated by the UK Arts Council (2001).

Kiea Kuan Nam

Freelance Artist, Administrator & Core Member of Nyoba Kan. Kuan Nam discovered dancing during his university years. He joined the Selangor & Kuala Lumpur Kwangsi Dance Troupe and trained under Mew Chang Tsing, Lee Swee Keong and Woon Fook Sen. In 2002 he joined Nyoba Kan and performed in the following productions:

‘Carmen’, ‘Eden with Chrysanthemums in Full Bloom’, ‘Happy Birthday’, ‘Qian’s’, ‘A Cherry Bludgeoned, A Spirit Crushed’, ‘The Money God Arrives’ and ‘Pheonix Rises’. In 2003/2004 he worked with Koike Hiroshi of Pappa Tarahumara on ‘Spring in Kuala Lumpur’, and Ko Murobushi in the Japan-Malaysia Technical Design Workshop. In 2005 he represented Malaysia at a Collaborative Choreographers Workshop in the West Sumatera Dance Festival. In 2006 he was awarded Best Choreographer and, under his direction, the Malaysian troupe won Best Group Performance in the International Youth Dance Festival in Hong Kong.

Title: within the dark water

Synopsis: Feminine, such a complicated and emotional. Just like a different characters but at the same time pure and gentle as water, and naive like a child.

Rathimalar Govindrajoo

Malaysian born Rathimalar Govindarajoo (Rathi) specialises in Indian Classical Odissi, Bharata Natyam & contemporary dance. One of the lead dancers of Ramli Ibrahim’s Sutra Dance Theatre who partnered Ramli himself from 1990 – 2002, Rathi has been under the wings of Sutra for more than a decade, performing in the Philippines, France, Italy, Japan, Indonesia, India and Australia.

In 1998, Rathi completed the Six Week School of the American Dance Festival (ADF) at Duke University, North Carolina, USA. After obtaining her local Mass Communication (PR) qualifications in Olympia College, PJ, Rathi became one of the pioneer full-time contemporary dancers of the renowned South Asian British-funded dance company, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company (SJDC) in London, UK. For five years, Rathi toured extensively with SJDC in Britain and Europe, contextualizing performances with educational and outreach work. While in the UK, Rathi also revisited Malay traditional dance and music with an upcoming Malaysian choreographer and artistic director, Maziah Omar of Nusantara in Nottingham. Rathi returns home hoping to contribute her dance experience to the flourishing performing arts scene in Malaysia and to venture into new choreographic works. Her first attempt at choreography was Star Struck, created for Sutra dancers in 2006.

Suhaili Ahmad Kamil

Suhali Ahmad Kamil is from Malaysia and graduated with an Honours Degree in dance in 2006, at the VCA where she received the De Gruchy Award(Most Potential Dance, 2004), Elfie Blake Award( Most Achievement Award, 2005) and Most Outstanding Dancer of the VCA Graduate 2005. After gaining her BA Dance (Hons) in 2006, Suhaili returned to Malaysia to teach, choreograph and dance with Malaysia's young up-coming contemporary choreographers such as Bilqis Hijjas, Loh Shee Hoe, Umesh Shetty and Rathimalar Govindalarmajoo. She was the runner-up for a reality TV show So You Think You Can Dance Season 1 in Malaysia in 2007. Suhaili currently teaches at the National Arts Academy of Malaysia(ASWARA), Skills Academy (Academy for the Autistic Children, KL) and Aurora School of Dance, KL. As part of her Honours project Suhali participated in the Sanggar Choreographic Workshop hosted by the National Arts Academy, Malaysia. Suhaili returned to Melbourne in 2008 to perform with Rogue for the Next Wave Festival and in Neil Adam's Vapor Trail as part of the VCA School of DAnce 30th Anniversary celebrations.

Zubin Mohamad

Zubin Mohamad is Zulkifli bin Mohamad, won few awards including Asia Fellow Award 2002 (Indonesia Contemporary Dance), UNESCO's Artisan of Southeast Asia 2000, Asia Research Foundation - Southeast Asian Islamic Scholars in 2003 his research on “Performing Arts and Islam in Malaysia” including few other awards from British Council, Australian High Commission, Goethe Institute, Japan Theatre Institute. He researched on Contemporary Arts (Malay Dance Theatre) through Political Economic theories and Cultural Studies focused on "Artistic Creation Management in Contemporary Malay Dance Theatre in Malaysia" for his doctorate. His research works span from heritage, tradition, contemporary, modern, post-modern to popular arts and culture. Zulkifli is a dance-performance artist, curator, writer and director of performance theatre and media. Recently he performed his post-colonial piece called “Ballet of Ligor: Text by Sheppard” at Asia Conference in Bangkok, and presented his paper thru performance of “24102004” at Brown University, Rhode Island. He is now working on two vdo projects, a dance video, “Flowering” and Wendy Rogers from UC Riverside and theatre for vdo, “Terompah Manik”.


Saturday, October 10, 2009

Joan's writing on Merce in www.newyorker.com

CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK

OBJECT LESSON

by Joan AcocellaAUGUST 10, 2009



Merce Cunningham’s signal achievement is that he established modernism—abstraction, decentralization—in dance. In consequence, some people loathed his work, thought it was a prank. Which meant, of course, that others were required to like it. If you didn’t support it, stump for it, you were giving comfort to the philistines. Late last month, Cunningham died in his sleep, at the age of ninety. Now, perhaps, audiences will be able to think about him more clearly. The tremendous beauty of his work was its objectivity. John Cage, his partner in life and art, said that what he and Cunningham were aiming for was “the imitation of nature in the manner of her operation.” In a meadow, a bird flies in one direction, a rabbit runs in another. So it was on Cunningham’s stage. This seeming lack of coercion focussed the mind on the individual dancer, and the cell of movement. Cunningham’s work, like no other, made your brain feel clean. You seemed to be seeing dance for the first time. |

Friday, October 09, 2009

Mak Yong Class, Improv Jam and Dance Shoot on VDO

Sejak beberapa minggu yang lalu akau mula buat dance jamming session dengan Wendy Rogers, visiting profesor dari UCR tu yang skrang ni kat ASWARA, but she is leaving soon, end of this month I think, at least dia ada kat sini selamat 4 bulan. Kelas pertama kita, aku ajak Primadona & Guru Mak Yong, Fatimah Abdullah, we were planning to do something with 3 of us, lepas kelas Mengadap Rebab, Wendy tunjuk tarian yang dia buat for aswara show, cuma dia menari sorang2, terguling2 atas lantai studio tu. Aku tak tahu apalah yang ada dalam kepala Fatimah, yelah org yang datang dari budaya dan tari yang beza. Lepas tu akau ambik keputusan pilih satu cerita Mak Yong "Raja Tangkai Hati" dan pilih satu scene, dimana anak raja memintak ibunya mengambil bunga di dalam laut, supaya kita semua ada watak, aku wendy dan fatimah. so bolehlah kita berimprovisasi, walaupun wendy tidak biasa dengan cerita/ naratif, lebih kepada abstract expression, tapi untuk memudahkan fatimah. Pada minggu kedua hanya ada aku dan fatimah, so wendy mintak aku tunjuk dia satu tari, dan aku pilih tari asyik yang ada elemen2 bunga2 yang beza. Ternyata dia juga dah dengar pasal bunga dari guru silat, azy, yang juga menyebut pasal bunga.

bersambung.....nak gi buang air plak

Monday, October 05, 2009

Babak 1 & 2 Terompah Manik (Teromnik)

Sebelum raya, kita dah adakan satu bentuk ujian yang sebenarnya adalah proses yang diadakan supaya pelakon tidak lupa selepas raya, apalagi bila kita dah nak mula babak 1 & 2 selepas raya, iaitu pada minggu lepas. Akhirnya kita mengambil keputusan untuk memilih babak 1 & 2 diruang beranda, ruang tamu, dapur dan ruang basuh mengikut kesesuaian tapak projek serta skrip. Impian kita untuk merakamkan teater ini ke dalam video mungkin terlaksana, apalagi setelah 6 orang pelajar yang juga menjadi pelakon dan ahli produksi mempresentasikan bahan-bahan pengurusan produksi yang harus lakukan sebelum, semasa dan juga selepas produksi teater for tv (Tr4Tv) ini. Walau apapun sebenarnya proses ini masih menghadapi cabaran yang besar iaitu keinginan untuk menjadikan ia sebagai sebuah teater fizikal, tetapi apakah yang dimaksudkan, diertikan, dijadikan sebagai teater tersebut akan lahir sebagai sebuah teater fizikal barat, atau ia menjadi sebagai sebuah teater muzikal atau teater asia yang sememangnya ada elemen muzikal serta fizikal, sama2lah kita tunggu proses tersebut berakir setelah ianya difilemkan.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Terompah Manik (Beaded Clogs) - scene 3 & 4





Khamis lalu saya bersama-sama enam pelajar Produksi Teater Moden di UITM yang sedang berproses menyiapkan pementasan teater "terompah Manik" karya Zulkifli Mohamad diarah oleh saya sendiri dan dibantu oleh Fasyali serta team produksi dari kalangan kelas juga - Fiza(PM), Su (F&B, Logistic, kebajikan), Ana(Make-up, kostume), Hairi (set & prop), Boni (teknikal). Mereka mempersembahkan hasil pertama teater ini, iaitu babak 3 dan 4, Kematian dan Harta Pusaka. Dalam bahagian ini kita cuba bereksperimen dengan teks dan gerak dan lagu - Dimanakan Ku Cari Ganti dan Tolong Kami(keduanya lagu P.Ramlee). Rancangan kita untuk merakamkan lagu-lagu yang dipilih dalam irama Dikir Barat. Harapan dengan waktu yang ada, kita boleh bereksperimen dan berproses, suatu yang penting di dalam berkarya, dan inilah masanya untuk berproses. Selalunya bila dah keluar di sana, semuanya akan terikat dengan waktu. Di sinipun sebenarnya kita terikat dengan waktu, di mana kelas hanya dijalankan seminggu sekali dalam masa yang singkat 2-3 jam sahaja. Apalagi pelajar sibuk dengan berbagai projek, termasuk cuti-cuti hari raya, cuti sakit, cuti H1N1 dsb. Harap2 lepas raya kita boleh lebih banyak berproses untuk menghasilkan sesuatu yang berbeza. Kalau kita hanya ingin menghasilkan sebuah drama realiti yang biasa tentunya ianya lebih mudah. Tetapi apabila ingin menjadikan ia sebagai sebuah teater fizikal yang mempunyai elemen2 teater asia, kita harus berusaha mencari dan berproses.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Proses Menjadikan Teater "TEROMPAH MANIK" Sebagai Teater Fizikal/ Teater Muzikal Asia







































"Terompah Manik" sedang menjalani proses workshop sejak 4 minggu yang lalu, termasuk satu minggu cuti H1N1 di UITM, membuatkan proses tersebut terbantut. Lepas tu UITM mengeluarkan satu lagi pekeliling yang semua projek harus diadakan di dalam kampus sahaja. Ini seterus menambah bantutkan lagi proses pementasan teater ini. Apapun teater ini hanyalah sebuah kelas "Produksi Teater Moden" jikapun ianya tidak akan dipentaskan, proses pembuatannya akan diteruskan. Apa yang akan terjadi selepas itu tergantung kepada allah s.w.t. Selalu memang banyak cabaran yang harus di lalui di institusi melayu seperti UITM kerana terlalu banyak hati-hati pendengki yang akan menyucuk orang atas supaya ianya tidak akan terjadi, masyallah, bilalah Melayu nak maju. Apa pun kita tidak akan mengikut rentak tari orang-orang sedemikian rupe kera mere ni berjiwa kecil, jiwa-jiwa yang masih terjajah dan bukan itu yang hendak dibincangkan disini. Apa yang hendak dibincangkan adalah proses pemilihan bentuk2 produksi, fizikal, muzikal, teater asia yang sememangnya ada gabungan tarian, nyanyian, lakonan. Teater ini dibahagikan kepada 4 babak - Sekolah, Perkahwinan, Kematian, dan Harta Pusaka. Setiap minggu kami mengadakan kelas olah tubuh dan memperkenalkan gerak-gerak baru termasuk tari Bali, Jawa, Mak Yong, Asyik, Silat dan tarian rakyat seperti Joget dan Zapin insyallah. Seterusnya kita juga telah menjalankan proses improvisasi gerak dan teks, samada mengabungkan keduanya sekali atau meringkaskan teks dan mengantikan nya dengan gerak dan tari serta proses menghilangkan teks. Dalam proses tersebut kita juga mencari definisi teater fizikal dan ini adalah yang ada menurut pengertian barat:

Physical theatre is a general term used to describe any mode of performance that pursues storytelling through primarily physical means. There are several quite distinct traditions of performance which all describe themselves using the term "physical theatre", which has led to a lot of 5 star movies r.e as to what the definition of physical theatre actually is.


Nature of Physical Theatre

The term "physical theatre" has been applied to performances consisting mainly of:

  • Some forms of puppetry, especially large *Theatrical Clowning/Physical comedy
  • Some forms of Dance Theatre

Physical theatre may utilize pre-existing text, but the primary focus is on the physical work of the actors, expressed through the use of their bodies. It is a highly visual form of theatre. The action in physical theatre may have a psychological base, or symbolic resonance, or point to an emotional centre, or have a clear storyline, or any combination of the above, and it may grow out of codified forms, improvisational work, or invented gestural language among other means of creation. However, the means of expression are always primarily physical rather than textual.

Some analysts believe that physical theatre was influenced by Bertolt Brecht and his attempt to reduce theatre to its "epic form."

Dympha Callery suggests that despite the problematic use of the definition of physical theatre, some common characteristics may occur - though she stresses that these examples should not be seen as either exhaustive or that all are necessary all the time. These include:

  • Work is often devised, rather than originated from a pre-existing script (an exception to this would be Shared Experience who focus on making contemporary reinterpretations of highly literary plays including A Doll's House by Ibsen and War and Peace by Tolstoy).
  • Work has inter-disciplinary origins - it crosses between music, dance, visual art as well as theatre.
  • Work challenges the traditional, proscenium arch, performer/audience relationship.
  • Work celebrates the non-passive audience.
  • Work utilises the imagination of the audience in conjunction with the imagination of the performers.


Problems with defining physical theatre

The definition of physical is very hard to trace. This is partly to do with multiple origins, and partly to do with the fact that very few practitioners themselves are comfortable with the definition. In Through the Body by Dympha Callery, she suggests that the phrase originated more as a marketing term to describe anything that doesn't fit within commercial literary theatre. Indeed, there is a lot to support this: so called Physical Theatre companies often don't share any defining stylistic characteristics other than that they don't make commercial theatre based on "Staged Literature".

Many practitioners such as Lloyd Newson[1] express a resistance to this term because they feel that physical theatre is used as a "misc." category for anything that doesn't fall neatly into a category of literary dramatic theatre or contemporary dance. For this reason, contemporary theatre including post-modern performance, devised performance, visual performance, and post-dramatic performance, while having their own distinct definitions, is often simply labelled "physical theatre" without reason other than because it is unusual in some way.

Another problematic area is dance that is of a theatrical nature. Often a dance piece will call itself "physical theatre" because it included elements of spoken word, character or narrative and therefore be theatrical and physical, but this might not necessarily have anything in common with a potential (and nascent) physical theatre tradition.


Origins


headline

Modern physical theatre has grown from a variety of origins. Mime and theatrical clowning schools such as L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris have had a big influence on many modern expressions of physical theatre, and practitioners such as Steven Berkoffand John Wright received their initial training at such institutions. Contemporary Dance has also had a strong influence on what we regard as physical theatre, partly because most physical theatre requires actors to have a level of physical control and flexibility rarely found in those who do not have some sort of movement background. Modern physical theatre also has strong roots in more ancient traditions such asCommedia dell'arte and some suggest links to the ancient Greek theatre, particularly the theatre of Aristophanes.

Another tradition started with the very famous French master Etienne Decroux (father of corporeal mime). Etienne Decroux's aim was to create a theatre based on the physicality of the actor allowing the creation of a more metaphorical theatre. This tradition has now grown and corporeal mime is taught in many major theatrical schools.

Daniel Stein, a teacher out of the lineage of Etienne Decroux, has this to say about physical theatre:

"I think physical theatre is much more visceral and audiences are affected much more viscerally than intellectually. The foundation of theater is a live, human experience, which is different from any other form of art that I know of. Live theatre, where real human beings are standing in front of real human beings, is about the fact that we have all set aside this hour; the sharing goes in both directions. The fact that it is a very physical, visceral form makes it a very different experience from almost anything else that we partake of in our lives. I don’t think we could do it the same way if we were doing literary-based theatre."

The point at which, arguably, physical theatre become distinct from pure mime is when Jean-Louis Barrault (a student of Decroux) rejected his teacher's notion that the mime should be silent, deciding that if a mime uses their voice then they have a whole range of possibilities open to them which previously wouldn't have existed. This idea became known as "Total Theatre" and he advocated that no theatrical element should assume primacy over another: movement, music, visual image, text etc. being viewed as equally important, and that each should be explored for their possibilities. Barrault was a member of Michel St.Denis's company alongside Antonin Artaud.

Artaud has also been highly influential in shaping what has become known as physical theatre - Artaud rejected the primacy of the text and suggested a theatre in which the proscenium arch is disposed of in order to have a more direct relationship with the audience.

Eastern Theatre traditions have influenced a number of practitioners who have, in term, influenced physical theatre. A number of Oriental traditions have a high level of physical training, and are highly visual. The Japanese Noh tradition, in particular has been drawn upon a lot. Antonin Artaud was fascinated with the energy and visual nature of Balinese theatre and wrote extensively on it. Noh has been important for many practitioners including Lecoq who based his neutral mask on the calm mask of Noh. Jerzy GrotowskiPeter BrookJacques Copeau andJoan Littlewood have all been consciously influenced by Noh. Alongside contemporary western practitioners, certain Japanese Theatre Practitioners were influenced by their own traditions. Tadashi Suzuki drew partly on Noh and his highly physical training has been disseminated into the west by his students and collaborators. This has particularly happened through Ann Bogart's Collaboration with him and the simultaneous training of her actors in both the Viewpoints method and Suzuki training. As well as Suzuki, the Butoh Movement, which originated from Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno contained elements of Noh imagery and physicality. Butoh, again, in term has been influencing Western practitioners in recent years and has certain similarities with Lecoq's mime training in terms of ideas (impression and consequential embodiment of imagery, use of mask etc.)

As well as ideas outside of the western theatre tradition creeping in gradually, there is a tradition from within Western theatre too, starting withStanislavski. Stanislavski, later on in life, began to reject his own ideas of naturalism[1], and started to pursue ideas relating to the physical body in performance. Meyerhold and Grotowski developed these ideas and began to develop actor training that included a very high level of physical training. This work influenced and was developed further by Peter Brook.

Contemporary dance has added to this mix significantly, starting particularly with Rudolf von Laban. Laban developed a way of looking at movement outside of codified dance and was useful in at looking at, and creating, movement not just for dancers but for actors too. Later on the Tanzteater of Pina Bausch and others looked at the relationship between dance and theatre. In America the post-modern dance movement of the Judson church also began to influence theatre practitioners, as their suggestions for movement and somatic training are equally accessible for those with a dance training as those with a theatre training. Indeed, Steve Paxton taught theatre students at Dartington College of Arts and other institutions.

www.wikipedia.com

Pun begitu kita juga tidak melupakan definisi serta kemungkinan lain iaitu melihatnya dari perspektif Asia. Tapi akapah kita harus melupakan istilah teater fizikal dan diganti dengan teater asia atau teater muzikal yang kemudiannya membawa pengertian lain dari perspektif teater muzikal barat.