Asia Dance Channel

Dance I believe is a projection of messages and emotions through expressions and body movements that interrelate with the message context. Each subject can be interpreted differently by the vision of the choreographer. Sometimes the execution of the vision may not have been perfected by the performers or they lack the required coordination, but it is always encouraging to see new art being presented by a new generation of choreographers.

It was a welcoming sight to witness the works of 10 young choreographers during the recent production Gelombang Baru (New Wave) hosted by Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (ASWARA).

Held at the Panggung Eksperimen in ASWARA, guests were greeted by an array of dance photography which was exhibited in the foyer of the hall. I wish the organisers had taken the time to introduce the photographers or at least highlight their names (or did I miss it?) as some of the work was brilliantly stunning.

The first performance of the day was titled Waiting and choreographed by Mohd Hanafi Rosdi, a traditional and contemporary dancer who hails from Terengganu. It was performed by Mohd Khairi Mokhtar and Noor Azlin Hamzah. I loved how the dancers’ movements were interjected with the video projection on the screen. Hanafi had placed a lot of emphasis on perfecting the movements to match the video projection and his vision would have failed if the dancers had not perfected their coordination. The use of levels and shadows created a sense of waiting which fits the title perfectly. However, I felt it ended too abruptly as the inter-crossing of the two dancers into the room and the final meeting duet was cut too short. The built-up climax could have been prolonged for I was left wanting to see more.

Seasons featured the choreography of Mohd Naim Syah Razad Mohd Zin who was recently named the best male dancer during KLPAC’s Short and Sweet Dance Malaysia Festival. The choreography which focused on the subject “memories can’t be restored” was performed by Hazra Ghazaly, Ismadian Ismail, Norbaizura Abd Ghani, Rabiatul Adawiah Abdul Wahid, Mohd Khairi Mokhtar and Ng Xinying. Each dancer came out in different light and mood settings perhaps to differentiate the change of time. They then performed together to their own moves giving a chaotic feel though it went well with the title and synopsis. The start of the performance left the most dramatic feel as a dancer came out into the light of a diagonal strobe and danced in between shadows and light. Her hair which had been drenched created a striking effect in the light everytime it was flipped. That, I thought, was the only highlight of their dance.

The Voodoo dancers gave goose bumps to most of the audience, which included a very vocal young child in the audience. He kept making remarks from the second performance onwards. The parents may have thought it was cute for the child to make loud remarks but it was not only distracting to the audience but it’s also disrespectful to the performers. Parents should teach the children to behave in a performance or just don’t bring them.

The dark and creepy dance routine was choreographed by Nurul Durar Abd Halim who performed for the first time in Aswara. She was accompanied by Nor Ain Afiqa Mohamed, Yap Tze Kuan, Tye Jia Yi, Hasmizan Abdul Hamid, Yang Mardiah Tabari and Macrecelly. The voodoo mistress poked and stabbed her doll to her biddings as similar creepy masked dancers danced around her. At one point a couple of possessed like dancers walked out from the audience. There was a lot of play in lights, shadow and flexibility. It’s always an achievement to make an audience feel the message of your performance and that dance did creep everyone out.

The next two performances had one thing in common. Both didn’t seem to correspond to the synopsis or title that was announced during the performance. The choreographers should review their final work before submitting a synopsis of their dance as they seem to clash with the execution. While the synopsis may not be important to most performance it is definitely needed for performance with a more conceptual message.

Young artist Muhammad Fairul Zahid’s Not Only Me beganwith the continuous chanting of the numbers 1 to 8by a group of dancers in a circle of light. That was the only harmonious point during the whole performance. Crafted around the idea “everyone is the same”, the choreographer was joined by Ismadian Ismail, Yunus Ismail, Mohd Naim Syah Razad and Dhanya Thurairajah on stage. The dancers ran and inter-moved between spaces in specially projected pocket of lights. The lights I thought were a clever addition; however, the co-ordination needs to be perfected. It seemed to not fit the core theme of the performance. Everyone did not seem the same. The one dancer’s actions that triggered each static dancer in one part of the dance seemed to represent a chain reaction. “One action causes reaction” would have been a more fitting theme for the performance.

Salvage was choreographed and performed by Suhaili Ahmad Kamil who won the Best New Artist and Best Performer award during the 2008 Boh Cameronian Award; and Dr Dhanya Thurairajah who is also a classical Indian Dancer, was awarded the 2008 Young Talent Award at the National Arts Awards.

I was looking forward to the performance after reading the synopsis that said the choreography was inspired by the movie Avatar and the TV character Lisa Simpsons continuous mission to “Save the Trees!” as mankind overlook the importance of preserving nature.

Throughout the performance, people arrived and gathered around the boxed white mat on which the dancers were performing and just sat there watching while they shone their torchlight on the dancers. I loved the idea and how it works with the idea man sits and watches as they help destroy the earth. But that wasn’t the synopsis.

The dancers seemed to be in a struggle of some sort which could be translated to natured continuous struggle to withstand mankind’s abuse. So I sat there wondering where Avatar and Lisa Simpson figured into the performance. The only reference I saw to Simpson was the beaded necklace worn by Suhaili which is a characteristic of Lisa Simpson and the projection of a tree at the end of the dance. Avatar was a story about the tribe folk Navi fighting to save their world. Both inspirations are characters that fight to keep Mother Nature alive but all that was projected during the performance was Mother Nature’s struggle to survive while mankind sat and watched.

Awake, choreographed by Chia Yan Wei was a good example of good coordination which was an essential part of the performance. The dancers Norsafini Jafar, Sufinah Abu Bakar, Murni Omar, Nik Nur Azlina Nik Ibrahim, Nuur Faliza Saad, Nur Syafiqah Zakaria, Chai Vivan, Melinda Kwong Mei Kuan, Caren Yap Chai Wen, Rizianah John and Rabiatul Adawiah Abdul Wahid danced in coordinated bliss to the beat of the music. The performance began with 2 dancers on a swing watching the world go by while one dancer stood at the centre chained to the ground. At the end of the performance the chains that burden her are removed by the friend she leans on and she is awakened.

Just as I was beginning to think the dancers in Malaysia are a depressing lot, the delightful choreography and performance of Beginning by ASWARAs third year dance diploma students Mohamad Azizi Mansor and Ng Xinying glided across the stage in an exuberance of hope. I wish they had named their performance hope (though Beginning was fine) as it was such a beacon of hope in the somewhat gloomy dance pieces that had already been performed. Their dance managed to put a smile and lift up everyone’s mood. What a dazzling accomplishment! The finishing and coordination kept everyone eager to see what their next move would be. Azizi casually lifted Xinying throughout the performance as if she was a feather and she kept her poses in mid air firm yet gracefully with a smile on her face.

Does it Fit was a fitting finale to the evening’s performance. Choreographed by Gloria Anak Patie from Sarawak who is majoring in choreography, it was a delightful performance which had the crowd in fits of laughter. The dance was performed by Hazra Ghazaly, Norsafini Jafar, Norbaizura Abd Ghani, Nur Syafiqah Zakaria, W Nurul Ameera W Mazlan, Chia Yan Wei, Murni Omar, Rizianah John and Sufinah Abu Bakar. The lights came on to a stage with a pile of clothes in the centre. The main character was seen trying to find a shirt that fits while other dancers were seen in oversized shirts or sharing a shirt moving to the rhythm of the music. It was an organised confusion on clothes. At one point they ended up in a dance catwalk to the sounds of eastern music which was placed at the side of the stage leaving an empty feel on the rest of the stage. They could have maintained it at the centre.

The dancers once again grouped at the centre and broke into the Chicken Dance and it was a riot of laughter thereafter as they shared shirts, fought over shirts and left the one partner less gal’s trials to try and fit into one of the couples wearing in 1 shirt. It was a humorous performance with a serious message on how people try to find who they are.

Though the array of performances centred on a variety of issues, they were all in one style – contemporary dance. Even the music was geared towards western music with only the last performance adding a bit of eastern flavour to the mix. It would be interesting to see a fusion of dance styles and music it future performances.

Kudos to the stage team, there was nearly no breaks in the performances. Even when they had to put in a white mat for Salvage, the team efficiently set and removed it in minutes. While the lighting coordination was excellent, the intensity for each performance didn’t seem correct and at times you could barely capture the dancer’s expression as it was just bright enough for one to see a person move though which I don’t think was the objective.