SHORT+SWEET Dance Gala Night

2 August 2009

Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre

By Chan Keed Cheng

Short+Sweet Dance has expanded extensively since its 2007 debut in Sydney, Australia. Marking its premiere on our shores, the Gala Night showcased ten finalists coveting for the Best Choreographer, Best Dancer (Female & Male), Best New Talent (Female & Male), Best Overall Production, and People's Choice Award.

The promising night of continuous ten-minute dances started off with Shades of the Moon choreographed by Weijun. Self-elevating by stepping onto a square pedestal, the performer initiated her moves standing at a fixed position. It was more of a play on her upper frame with mostly whimsical hands gestures. With the audience’s chortle, she conducted a rather interactive sight of her fingers making signs and running across her hands in child-like behavior. Soon, a second dancer substituted the former and brought along a large inflated ball. Her lithe moves were like of a gymnast. Similar to the previous lady, the third dancer demonstrated fluid, swift steps. There was a trace of ballet integration in his grace and the pirouette towards the end. The solo performance by the trio appeared separate and seemed inconclusive. It was a display of caprice. Also retrospectively, the striking multi-colour-pixelated lighting occasionally overshadowed the dance.

Under the direction of Leng Poh Gee, Passive introduced three jovial girls dressed in stripes of black and white roaming the stage at the start. Then, they advanced into a line at a corner holding little cards in neon pink, orange and green; much akin to the traffic light’s colours. Throughout the show, they bent, walked and tiptoed before returning to the exact corner. This time around, they displayed the starkly coloured cards by green, pink and lastly, orange. Hence forth, the performance progressed with more similarities to the traffic light rules. The other two performers would slow down their motions upon a show of the orange card by the other. The triplet stopped their act after tearing a green card in their finale.

Nunuk Ragang, presented by BB Ostella Adam, started off with menacing music. It was based on a Sabahan legend that tells why the Dusun or Kadazan tribe left their native soil and spread over Sabah. Despite the ominous sense, the dancers’ synchronized movements portrayed a blissful life. Clad in traditional costumes, they swayed their hands and danced harmoniously as if they were carrying out daily routines, such as working on the flourishing paddy field. It was then that two stern-looking strangers entered the scene of folk dance. Their tattooed body added a malicious air to their presence. A clash between them took place as they moved more aggressively. The mood turned increasingly dramatic with the music and eventually, good triumphed over evil. The newcomers were defeated and the natives were at peace.

Kerry-Ann Khoo’s Walking with Angels was quite a favourite among the audience. White “winged” angels carrying lamps along with another two resembling devils in black encircled the female lead. The devils constantly attempted to create obstacles or cause harm towards the lass but the protective angels were constantly nearby to guide. Motions of free-falling by the dancer always landed herself in the arms of the angels; her salvation. Passages revolving and questioning angels were projected on the backdrop. The spectators would be prompted to wonder of their divine presence – whether “seemingly lucky occurrences” are really miracles performed by these invisible heavenly beings. Such miracles could be the ones we too often take for granted. Instances where the female dancer dropped her floral ornament and had it swiftly picked up as well as getting sheltered under an umbrella showed the help by guardian angels in disguise of random strangers. The performance was a tad short of an expected ethereal sense but it was nevertheless, easily engaging.

Shuba Jayaretnam’s choreography of Hungry for Hope promoted humanitarian values. The duo’s performance highlighted social issues emphasizing poverty. A little girl’s audio clip narrating her experience in destitution was played. The dance, I felt, lacked impact and was fairly forgettable.

Mirror by Lorna Hoong showcased two pairs of girls and boys with “special needs” as well as another two well-limbed ones. Hoong’s interesting ‘mirror concept’ conveyed messages that we are all equal and that our goals can be achieved through determination. It was an interesting contrast when both the female duet and male duet delivered matching movements. Despite their disabilities, the wheel-chair bound dancers danced in sync with their dancing partners. It was also commendable that they demonstrated unwavering zest and gusto in the dance.

The following act from Suhaili Micheline, Nerds Gone Nuts, turned out to be a spectacular show. It was highly flamboyant and boldly quirky. Its fast-paced composition kept me anticipating what to expect next. The performance featured various props that remind of childhood such as water floats, Rubik’s cubes, plastic Transformers masks, an inflatable pool and water guns. At first, three men in sarong kick-started the show to P. Ramlee’s Bujang Lapok tune. Then, another three appeared donning statement tees that read out “I <3 CT”, I <3 MJ” and “I <3 David Archuleta”. They tickled the audience with their nerdy style and idiosyncratic actions. Contrary to the stereotype geeky performers was the glamorous counterpart, the cheerleaders. In my opinion, Nerds Gone Nuts mirrors the reality of our younger generations’ fixation with electronic gaming. It was represented where fellow performers looked so engrossed by the glaring screens of their Play Stations that they did not even bother allocating their concentration elsewhere. Their synchronized leg moves were conducted without their lifting their gaze off the gaming machine.

Aku, the work of choreographer Dalili Azahari, starred two dancers in traditional Javanese-looking attire.  The couple’s presentation under the dim light bore a reminder of shadow puppets theatre but with much added elegance. A narrator posed questions on what one ought to feel and how being judgmental should be the prerogative of God, not mere mortals. As suggested by the show’s summary, the subjects brought up were pathways to comprehending life.

The subsequent ensemble of Michael Xavier Woon’s Diaries 09 addressed human rights. Themes of justice, change and freedom of speech were stressed. Words such as ‘freedom’, ‘vigil’, ‘Czech’, ‘peace’ and the likes were written on the performers’ black attire. The group of six, including a female dancer, performed somersaults and headstands, and stomped to the upbeat music. They even went berserk tearing up newspapers as a sign of protest to the manipulation of media. Diaries 09 was one of the line-ups that exerted much energy and vigour in their performance.

The final act, Zapin Berangin – Colours of the Wind, arranged by Nabil Abdullah had twelve dancers dressed in multihued costumes with an Arabic touch. It was akin to watching Zapin combined with fan dance. The vibrant glittery outfits, swishing sounds of large fans, warm faces and lively moves were pleasant to watch.

During the judges’ deliberation for winners, the audience was encouraged to participate in Joget Lambak as cleverly suggested by Dato’ Faridah Merican. The contestants and crowd who joined the stage made good use of the time, dancing merrily to their fancy. On the other hand, the shy ones were gleefully amused by the entertaining stage attraction. People of all age and races danced as they wished; strangers became friends as they reached out to welcoming hands. It was living one’s life with worries gone at that moment!

Soon, the most anticipated part of the gala night had arrived. Suhaili Micheline earned herself the most awards for the night as Best Choreographer and Best Overall Production for Nerds Gone Nuts as well as Best Female Dancer in Shades of the Moon. Meanwhile, Naim Syahrazad from Nerds Gone Nuts won the Best Male Dancer award. Both Hii Ing Fung (Passive) and Sufi Ashraf B. Mohd Azman (Mirror) emerged as Best New Talents. Last but not least, the People’s Choice Award went to Diaries '09 choreographed by Michael Xavier Woon.

Kudos to the performers for their effort and passion in dance. Judging by Short+Sweet Dance 2009’s favourable reception, one can be sure that the 10-minute concept festival will be back with an enormous bang!