"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home'"
- Twyla Tharp
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Saturday, 2 January 2010
2009: My year in art
Moments that made 2009 for me, in no particular order
Seeing...
1. Nederlands Dans Theater in Silent Screen by Lightfoot Leon. That endless black dress.
2. Ahn Eun-me Dance Company in Let me Change Your Name? as well as Eun-me herself in workshop, screaming, effervescent, incredibly foul-mouthed and lucid
3. T.H.E. Company in Variance, choreography by Kuik Swee Boon and Zhang Xiao-Xiong. The awed silence that preceded the applause of a hall of those who had long watched, waited, taught, danced with, studied from the company on stage. Elated to see some of our own in a modern dance company reaching for the stars.
4. Q&A by Danny K. Dance as artistic statement for and against the institutions.
5. Cake Theatre in the Comedy of the Tragic Goats. Wrenching physical theatre, in deft local hands.
6. Amrita Arts, recreating the sacred heritage of Cambodian classical dance with great humanity.
7. Sidi Larbi and Maria Pages in Dunas.
8. Simon Beale as King Leontes in The Bridge Project performing a Winter's Tale.
9. Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake (on video)
10.Toccata, a collaboration of John Sharpley and Lim Fei Shen.
11. Balanchine's Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux danced by Ashley Bouder and Simon Ball, and the Bournonville Flower Festival at Genzano danced by Iana Salenko and Marian Walter at an Evening with Paloma Herrera and Friends
12. Lifeblood, the glowing tower of Singapore River-water by Twardzik Ching Chor Leng at the Singapore Art Museum.
13. Rosa Park as Odette/Odile in Singapore Dance Theatre's Swan Lake.
14. Three thousand women shouting passionately for feminism at the AWARE Extraordinary General Meeting
15. Stephen Hough playing Tchaikovsky's second piano concerto with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
Class with...
16. Aaron Khek
17. Jamal Jalil
18. Maud Toledano
19. Ricky Sim
20. Wee Beng Chong, calligraphy and seal carving
21. John Sharpley, music in dance
22. Maria Luisa Arias of Compania Nacional de Danza (workshop)
23. Kuik Swee Boon (workshop)
Dancing for...
24. Nirmala Seshadri, This and That
25. Larry Clark, Flight
25. Lee Ren Xin, as a synapse, a maggot, mini dinosaur, pillow and who knows what else!
26. Studying excerpts of the Sugar Plum Fairy pas de deux
Listening to...
27. Arvo Part, Fur Alina
28. Yo La Tengo
29. Battles
30. Animal Collective
31. The Analog Girl
32. Angela Hewitt playing the Goldberg Variations
33. The Concord Sonata by Charles Ives
Reading...
34. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
35. A Dragon Apparent by Norman Lewis
36. Joan Acocella in the New Yorker
37. A meal at Jaan par Andre.
38. Creating a collaboration with the brilliant and modest composer Jenny Rompas.
39. My first visit to India, the glorious cacophony of Delhi and new friends made at the World Dance Alliance conference.
Seeing...
1. Nederlands Dans Theater in Silent Screen by Lightfoot Leon. That endless black dress.
2. Ahn Eun-me Dance Company in Let me Change Your Name? as well as Eun-me herself in workshop, screaming, effervescent, incredibly foul-mouthed and lucid
3. T.H.E. Company in Variance, choreography by Kuik Swee Boon and Zhang Xiao-Xiong. The awed silence that preceded the applause of a hall of those who had long watched, waited, taught, danced with, studied from the company on stage. Elated to see some of our own in a modern dance company reaching for the stars.
4. Q&A by Danny K. Dance as artistic statement for and against the institutions.
5. Cake Theatre in the Comedy of the Tragic Goats. Wrenching physical theatre, in deft local hands.
6. Amrita Arts, recreating the sacred heritage of Cambodian classical dance with great humanity.
7. Sidi Larbi and Maria Pages in Dunas.
8. Simon Beale as King Leontes in The Bridge Project performing a Winter's Tale.
9. Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake (on video)
10.Toccata, a collaboration of John Sharpley and Lim Fei Shen.
11. Balanchine's Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux danced by Ashley Bouder and Simon Ball, and the Bournonville Flower Festival at Genzano danced by Iana Salenko and Marian Walter at an Evening with Paloma Herrera and Friends
12. Lifeblood, the glowing tower of Singapore River-water by Twardzik Ching Chor Leng at the Singapore Art Museum.
13. Rosa Park as Odette/Odile in Singapore Dance Theatre's Swan Lake.
14. Three thousand women shouting passionately for feminism at the AWARE Extraordinary General Meeting
15. Stephen Hough playing Tchaikovsky's second piano concerto with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
Class with...
16. Aaron Khek
17. Jamal Jalil
18. Maud Toledano
19. Ricky Sim
20. Wee Beng Chong, calligraphy and seal carving
21. John Sharpley, music in dance
22. Maria Luisa Arias of Compania Nacional de Danza (workshop)
23. Kuik Swee Boon (workshop)
Dancing for...
24. Nirmala Seshadri, This and That
25. Larry Clark, Flight
25. Lee Ren Xin, as a synapse, a maggot, mini dinosaur, pillow and who knows what else!
26. Studying excerpts of the Sugar Plum Fairy pas de deux
Listening to...
27. Arvo Part, Fur Alina
28. Yo La Tengo
29. Battles
30. Animal Collective
31. The Analog Girl
32. Angela Hewitt playing the Goldberg Variations
33. The Concord Sonata by Charles Ives
Reading...
34. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
35. A Dragon Apparent by Norman Lewis
36. Joan Acocella in the New Yorker
37. A meal at Jaan par Andre.
38. Creating a collaboration with the brilliant and modest composer Jenny Rompas.
39. My first visit to India, the glorious cacophony of Delhi and new friends made at the World Dance Alliance conference.
Saturday, 19 December 2009
A swan is born, light as a feather
In every generation of dancers, a swan is born. With fluid, delicate arms that emote from the shoulders to the finger tips, but also the impeccable technique and strength required for the most challenging of classical roles. With cool poise to hold the balances of the white swan and the fluttering battements serres of her love-lorn heart - and at the same time the sensuous hauteur of the black swan and her tempting renverses and whipped fouettés,arabesques slicing the stage with her sexual attraction.
The last time we witnessed just a fleeting taste of such a swan was with Ulyana Lopatkina's visit to Singapore two years ago with the Russian stars gala, when she danced the dying swan (not part of the swan lake repertory but which has influenced many contemporary productions of the ballet). The undulations of her arms were heart-rending. She taught me that this ballet was not some trivial story but undoubtedly connected in character and concept) of a melancholic prince trying to escape from dull reality. With her anguished articulations of the shoulder, elbow and wrist, the head thrown back, she told me that love was a dangerously powerful force in humanity. It could spark desire and uplift, but it was also a force that could destroy a human so utterly and profoundly. Lopatkina's earlier, technically flawless displays of the classical Swan Lake role can be seen on YouTube.
There was another such swan at SDT's production of swan lake at the esplanade this week. Coming to us after a comprhensive career at the Korean National Ballet, Rosa Park gave us a riveting rendition of the white and black swans Odette and Odile, in what must go down as an outstanding performance in the history of SDT.
Of a slight silhouette and marvellously expressive and supple arms, Park is a pleasure to watch. She seized the limelight with rare charisma and a wonderfully nuanced portrayal of Odette's chaste charms. She appeared indeed as light as a feather, skimming gracefully through the bourrees suivi steps across the stage, and floating with commmendable control through her adagio pirouettes. Her Odile was no less impressive, as she flirted ruthlessly through renverses and attitudes, and then whirled confidently and continuously through 30 fouetté turns - the latter impressive despite some substantial drifting across the stage, Park compeleted the traditional music just a touch short of the coveted 32 pirouettes, and topped off with a triple turn. It was certainly more impressive than any fouettes I have seen at SDT in years. Her spirited characterisations even elicited some sense of amorous feeling from Chen Peng as Prince Siegfried, in contrast to his usual dryly technical delivery that tends to have all the charm of an ornate wallpaper. Together, Park and Chen were well-matched and executed several examples of beautifully effortless partnering. I would hope that this is the start of a promising new partnership.
The leading couple's work was the highlight of the evening. While the corps de ballet danced credibly through the challenging group choreography, there were a few too many moments of unsynchronised and poorly-blocked dancing. It was perhaps a symptom of the transitions in the makeup of the company, which has seen the departure or retirement of several important dancers, and the introduction of at least five new faces in the past year - of which Ms Park is one.
-Swan Lake at te Esplanade Theatre from 17-20 Dec 2009. Alternate lead cast Chihiro Uchida and Wang Hao.
The last time we witnessed just a fleeting taste of such a swan was with Ulyana Lopatkina's visit to Singapore two years ago with the Russian stars gala, when she danced the dying swan (not part of the swan lake repertory but which has influenced many contemporary productions of the ballet). The undulations of her arms were heart-rending. She taught me that this ballet was not some trivial story but undoubtedly connected in character and concept) of a melancholic prince trying to escape from dull reality. With her anguished articulations of the shoulder, elbow and wrist, the head thrown back, she told me that love was a dangerously powerful force in humanity. It could spark desire and uplift, but it was also a force that could destroy a human so utterly and profoundly. Lopatkina's earlier, technically flawless displays of the classical Swan Lake role can be seen on YouTube.
There was another such swan at SDT's production of swan lake at the esplanade this week. Coming to us after a comprhensive career at the Korean National Ballet, Rosa Park gave us a riveting rendition of the white and black swans Odette and Odile, in what must go down as an outstanding performance in the history of SDT.
Of a slight silhouette and marvellously expressive and supple arms, Park is a pleasure to watch. She seized the limelight with rare charisma and a wonderfully nuanced portrayal of Odette's chaste charms. She appeared indeed as light as a feather, skimming gracefully through the bourrees suivi steps across the stage, and floating with commmendable control through her adagio pirouettes. Her Odile was no less impressive, as she flirted ruthlessly through renverses and attitudes, and then whirled confidently and continuously through 30 fouetté turns - the latter impressive despite some substantial drifting across the stage, Park compeleted the traditional music just a touch short of the coveted 32 pirouettes, and topped off with a triple turn. It was certainly more impressive than any fouettes I have seen at SDT in years. Her spirited characterisations even elicited some sense of amorous feeling from Chen Peng as Prince Siegfried, in contrast to his usual dryly technical delivery that tends to have all the charm of an ornate wallpaper. Together, Park and Chen were well-matched and executed several examples of beautifully effortless partnering. I would hope that this is the start of a promising new partnership.
The leading couple's work was the highlight of the evening. While the corps de ballet danced credibly through the challenging group choreography, there were a few too many moments of unsynchronised and poorly-blocked dancing. It was perhaps a symptom of the transitions in the makeup of the company, which has seen the departure or retirement of several important dancers, and the introduction of at least five new faces in the past year - of which Ms Park is one.
-Swan Lake at te Esplanade Theatre from 17-20 Dec 2009. Alternate lead cast Chihiro Uchida and Wang Hao.
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
facets
I have never known so much about my body. The apparition of bones and muscles heretofore unseen: the sternum, the sacral ala. Facets of the vertebrae, tibialis anterior. The plantar fascia and levator scapula. I wake in the night wondering about the deep clack from the acetabulum, the balance of tensions at the cervical. For only aesthetic purposes, I would like to to teach an anatomy lesson from the sculpted contours of a dancer's back.
What a wondrous instrument the body is. How unique. In each achievent and each injury, it is my enemy, my teacher and my friend.
How long can a body last?
What a wondrous instrument the body is. How unique. In each achievent and each injury, it is my enemy, my teacher and my friend.
How long can a body last?
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Humbled by movement
At the Musee de la danse project at Theatreworks, a choreographer (Boris Charmatz) invited me to hop on to one of four box thrusts that had been lowered to waist-level in the studio theatre, above the clutch of eminent artists lying on the floor and tackling the question of "what is dance in Singapore".
"Just sleep there" he said, and I lay down on the dusty shafts, and attempted to create a position. Boris was sceptical. "How can you sleep like that?"
He was right. I opted for something less contrived and more comfortable. Then I entered a zero-gravity world, dazzeld by the fluorescence of the worklights so far above. Floating as child on the sea. Helpless, and free.
We are so used to creating movement every day as dancers, striving for finer or stronger control. But movement does not belong to human beings alone. It is also the property of beings non-sentient, infitesimal. Planetary and microscopic. We are of the same family in our origin.
"Just sleep there" he said, and I lay down on the dusty shafts, and attempted to create a position. Boris was sceptical. "How can you sleep like that?"
He was right. I opted for something less contrived and more comfortable. Then I entered a zero-gravity world, dazzeld by the fluorescence of the worklights so far above. Floating as child on the sea. Helpless, and free.
We are so used to creating movement every day as dancers, striving for finer or stronger control. But movement does not belong to human beings alone. It is also the property of beings non-sentient, infitesimal. Planetary and microscopic. We are of the same family in our origin.
Saturday, 10 October 2009
Screen Dance
One of the special things that I have seen recently is a British Council-sponsored series on "Screen Dance" in the UK. Contemporary choreographers are these days so enamoured of putting "multimedia" video projections into their works, but in Singapore there are far fewer of us looking into video itself as a performance medium.
Who needs lunch when you can go for a talk by the electrifying Liz Aggiss. She began dancing when she was 30, becoming a fearless artist and choreographer, and also a dance film maker and academic. In person and in some quirky on-screen introductions in the film, she pointed out the vast possibilities of film for directing and framing the audience's point of view, and also creating special effects to transcend gravity, venue, and sound. How nice to be able to keep a record of the work for posterity, that is made to be viewed on screen instead of inch-high blots for dancers on the wide-angle stage shot. It surely helps when generous institutions realise the potential and reach of dance film. The UK has the BBC, Channel 4 and the Arts Council England.
Singapore is just now falling in love with animation, computer graphics and film shorts. The most beautiful movement in Singapore is waiting to be shot and edited!
Who needs lunch when you can go for a talk by the electrifying Liz Aggiss. She began dancing when she was 30, becoming a fearless artist and choreographer, and also a dance film maker and academic. In person and in some quirky on-screen introductions in the film, she pointed out the vast possibilities of film for directing and framing the audience's point of view, and also creating special effects to transcend gravity, venue, and sound. How nice to be able to keep a record of the work for posterity, that is made to be viewed on screen instead of inch-high blots for dancers on the wide-angle stage shot. It surely helps when generous institutions realise the potential and reach of dance film. The UK has the BBC, Channel 4 and the Arts Council England.
Singapore is just now falling in love with animation, computer graphics and film shorts. The most beautiful movement in Singapore is waiting to be shot and edited!
Performance Updates
What a hiatus! I confess! I have been very busy dancing, and thinking and making dances at quite a frantic pace. It has been wonderful so far, discovering a lot of possibilities that I never realised, learning about my body and my thoughts, seeing a lot of very innovative work (see the wildly wonderful calendar on the edge of my seat at right), and finding that my limits may be much further than I would have dreamed of two years ago before I started this programme! Wonderful, and absolutely exhausting at the same time.
Two of the exciting projects that I'm involved in right now:
The Third Space at the Esplanade dan:s festival
30-31 October (Fri-Sat), 7.30pm Esplanade Recital Studio
I will be performing a contemporary Bharatanatyam dance theatre piece by Nirmala Seshadri. Incorporating classical Indian dance and music with contemporary movement, theatre, video and chinese poetry by Singapore-based poet Dan Ying, "This and That" is an intense piece is about age, memories and unfulfilled dreams. It is one of four dances in this year's NAFA Third Space showcase, an annual exploration of Asian traditions and history through contemporary dance.
More details here. Tickets are available from SISTIC.
NAFA Music Department new compositions showcase
3 November, 4pm, NAFA Lee Foundation Theatre
A new collaborative work with Indonesian contemporary music composer Jenny Rompas, which I am choreographing and dancing with Tong Wen Yee. The showcase also includes new music/multimedia collaborations by other composition students.
Two of the exciting projects that I'm involved in right now:
The Third Space at the Esplanade dan:s festival
30-31 October (Fri-Sat), 7.30pm Esplanade Recital Studio
I will be performing a contemporary Bharatanatyam dance theatre piece by Nirmala Seshadri. Incorporating classical Indian dance and music with contemporary movement, theatre, video and chinese poetry by Singapore-based poet Dan Ying, "This and That" is an intense piece is about age, memories and unfulfilled dreams. It is one of four dances in this year's NAFA Third Space showcase, an annual exploration of Asian traditions and history through contemporary dance.
More details here. Tickets are available from SISTIC.
NAFA Music Department new compositions showcase
3 November, 4pm, NAFA Lee Foundation Theatre
A new collaborative work with Indonesian contemporary music composer Jenny Rompas, which I am choreographing and dancing with Tong Wen Yee. The showcase also includes new music/multimedia collaborations by other composition students.
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