“Management of Contemporary Dance Around Southeast Asia”

Organised by Tasema Productions with support from Arts Network Asia, this two-day roundtable dialogue involves the coming together of select individuals from various Southeast Asian capitals to discuss ways in which the management of contemporary dance in Southeast Asia can be improved upon.

PARTICIPANTS
· Dennis Marasigan (Manila) – Director of Marketing, Cultural Center of the Philippines
· Ha The Dung (Hanoi) – Chief of the Dancers Group at the Vietnam National Opera & Ballet (Classical & Contemporary)
· Kim Pinun (Phnom Penh) – Professor in Modern Theater, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Choreographic Arts, Royal University of Fine Arts
· Sal Murgiyanto (Jakarta) – Dean Of Performing Arts, Jakarta Institute for the Arts and Director of the Indonesian Dance Festival
· Sirithorn Srichalakom (Bangkok) – Choreographer at Patravadi Theatre and Lecturer at Chulalongkorn University
· Tang Fu Kuen (Singapore) – Independent Theatre Movement Artist, Dramaturg and Critic
· Rogayah Shahariman (Kuala Lumpur) – Director of Tasema Productions

MODERATORS
· Marion D’Cruz – Founder/Director of the Five Arts Center
· Mohd Anis Md Nor – Professor in Ethnochoreology and Ethnomusicology at University Malaya

PROGRAMME
5/10 (Sat) – Introduction and Paper/Report Presentations
6/10 (Sun) – Roundtable Sessions
· Session 1 – “Strategies”
· Session 2 – “Policy and Procedure”
· Session 3 – “What else can be done?”

Observers are welcome and may have input into the proceedings. However places will be limited to enable open and productive interaction among the participants.

Dates: 5 – 6 October 2002 (Saturday – Sunday)
Time: 9.30am – 5.30pm (registration from 9.00am on Saturday)
Venue: Hotel Fairlane Kuala Lumpur (Jalan Walter Grenier, 55100 Kuala Lumpur)
Registration fee: RM120 (covers food and printed materials)
Deadline: 1 October 2002

To register contact:
Tasema Productions
tel/fax: (603) 4251 8751
email: tasprod@tm.net.my

Organised by MyDance Alliance and conducted by Joyce Lim, this ‘movement investigation’ workshop has 4 main components:

· Warm up using Yang style Tai Chi Chuan concentrating on basic concepts such as slowness, precision, relaxation, breathing, weight distribution and focus
· Image Based Work as a means of improvisation and movement investigation. The rational or conscious mind will be ‘shut down’ allowing the body and imagination free expression in movement and imagery
· The movements generated will be crafted into solo phrases
· Negative Space (time permitting) is a means of training the eyes and body to look for unfilled/unoccupied spaces and to explore partnering

Dates: 2-3 October 2002 (Wed-Thu)
Time: 7.30pm-9.30pm
Venue: Akademi Seni Kebangsaan (32nd floor Empire Tower, Jalan Tun Razak)
Fee for both days: RM50 (public), RM40 (MyDance Members)

Places limited to 20 participants
(no experience required, only an open mind and a sense of adventure!)

For reservations contact:
Gan Chih Pei: 012-390 3242
Rogayah: 016-285 9027

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Joyce Lim Shuan Li is a Malaysian who has lived and worked in the US for the last 12 years. Since 1998 her work has focused on contemporary issues and aesthetics of SEAsia.

Her choreographies and videos have been presented internationally at venues ranging from the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, and the Judson Church and Danspace Project at St Marks Church, New York.

As part of The Artists’ Space Season 2002, Ramli Ibrahim & the Sutra Dancers will perform Pallavi.

Pallavi is both a dance genre within Odissi, an Indian Classical Dance style from Orissa, and a way of rendering a particular music refrain so that every shade and nuance possible within the chosen dance/music phrase is brought out.

Pallavis are characterised by sculpturesque poses and intricate patterns of feet movement.

Dates: 18-20 October (Fri-Sun)
Time: 9.00pm
Venue: The Artists’ Space, Concorde Hotel Shah Alam (Jalan Tengku Ampuan Zabedah C9/4C)
Tickets: RM35 (inclusive of 1 drink)

Call: 03-5512 2200 ext 2821/2822

Over the month of October, the Five Arts Center will hold a series of workshops – Performance Workshops for Adults and Creative Workshops for Young People.

1) Performance Workshops for Adults

This workshop will introduce new and aspiring performers to training techniques in acting, movement and voice, and will include exciting activities such as theatre games and improvisation, stage combat and freeing the participants’ voices!

The workshops will be led by pioneering dancer/choreographer and Five Arts Centre founder member, Marion D’Cruz; Mark Teh and Kubhaer T. Jethwani from exciting youth theatre group Akshen; and Lim Chung Wei, Universiti Sains Malaysia graduate in Theatre and Drama who has worked extensively with groundbreaking director Janet Pillai in Penang.

Dates: every Saturday (5th, 12th, 19th and 26th) of October 2002
Time: 3.00-6.00 pm
Venue: Five Arts Centre, 27, Lorong Datuk Sulaiman 7, TTDI, KL
Fee: RM300 for the entire programme
Places: first 25 people who register before Friday, 27 Sept 2002

Call Five Arts Centre at 03-7725-4858 or e-mail fivearts@tm.net.my

2) Creative Workshops for Young People

This workshop for young people aged 12-17 years will introduce participants to creative expression through improvisation, role-play, theatre games and problem-solving techniques.

The programme will be conducted by actress Jerrica Lai, who has worked extensively with young people in many projects, including Five Arts Centre’s Teater Muda programme, as well as teaching children’s theatre at The Actors Studio, Girl’s Shelter in Taman OUG and the Kiwanis Foundation.

Dates: every Sunday (6th, 13th, 20th and 27th) of October 2002
Time: 3.00-5.00 pm
Venue: Five Arts Centre, 27, Lorong Datuk Sulaiman 7, TTDI, KL
Fee: RM250 for the entire programme
Places: first 25 young people who register before Friday, 27 Sept 2002

Contact Five Arts Centre at 03-7725-4858 or e-mail fivearts@tm.net.my

As part of The Artists’ Space Season 2002, celebrated classical dancer Zaridah Abdul Malik will perform Dance of the Weave with her dancers while accompanied by cellist, Pak Yosbar.

Her muse (as indicated by the title) is the songket fabric woven by Habibah Haji Zikri, which she feels, reveals and glorifies the gracious female psyche.

‘Woman Alone’ is based on Sita of the Ramayana who is abducted by the demon Ravana. She pines for her beloved but when help does not come, she uses her own resources to secure her freedom.

‘Processions, Weavers, Initiation and Pure Dance’ fuses classical styles with contemporary dance to capture the eternal joy and serenity inspired the songket pieces.

Dates: 27-28 September (Fri-Sat) and 4-5 October (Fri-Sat)
Time: 9.00pm
Venue: The Artists’ Space, Concorde Hotel Shah Alam (Jalan Tengku Ampuan Zabedah C9/4C)
Tickets: RM35 (inclusive of 1 drink)

Call: 03-5512 2200 ext 2821/2822

Sutra Dance Theatre presents a Bharata Natyam performance, Brahmacakra (The Magic Circle), featuring Shangita, Nada, Guna and Apsara.

In this performance the dancers showcase their own evolution and renewed interpretation of traditional repertoires while at the same time upholding the distinctive Kalakshetra stamp.

They will be accompanied by live music, led by distinguished vocalist Padma Subramaniam with Jaya Shekar on nattuvangam.

Dates: 28-29 September 2002 (Sat-Sun)
Time: 8.30pm
Venue: Sutra House, 12 Persiaran Titiwangsa 3, Kuala Lumpur
Entry: RM30

Call: 4021 1093 or 4022 9669

For further information visit www.sutradancetheatre.com

The Akademi Seni Kebangsaan (National Arts Academy) will present JAMU 2002 – a feast for the senses – a sumptuous evening of contemporary dance of very different styles.

Six contemporary dance lecturers of the Academy will present their own work, make their own statements and create their own magic. Sometimes abstract, at others funny, light, joyous, soulful…. contemporary dance can be all this.

Programme and featured choreographers:
Choo Tee Kuang – Miss Loke and Kim
Suhaimi Magi – Barabaku
Joseph Gonzales – Quilt
Marion D’Cruz – The Urn Piece Revisited
Mew Chang Tsing – Ngajat Kame Mak Kame
Loke Soh Kim – Watermelon Juice

The performers are drawn mainly from the students of the Academy but will be joined by Judimar Monfils, Anne James, Jerrica Lai, Loke Soh Kim and dancers from the Petronas Performing Arts Group.

Dates: 27-29 September 2002 (Fri-Sun)
Time: 8.30 pm
Venue: Dewan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia Tourist Center, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur
Tickets: RM10

For bookings, call Norhafilah at 013-4054995 or 2164 9180 ext 242 / 238

Continuing its well-known contemporary dance series, The Actors Studio presents “When They Dance 3” showcasing works of modern, jazz and buto.

This latest series will feature well-known local companies and artists such as Batu Dance Theatre, Crossroads Dance Ensemble, Dancezap Production, Judimar Monfils, Michael Xavier Voon, Nyo-Ba & Dancers, Sutra Dance Theatre and Wei Jun.

Venue: The Actors Studio Bangsar, Bangsar Shopping Center

Dates/Times:
19-21 September (Thu-Sat) @ 8.30pm
22 September (Sun) @ 3.00pm

Tickets: RM27/RM37 (Adults); 50% discount (Students)

Call: 03-2094 0400/ 03-2094 1400

PROGRAMME

Crossroads Dance Ensemble – Tajau
“The wise man must remember that while he is a descendent of the past, he is the parent of the future” – Herbert Spencer
Choreographed by Joseph Gonzales and performed by Mohd Kamaludin Mohd Daud

Judimar Monfils – Refugio (Refuge)
“She didn’t choose the present, she just remembers the past and walks in pieces towards the future”
Choreographed and performed by Judimar Monfils

Nyo-Ba & Dancers – Carmen
4 bald dancers dressed in white outfits and covered with white body paint interpret Carmen in an odd way.
Choreographed by Lee Swee Keong and performed by himself, Caecar Chong, Kiea Kuan Nam and Yeoh Kok Wai

Sutra Dance Theatre – Odissi, Pallavi and Kalyan Pallavi
Examples of Odissi, an Indian Classical Dance style originating from Orissa, characterised by the chauka (square) and tribhanga (3 bodily bends of head, torso and hip) positions and danced to the Odissi music system.
Choreographed by Ramli Ibrahim and performed by the Beijing Dancers (Xiao Ting, Yanni, Xie Qiang, Li Yang and Zhang Li)

Weijun – Follow the River
An excerpt from ‘Found Turn Fountain’ where the exploration of movement is part choreographed and part improvised to original music scored by Weijun.
Choreographed and performed by Weijun

Dancezap Production – Earth
A contemporary piece that mimics the formation of earth through strong costumes and music signifying the clash of the five elements.
Choreographed by Kenzo de Tuan and performed by dancers of Dancezap Production

Batu Dance Theatre – March
“Vaguely seen in the wind, dancing surrounded by the scent of flowers, wandering around the world”
Choreographed by Tan Lian Ho and performed by May Yee, Hui Yee, Carole, Ailyn, Phei Yin, Yen Fah and Mong Mei

Michael Xavier Voon & Ensemble – Diaries Ensemble
The ensemble simply reflects the natural language and diaries of movement within the heart.
Choreographed by Michael Xavier Voon and performed by himself and Anitha, Anita, Callista, Joan, Dennis, Margaret, Nicole Ann, Steffi, Sueann, Sara and Melissa

The winner of this festival-cum-competition will represent Wilayah in the Festival Tari Kebangsaan (National Dance Festival) later in the year.

For this event there will be presentations by Adikara Dance Theatre, Kamal Akademi Tari and Bakawali.

Date: 14 September (Saturday)
Venue: Dewan Auditorium Tunku Abdul Rahman, MTC, Jalan Ampang
Admission: Free

Call: 03-2164 8337

A two-week arts festival has been organised by Mines Shopping Fair, Mines Resort City and Dua Space Dance Theatre to mark the opening of the MINES Interactive Square Malaysia. During that time a wide variety of dance and music performances will be presented.

Dates: 14-29 September 2002
Time: 8.00-9.00pm
Admission: Free of charge
Venue: MINES Interactive Square Malaysia
(outside the main entrance of MINES Shopping Fair on the 2nd floor)

Enquiries: Ms. Wang 03-8942 1396 / Maggie Ng 03-8942 2163

For those interested in dance there will be the following:

Mon (16/9): Chinese Martial Arts by the Chin Woo Athletic Association
Thu (19/9): Malay Dance by Tandak Dance Theatre
Fri (20/9): Modern Chinese Dance by the Kwang Tung Association Dance Troupe
Sun (22/9): Modern Dance by Dua Space Dance Theatre
Mon (23/9): The Graceful Visages Kindergarten Dance Competition
Tue (24/9): The Graceful Visages Kindergarten Dance Competition
Fri (28/9): Indian Cultural Dance and Music by the Temple of Fine Arts