Arts Fest :: Exciting Last Bits (Beats)

Having to be physically present at the office stopped me from attending the first day of ConversAsians. Haizzzzz. But I was able to attend the other sessions. Ery Mefri's masterclass was WOAH. The friends pulled me along. I didn't read the brief for the class, saved for knowing that he's a contemporary choreographer in Padang, and it was going to be "vigorous". That translated into a mild form of martial arts. I was really not used to voicing out 'breaths' at the session. Heck, I don't even like breathing loudly at pilates. I like those drums though.

I had missed Akram Khan's speaking session; thank goodness for the friends who enthusiastically filled me in about it, and everything else. There was a second masterclass conducted earlier this afternoon, but I wasn't confident of joining in. The idea was scary. Daunting, really. So I decided to stick to watching his show at Arts Fest.

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'Theyyam' by Soorya Singapore

Watched the stately theatrical portions of 'Theyyam' (Dance of Gods) that's widely practised in north Kerala. Soorya brought in 11 artistes from Kerala. The religious portions weren't shown to the public. But we were treated to the artistic dance of the four forms, which was a real visual feast- Muchilot Bhaghavathy, Raktha Chamundy, Vishnumoorthy and Agni kandakarnan.

The audience sat quietly in respect, and bated breath watching the colors unfurl in the night. The performers' make-up, costumes and headgear were intricate, fierce and very dramatic! In the darkness of the Festival Village, the flames were magical in Agni kandakarnan. I was worried that as the performers moved, their dress of coconut leaves might be set alit.

'The Book of Living and Dying' by The Finger Players and Teatri Sbagliati

"…if you believe that every relationship you have is not a singular event in history but one that is repeated in the consciousness of every individual."

Directed and conceived by Chong Tze Chien, the story was compelling, inspired by the Tibetan belief of reincarnation, the Buddhist seeds of karma and past lives. At least for me, I don't dwell on the religious aspects of it. I look at the play's structure and story development more than anything else. The strength in 'The Book of Living and Dying' lies in its strong emotional connection to the audience, especially in how the actors flesh out the inner conflict when touchy social issues are raised.

An African/American adopted daughter who has to wrestle with feelings about her transvestite Italian/American father's impending death from cancer; the knowledge that their relationship spanned lifetimes not always as parent-child. Should you believe in karma and reincarnation, then when and how do this ties cease to exist and bind? Anyway, arrrrrgh, shadow puppets again.

I'm not inclined to discuss more here except to say that I enjoyed it. It isn't the easiest of subject matter to translate into a stage production. The acting and its references provided a lot of food for thought. I'll speak of this in depth offline among friends. This was another surprising free show. (Registration was needed, and it was oversubscribed!) Time to get it ticketed and spread it further to more audiences.

'Vertical Road' by Akram Khan

Akram Khan's contemporary 'Vertical Road' draws inspiration from "Sufi tradition and the Persian poet and philosopher Rumi". His dancers moved with a sense of angst and wonderment in its non-classical gestures; the show's seemingly raw movements were controlled and meant to portray each human's spiritual connection with either the self, or a higher power.

I was reminded of a quote from Rumi- "Dance, when you're broken open. Dance, if you've torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you're perfectly free." It was similar to what Akram Khan said in his ConverAsians' masterclass 2 nights ago, about wanting his dancers to give everything or nothing. A bit of an ouch, but yes, it was that intense.

Remember Akram Khan and Sylvie Guillem's 'Sacred Monsters'? Watching them on stage was such a privilege. That was absolutely riveting, and totally enjoyable. In 'Vertical Road', I was also paying a fair bit of attention to the music that had been scored by the versatile Nitin Sawhney, who had clearly worked closely with the choreographer to not lose the latter's trademark Kathak beats. I'd have loved to see 'Desh' though. What a pity. Another time then. I'll be patient and wait for his ankle to recover. :) It might be one of the few reasons that will induce me to make a trip to the US, of which I've determinedly put off for years.

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These concluded an exciting Arts Fest 2012 for me. I'm glad that the Festival has moved out of its comfort zone of tradition and step into the realm of 'experiential' and 'experimental'. I didn't come up with them. These two words have appeared so often in the 'about' write-ups and reviews that I can't help but roll my eyes. The definitions are relative to both the audience and the perception of the writer, aren't they? So if Arts Fest takes a break next year to reconfigure, re-consolidate and re-group for a new direction, it's all good.