EXCITED by the promise of new dance choreography by Generation Y talents, I checked out 10 dance performances by diploma and degree dance students of Aswara (National Arts Culture and Heritage Academy) at its campus in Kuala Lumpur.
The showcase, called Gelombang Baru, is the dance faculty’s project that began 10 years ago as a platform for young choreographers to hone their skills. Young names who have emerged from this initiative include Lex Balakrishnan, now resident choreographer at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre. The showcase delivered both hits and misses.
Hit! B.U.T. was a piece undemanding of profound reflection from the viewer. The ensemble seemed to have fun as it acted and danced to the concept of what is beauty, the products used, and what makes it such to the beholder. Sounds deep, but the youth made good use of the hall — the seats and aisles — for the dance.
Near Hit! Homemaker by Glorai Patie.
It seemed a take on the Nicole Kidman film Stepford Wives. Robotic and homogenous in their movements of a housewife doing chores, the three female dancers did well with their synchronised steps. The three male dancers as the loving or irate husbands leapt and spun their secondary roles with verve. The dance asked: With all the work they do, are homemakers happy? The dance ended with the wives becoming robots on the verge of malfunction. Cute, but a tired concept. Miss! Naim Syahrazad’s energetic piece, Genuine. The tale was of two friends, goofing around and building up trust. Inexplicably, as in real life, trust disappears. Naim danced with ballet skills which contrasted well with his peer Mohmad Aziz Mansor’s muscular contemporary moves. But there was too much running around, literally, which made boredom creep in as I wondered if the dancers were ever going to finish their routine.
Hit! Vivian Chai’s well-planned Cicak.
Performed by Chai, Chia Yan Wei and Ng Xinying, the dance asked: What happens if a lizard enters a human’s brain? This fun concept called for lizard-like moves, with the dancers in a striking cobra stance. The dancers showed sinuous and supple strength, making their lizard impressions believable. The choreography had the added dimension of a short film of these dancers pretending to be lizards, coming out from a picture frame. It went well with the dance, and the message — that lizard takes over man — rang loud.
Near Hit! Figura by second-year degree student Fairul Zahid.
Performed by Fairul, Azizi Mansor and Kishore Kumar, the piece was a fluid story of synchronised balletic movements, with a live music ensemble.
The singer’s voice was ethereal, even though she only vocalised notes. As she sang, there was a sense of a partnership being built with the dancers, as they leapt with intent. At the end, the dancers interacted with the musicians, ending with the singer putting a songkok on a dancer’s head. I liked the interaction, which I felt was a step to another level of dance performance. But the act of putting the songkok still escapes me. Promising, nonetheless.
Read more: Showbiz: Wave of new talents http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Showbiz_Waveofnewtalents/Article/#ixzz1KXDx4v2l
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