By Nabilah Said (621 words, three-minute read) On a Monday afternoon in Goodman Arts Centre, I am watching a group of dancers working. They are leaping. They are climbing. They are pushing. They are sweating. They are making me feel strangely immobile – when was the last time I hung upside down from my knees? […]
“Invisible Habitudes”: The Personal Goes Political Goes Global Read More »
The prestigious Paris Opera Ballet arrives on local shores this June as part of Esplanade’s da:ns series, bringing with them a trio of wide ranging works. These include the stories of romantic love told through balletic duets in Jerome Robbins’ In The Night (1970), the speed and precision of William Forsythe’s Blake Works I (2016),
By Akanksha Raja The 42nd Singapore International Festival of Arts returns this year from 16 May to 2 June 2019. In its second year under Festival Director Gaurav Kripalani, it promises a larger smorgasbord of critically acclaimed international performances as well as Singaporean commissions. Watch the Festival’s official trailer: Within one hour of the
SIFA 2019: Top Ten Picks Read More »
By Chan Sze-Wei (687 words, four-minute read) In 1987, William Forsythe created a ballet for the Paris Opera with a young Sylvie Guillem and Laurent Hilaire in the central duet. In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated is a high-octane incarnation of neoclassical ballet. Set to a pounding score, the ensemble silhouettes deliver razor-sharp pique unisons, while
What More Ballet Might Be: William Forsythe at da:ns series 2019 Read More »
Metaphors abound in this complex work about living, loving and surviving. The broad canvas is a country at war. Jogging falls short of running full out, and this black clad woman has survived through thirty years of war in her city Beirut. Her storytelling is multi-layered and cleverly scripted, revealing a series of characters that
“Jogging” To Survive: Hanane Hajj Ali at M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019 Read More »
The debate as to whether international museums and governments should return cultural artifacts acquired during the colonial period is not a new one. However, it has now been re-energized by French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision that France will return 26 cultural artifacts to Benin. The announcement follows the release of a presidential-commissioned report by French art historian Bénédicte Savoy
It’s Time for French Museums to Return Cambodian Artifacts (via The Diplomat) Read More »
By Teo Xiao Ting Click here to open the Twine in a new tab (if you’re reading this on a mobile browser, or otherwise have trouble viewing the Twine.) The Reunification of the Two Koreas by TheatreWorks was originally written in French by Joël Pommerat. Directed by Jacques Vincey, this staging ran at 72-13 from 1
Down the Fast Food Chain of Desire in “The Reunification of the Two Koreas” Read More »
The 26th ENCATC Congress on Cultural Management and Policy on “Beyond EYCH2018. What is the cultural horizon? Opening up perspectives to face ongoing transformations” concluded recently in Bucharest, Romania and looked to cultural priorities in Europe beyond EYCH or the European Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018. ENCATC is the European network on cultural management and policy. Maria Sharon Mapa Arriola tells us
Esplanade’s da:ns festival returns this year from 9 – 21 October. The 13-day celebration of movement features powerful performances from around the world, internationally acclaimed acts and exciting new works. Apart from ticketed performances, the festival offers free programmes, including mass dance sessions, workshops, and da:ns lab, the festival’s annual platform for critical discourse on
SHIFT (Your Perspective) at Esplanade’s da:ns festival 2018: A Sneak Peek in GIFs Read More »
The Sight/Unseen Asian Drama Conference was a two-day event on 26 – 27 April 2018 at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Tara Arts. Billed as an event to “tackle challenging issues facing playwrights in the UK and in Southeast Asia,” participants came all geared up to discuss issues ranging from minority representation to taboo subjects
On Taboos, Touring and Cultural Representation: Sight/Unseen Asian Drama Conference Read More »
Some may say that modern performance art in Vietnam looks the way it does thanks to the works of Tuan Le and his colleagues. Almost two decades into a series of smashing theatrical successes across the country, Le invites Saigoneer into the creative power behind AO, Teh Dar, and Lang Toi. About 17 years ago, Le decided to turn his
The annual Asian Restored Classics (ARC) festival is an initiative by the Asian Film Archive (AFA). It’s the first of its kind in Singapore, providing a platform to celebrate the best of Asian cinema by screening the restored historic and iconic films to be appreciated by new generations of audiences. The past two editions of
Asian Restored Classics 2018: Revisiting the Past In New Light Read More »
By Chloe C. Chotrani (933 words, five-minute read) Closing the ninth M1 Contact Contemporary Dance Festival is the annual Binary – International Showcase: a double bill by Astrid Boons (Belgium/Netherlands) and Shamel Pitts (Israel/United States). In Vestige, an attempt to empty the body of its humanness, choreographer and performer Astrid Boons pushes the physicality of
Angklung musicians featuring Austrian soprano Maria Theresia Gruber staged the song Bengawan Solo at the Indonesian Cultural Night event held at Vienna’s Weltmuseum on Tuesday evening. Antara reported that the young soprano also sang “Im Prater blühn wieder die Bäume” (The trees are blooming again in the Prater), accompanied by angklung tunes. Indonesia Cultural Night
By Bernice Lee (974 words, 5 minute read) I caught Astrid Boons between rehearsals in Korzo for Vestige. She’s preparing to restage the work, rehearsing with a new cast member who had thankfully been part of the original creative process. She shares that coming to Singapore is a result of happenstance: Dimo Kirilov, who presented
Astrid Boons: Belgian Choreographer brings “Vestige” to Singapore Read More »
By Chan Sze-Wei (849 words, 5 minute read) L-E-V Dance company’s OCD Love is tightly choreographed and intense in its physicality, as might be expected from a choreographer issuing from years dancing, choreographing and directing for the iconic Batsheva Company whose Gaga style of dancing and theatrical physicality has become iconic of Israeli contemporary dance.
“OCD Love” by L-E-V Dance Company: Mental Illness Plus Dance Equals Ballet and Horror Read More »
An enchanting French evening of aerial circus performed to live music. …Sodade… is a nostalgic ode to life, a fable of love and loss in the air as told by two musicians playing and singing on a unique circus structure of huge twin wheels, each over two metres in width, between which a 21-metre long
…Sodade… at SIFA 2018 Read More »
Dapunta Hyang: Transmission of Knowledge by Zai Kuning returns from its showing at the 2017 Venice Biennale for a month long exhibition at Theatreworks Singapore. The exhibition runs from 12 April through 13 May 2018. A series of public talks and performances are planned. On 19 April, Professor John N.Miksic will present a public lecture,
Zai Kuning’s “Dapunta Hyang”: Homeward Bound From Venice Read More »
This is the book to own or read if you are in any way invested, connected and working with children as well as people with special needs. It is exactly as the title says: an effort to be inclusive, empowering and celebrate all people. The book is divided into five sections: Inclusive dance pedagogy; Equality,
By Akanksha Raja The Singapore International Festival of Arts 2018 is just over a month away, and the programme offers an extensive palette of art and performance not only from Singapore but also as farther afield as Germany, Palestine, India, Cape Verde, and more. It’s hard to define or label the types of shows on
SIFA 2018: Top Ten Picks for the Art Lover Read More »
Duration: 19 mins Corrie Tan caught up with award-winning British theatre critic Lyn Gardner when she was in Singapore last month from 24 to 28 January, before they both appeared on ArtsEquator’s public panel discussion on Theatre Reviews: Last Word or the Start of a Conversation, together with Sean Tobin and Alfian Sa’at. Tune into
Podcast 33: Interview with Lyn Gardner Read More »
Between 21 April to 3 July this year, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin hosted Misfits: Pages from a Loose-Leaf Modernity, curated by David Teh. The exhibition featured three artists from Southeast Asia: Fillipino filmmaker Rox Lee, who sowed the seeds of a nascent experimental scene; Thai artist and poet Tang Chang, known
By Patricia Tobin (500 words, 5-minute read) “Are you interested in the first series of major discoveries, such as the law of elementary mechanics?” a friendly voice asks over an intercom. “The wheel, perhaps?” Halory’s three companions shake their heads and he promptly replies, “No.” In classical physics, we deal with the observable world. In
“Germinal”: Mystery, Science, Theatre Read More »
By Naeem Kapadia (738 words, 7-minute read) What are human beings without language, possessions and a sense of time and place? How do we make sense of our surroundings? Stripped of all trappings of civilisation, can one start from scratch and create a brand new world with form and function? This unique, challenging and wildly
“Germinal”: Metaphysical Magnificence Read More »
“Italian contemporary artist Filippo Sciascia’s relationship with Asia and Indonesia began back in 1998, however, says the artist, he has only truly “come of age as an Italian-Indonesian artist” in 2013 when he successfully fused iconography from the two worlds into a single creation of art. “I realize now my works have become more sincere,”
By Chloe Calderon Chotrani (870 words, 8-minute read) Culminating the M1 Contact: Contemporary Dance Festival 2017 at Esplanade was Binary: International Artist Showcase. It featured two exquisite pieces Broken Lines by husband and wife, Dimo Kirilov and Tamako Akiyama of Kirilov-Akiyama Dance Projects (Spain) and Zero by Humanhood (U.K) that transported the audience from the black box into
“Binary” at M1 Contact Festival 2017: Dream States Read More »
By Alvin Lim (1860 words, 20-minute read) “I send you off like a lover.” – Zai Kuning, at the launch of Dapunta Hyang: The Transmission of Knowledge, 10 May 2017 With his palms over the bow, Zai launched the ship. At the stern, however, the ship was incomplete. All this, I sense, made the vessel
I Send You Off Like a Lover: SEA at Venice Biennale Read More »
“When we talk about photography, oftentimes we talk about those in the frontlines, the photographers and artists, and forget the facilitators behind the scenes who are just as committed in their efforts and contributions. Here are some of our favourite advocates, all ten of whom are women…” See the entire list at Invisible Photographer Asia. Tags:
Ten Women Behind Photography in Asia Read More »
“The idea of a “national identity” isn’t flat, as some people might have you think. It is a vast, complex landscape, with boundaries leaking from one to the other. Perceived differences form a major part of what one’s national identity is supposed to be, but it is an idea sifted through many filters, such as
“The Thai Ferrari, made from woven rattan by Chiang Rai locals, will park at the Venice Biennale this year. “It can’t run, obviously,” said Anon Pairot of his rattan sports car. “The curator once remarked that somehow it was like Thailand. We build things, but we don’t really go anywhere.” The 57th Venice Biennale begins
Baby you can’t drive my car [Thailand] Read More »
