KUALA LUMPUR: A full-length contemporary dance production Psychosynthesis featuring the effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic will be staged at the Petaling Jaya Performing Arts Centre (PJPAC) on Feb 4 and 5.
Presented by the Kenny Shim Dance Collective (KSDC) and Asia Ballet Theatre (ABT), the dance event will showcase local talent working in tandem with science, multimedia, theatrical lights and set design to stage a visual and kinaesthetic portrayal following themes mental struggles and emotional turmoil (solitude, mourning of human interaction) intertwined and juxtaposed against factual and scientific truths of the pandemic (the spherical structure of the coronavirus cell, the alteration in brain chemistry as a result of isolation).
Produced by Arthur Mak, with choreography by Kenny Shim and Ivy Chung as artistic director, Psychosynthesis is a powerful, dynamic, fast-paced theatrical dance production portraying the struggles faced by individuals and community during the pandemic.
The subsequent social, emotional and cerebral toll also informs the genesis of the piece, forming an impressionistic collage of movement and dance.
Psychosynthesis is a physical manifestation of the mind, exploring the repercussions that long periods of isolation have on the human psyche.
The dance serves as a creative navigation of such experiences faced by the world, which engages movement and music to portray an abstract journey which begins with intense turmoil and finally resolves with a sense of hope for the future, despite the unknown.
Psychosynthesis delivers a visual feast where themes of physiological, metaphorical and psychological coalesce and pay homage to the efforts of health workers during the global pandemic.
The dance show was initially developed for the grand opening of the new PJPAC theatre from April to June of 2021 but production was halted upon announcement of the second nationwide lockdown.
KSDC and ABT were later invited to premiere an excerpt of the dance show to a VIP audience for PJPAC's Once Upon A Stage: A Celebration Of A New Theatre in November but was again postponed due to the 15th General Elections.
The upcoming full-length production of Psychosynthesis will happen at PJPAC'S Stage 1 theatre at 3pm and 8.30pm on Feb 4 and 5.
Tickets, priced at RM60, RM80, RM100 and RM120, can be purchased at www.onetix.com.my
Call +603-7732 4988 or email ksdc.my@gmail.com for enquiries.