THE one-of-its-kind dance extravaganza 'Double Punctum' is back in town.
First staged a decade ago, it will performed from Dec 19 to 22 at Pentas 2, The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC), Sentul Park, Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur.
'Double Punctum' originally premiered in 2013 as a dance-theatre hybrid inspired by photography.
The piece has been restructured and refined by artistic director Loh Kok Man, reflecting his ongoing thoughts on time, creation, and the struggles within.
Loh says: "Once again, dancers Ming Low and Wong Jyh Shyong will join forces in this work, bridging past and present through an exploration of the body and its direct connection to the central theme."
Presented by Pentas Project Theatre Production, 'Double Punctum' is directed by Loh, with dancers Ming and Wong joining forces to present 'White Paper', inspired by Pam Lim's photography works.
Loh says that 'Double Punctum' originated from photographers Lim and William Mok, who — during their photography trips to China's Xia Pu and Jiuzhaigou — discovered that the natural world captured by lens conveyed many unique styles and powerful stage imagery.
"This inspired them to invite Ming and I to Jiuzhaigou in an early winter, where we observed through the lens tiny movements of flowers and trees, the sound of wind across the lake, and the subtle changes of ground frost.
"Using photography from Xia Pu and Jiuzhaigou as material, we extended the imagery into a work where the puncta in the photos were layered upon the dancers' body movements."
TWO WORKS
The 2013 performance featured two works, 'Sand' and 'White Paper'.
Wong won Best Dancer at the 11th Boh Cameronian Arts Awards for his performance in this production, which was also nominated for Best Stage Design and Best Lighting Design in the same awards.
Loh says: "After a decade of reflecting on creation and time and the struggles with them, we have chosen to restructure and refine 'White Paper'.
"The work brings the past and present into entropy, in the most direct relation to and expression of the theme.
"It contemplates the flow and change in what is captured — internal and external, black and white, stillness and motion."
With original music by Ng Chor Guan, stage design by Lim, lighting design by Loh, and a new costume concept designed by Quito Neng, 'Double Punctum' allows the audience to discover new collisions and sparks between imagery and form, space and body.
Ming was trained at the Central School of Ballet, London and danced professionally as an independent contemporary dancer in Germany, Ireland, France and the UK.
He co-founded Bi Ma Dance Company with Loh Pit Fong in 1991 with the support of The Arts Council of England, British Council, The Place Theatre in London and Dance City in Newcastle.
Wong, who studied fine arts at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, received a doctor of philosophy from Universiti Malaya in 2023.
He was a dancer with Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan from 2005 to 2009.
Both Ming and Wong have more than four decades' dance experience.
"Rehearsals are going well. My major challenge is to adapt myself physically with my current situation as my last stage performance was in 2019 in Hong Kong due to the pandemic," says Ming.
HUGELY POPULAR
Loh says: "Pam and I didn't know each other before that. Back then, she wanted to develop her photography work into a dance piece, and Ming recommended me to her.
"Although the photos were taken in nature, they are not typical landscape photographs that we usually see.
"These images possess unique lines and tension.
'Double Punctum' was hugely popular and well received when it premiered, he adds.
"This revival aims to bring past and present into conversation once again.
"We hope to rekindle the connection felt by those who loved the work previously while introducing this unique creation, inspired by photography and expressed through dance, to a new generation of audiences," says Loh.
Ming says: "It was the first production that Pam produced. Based on her photography which was poetic and minimalist, we are restaging this production with the original cast."
He adds that Lim admired his performance back then and wanted to invite him to create another layer on top of her photography which he, too, admires.
"We spent our time in studios exploring movements through improvisation under the direction of Kok Man. Back then our 5 performances were sold out and through feedback from audiences, we have inspired and touched many of them.
"We hope to inspire and touch someone this time round as well."