Upcoming choreographers are set to shine in an annual contemporary dance showcase, writes Subhadra Devan
CONTEMPORARY dance with traditional elements takes centrestage at Aswara (Akademi Seni Budaya Dan Warisan Kebangsaan) with seven new dances at the annual Jamu event. The dances, in this 14th showcase by Aswara’s Faculty of Dance, are the new works of its lecturers, including Faillul Adam and Safini Jafar, performed by the institute’s students of various faculties.
The other choreographers are the faculty dean, Mohd Yunus Ismail, Zamzuriah Zahari, Norbaizura Abd Ghani, Fairul Zahid Bloom and Mohd Seth Hamzah, the latter being the oldest among the 35 years-below group.
Three of the choreographers have completed their post-graduate studies in US’s New York University, Ireland’s University of Limerick, and Universiti Malaya, while two have performed their arangetram in bharathanatyam.
Faillul, a former street breakdancer, entered Aswara as a diploma student after seeing a television commercial about the institute. “I was at a loose end, and so I joined,” recalls the 30-year-old, adding: “And then went straight into contemporary dance, under Dr Joseph Gonzales.”
The eldest in his family, he says being a dancer is a difficult field. The father-to-be adds: “I won’t recommend my child to choose this path.”
Faillul, who has ancestry from China and that of the Bajau of Sabah, says he took his time to come up with his new dance called Backbiting instead of jumping right into rehearsals. “It’s about (Sigmund) Freud’s ego and superegos. I thought about what I wanted to say, and after discussions with Datin Marion D’Cruz, I narrowed it down.”
Freud’s ego and superego is superseded by the id, which is the instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories.
The super-ego operates as a moral conscience while the ego is the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego. “The conceptual process is new for me, and I hope the outcome will be deeper.”
Faillul chose seven male dancers for his dance, with some from the music and theatre faculties. His move is in keeping with the very idea of Aswara’s Jamu, which began in 2001 under Gonzales who pushed for choreographic cross-pollination, with collaborations with the other departments.
Faillul says he observed personalities around him at the institute, leading to his choices for his performers. His Backbiting dance will have lyrics, sound and text. “I hope it will take you somewhere else. It might make you angry, but also hopefully will make you reflect.”
PURE DANCE
For Safini, 34, her dance is a deconstructed form of terinai. The Malay classical dancer-choreographer and lecturer says her work called Inai, will be pure dance, without a tale. Terinai is a court dance from Perlis,usually accompanied by the serunai, and with a distinctive narrative of marriage and courtship. So, what Safini has planned in Inai strays from the norm. In fact, this will be only her sixth contemporary dance since this Ipoh-born lass entered Aswara.
Her dance will boast a new composition by Sharizan Sahmat, with accompaniment from the serunai, gongs, and vocals from Azura Abu Bakar. “I find doing contemporary work very difficult but I love to try,” says Safini who enrolled in Aswara at her mother’s urging. She recalls that Gonzales had assured her mum that he’d ensure she will achieve all she could. Today, the Master’s holder is a lecturer and loving it.
Both Faillul and Safini are glad to have the Jamu platform to showcase contemporary dances. While they, along with other dancers and choreographers do take part in big tourism events like Citrawarna and Diversecity Kuala Lumpur (a.k.a the Kuala Lumpur International Arts Festival) for monetary purposes, they lament that these have no room for local contemporary dance.
“It’s difficult to do something different like contemporary dance on the bigger platforms available in the country at present, because people with authority seem to have fixed ideas about what they want to showcase,” explains Faillul, as Safini nods her agreement.
For example, at the 2016 Diversecity event, Aswara performed a 90-minute-lon Main Zapin 2016: Akar Budaya Zama, to excellent reviews. Says Safini: “And it’s zapin from us again this year.”
They admit that contemporary dance has a smaller audience compared to traditional performances, but they feels that it’s such large-scale platforms that can test the mettle of contemporary dancers and choreographers. “A mindset change is needed but hopefully Gen Y will be inspired by Jamu!”
JAMU 2017
When Feb 24-26,
Where Black Box, Aswara, 464 Jalan Tun Ismail, Kuala Lumpur
Tickets are RM25/RM10
Call 03-2697 1777 or email info@aswara.edu.my.