Videos from Zapin d'Muara!

I'll be uploading about all this on the Singapore Arts Festival Blog soon, but I decided to splash it all on my personal blog first.

Basically, Sunday I went to cover Zapin d'Muara, an event at the Malay Heritage Centre centred on zapin. Zapin's a form of Malay dance and music drawn from Middle Eastern culture. It's the most fast-paced of the five varieties of Malay dance.



These two guys are Syarhrial and Surya Darma (left and right). They're craftsmen and musicians from Indonesia, who whittle gambus (string instrument shown) and marwas (drum) out of jackfruit wood and goatskin. Here they're doing an impromptu performance of "Zapin Menjelang Magrib", which Surya wrote himself - singing starts around 0:35.



This is my attempt to learn the dance. (Very awkward.)



Here's a bit of a silat demonstration.

Will also upload some performance art later. Cya!

UPDATE:



I think it's performance art... why else would anyone be mopping a fountain?

I'm back from Flying Circus Project!

The Cambodian participants BEFORE our workshops with them:



The Cambodian participants AFTER:



Contemporary art = late capitalist globalised hegemony? Maybe, but we can have a good time while we're at it!

What city am I in now?

Documenting Flying Circus Project every frickin' day.

Here's a clip of Papua-Indonesian choreographer Jecko Siompo, delivering a workshop to young traditional Cambodian dancers.



It's the kangaroo stance! More info here.

CRABS.

I've been busy documenting the artists of the Flying Circus Project '09/'10's first installment, musée de la danse: expo zéro. But on Saturday night, I did not dine with the eminent artists.

Why?

Because my mother brought back hairy crabs from China.



Ooh, look at 'em. Nom nom nom nom.

She brought back a whole basketful, in fact:



I sat up late eating them with a nutcracker, a plate of rice and a bowl of cut avocado, capsicum and arugula, while watching TED lectures on my laptop.

Life isn't good. It's decadently, awesome.



Unless you're a hairy crab, of course. Read about FCP here.

I didn't mention, did I, that I've set up another Flying Circus Project blog?

It's on Wordpress this time. Go to http://flyingcircusproject.wordpress.com.

B).

expo zéro by Musée de la Danse

I'm serving as the official documenter for this! It's on this Saturday and Sunday, 1-6pm, at 72-13/TheatreWorks. Drop by if you can!


TheatreWorks / 72-13 presents

Flying Circus Project Platform 01: expo zéro by Musée de la Danse

The first-ever dancing museum in Singapore hosted by the Flying Circus Project, expo zéro is a unique exhibition without objects conceived by acclaimed French choreographer, Boris Charmatz and Musée de la Danse.

expo zéro is only open on two days: 7 & 8 November at 72-13 between 1pm and 6pm.

An `exhibition' project with no photographs, no sculptures, no installations, no videos. Zero things, not one stable object. But artists, and areas occupied by gestures, projects, bodies, stories, dances which everyone will choose to imagine.

In the process spirit of the Flying Circus Project (FCP) conceived by Ong Keng Sen, expo zéro is a kind of 'think tank' through analysis, description, performance, movements and ideas which each guide-artist will develop with the audience. This comes at a timely occasion as Singapore has no dancehouse (tanzhaus, dansens hus, centre chorégraphique national), a question which TheatreWorks / 72-13 is presently pondering.

expo zéro is headed by Boris Charmatz in collaboration with dancers-choreographers, François Chaignuad, Mette Ingvartsen and actor-director Yves-Noël Genod. In Singapore, it collaborates with Asian artists, architects, theorists of FCP 2010 like Padmini Chettur, Heman Chong, Torrance Goh of FARM, Donna Miranda, Joavien Ng and Ong Keng Sen.
For all bios, please go to www.theatreworks.org.sg / www.72-13.com

Visitors will experience these individuals' visions, subjective and utopian, of what a dancing museum can be.

Join us and be part of expo zéro now!

EVENT INFORMATION

Flying Circus Project Platform 01
expo zéro by Musée de la Danse

Date: 7 & 8 November 2009
Musée hours: 1pm – 6pm daily
Venue: 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road
Admission: Free

Please call 6737-7213 or email tworks@singnet.com.sg to register your attendance.

For more information:

www.theatreworks.org.sg
www.72-13.com

Garden Affair 013: Bird Call

Next Thursday and Friday, I'm involved in a contemporary dance performance called Bird Call, produced by ARTS Fission group and choreographed by Elysa Wendi. It's centred around the theme of birds, so I might have to do some dressing up in feathers. :)




Garden Affair 013 - Bird Call
Thursday 25 & Friday 26 June 2009, 8.30 pm
Garden Studio, Cairnhill Arts Center
126 Cairnhill Road #01-07/09
Within (tedious) walking distance from Newton MRT