Vol.1, December 1996 - March 1997

Steps To Staying Relevant

"The last refuge in our world where a man can discover the exact measure of his own soul," is how Maurice Bejart, French choreographer and dancer once described his art. Social scientists, for their part, regard dance as a society's way of vicariously revealing its ideas and feelings, of baring its own soul. In seeking out the measure of their own soul then, dancers reveal the soul of the very society in which they live and work. Their rhythmic and patterned movements set to music can be regarded as a social fantasy, a sublimated expression of the dreams and aspirations of society.

The 4th ASEAN Dance Festival will bring leading ASEAN choreographers, dancers and other specialists together in Singapore. Over the course of five days, each will offer his or her own interpretation of ASEAN's search for its soul amidst the flux wrought by the rapid rate of development.

The celebration of fancy footwork from the seven ASEAN countries proffers a fusion of the traditional and the contemporary. Dubbed "Complexities of Modern Living: ASEAN Dance as Reflection of Present Realities", this festival attempts to depict the socio-cultural impact of rapid urbanization and growth on the ASEAN countries, their peoples and their landscape. Choreographers, therefore, explored such themes as the relationship between people and nature, the changing role of women and the complexity of the urban environment when devising their performances.

The only opportunity for ASEAN dancers and choreographers to collectively celebrate the richness and the diversity of the region's dance heritage, the festival is also an occasion for sharing and exchanging ideas, experiences and the latest developments in dance. "The good thing about the festival is that it gives the leading dance practitioners in each ASEAN country a chance to meet and discuss important issues," said Dr. Chua Soo Pong, Artistic Director for the festival.

The dance festival is more than just a showcase for ASEAN's dance heritage, said Dr. Chua. It is also the vehicle for practitioners to thresh out issues and perhaps forge a common path for the future of dance in the region. Dr. Chua hopes that the symposium which accompanies the festival will consider issues in dance education and choreography. "At the moment, we are behind in dance research. The energies tend to be channeled into creative dance. We should now look into archiving our rich dance heritage for dance education and instruction by making instructional videos and CD-ROMs," he said.

To the extent that it seeks to portray contemporary realities, the festival serves to make traditional modes of dance expression relevant to the present or to adapt the traditional so that it accurately reflects current concerns. These efforts are amply illustrated by Thailand' s entry. The dance is a depiction of a typical day in Bangkok. Prof. Surapone Virulrak, Vice-president of the Planning and Development, Chulalongkorn Univer-sity and founder of the university's dance department, revealed that he deliberately chose young dance students who were not deeply committed to any particular dance form.

In rendering the professor's concepts real, choreographer Peerapong Sensai, welcomed improvi-sations and contributions from his young troupe. "Traditional Thai dance is very important, but contemporary dance is now more relevant, particularly to young people. Thai dance has to change now," he said.

Indonesia's "apsaras" have taken a similar path for Indonesia's performances -- both use contemporary technique. However, choreographer Sukarji Sriman insists that this is not a new dance form. Rather, he describes his dance as a modern reincarnation of the traditional art form.

"Actually, the new choreography in Indonesia is about recreation of the old forms and themes," says Pak Sukarji. "It is modern artists creating dance in whatever manner they feel is relevant and not being limited to the dictates of old, fixed routines."

Dancers should do what feels natural and expresses the sentiments they are seeking to convey adequately. Some ASEAN countries are rediscovering old forms while others dabble with contemporary ones, he added. However, this is not to say that Southeast Asian countries have become truly eclectic or global, Pak Sukarji cautioned.

"From what I have seen, they [ASEAN countries] have not yet succeeded in combining their regional styles with Western style, or with modern style. Generally, it is purely local or it is purely modern, but not both at the same time," he said.

Pak Sukarji feels that gatherings such as the ASEAN dance festival provide some opportunity for the direct dialogue and the exchange of ideas between choreographers and dancers of the ASEAN countries, but not as much as they should since there is little time outside of performances to meet. Limited contact still hampers the development wider trends and regional styles in dance he says. Still, he concedes, contacts are made which often develop more fully later when artists travel to another country and look up practitioners met at the festival.

Despite the limited opportunities for interaction, there is a healthy sense of competition among dancers at the Festival, which is also valuable, according to Professor Surapone.

"These young dancers will see some highly choreographed, perfectly planned work, something Singapore in particular is well-known for, and they will need to match that standard. To use modern terminology, the dance has to meet total quality control standards, and that is an important experience for the dancers."