Performances
Borobudur Re-visited
Borobudur, a ninth century Buddhist monument located in Indonesia, is considered an important cultural landmark in Southeast Asia. While other monuments were built and still exist today, for example, Prambanan also in Indonesia and Angkor in Cambodia, the significance of Borobudur lies in its unique blend of local and Indian elements.
The interest to explore Borobudur and respond to it through multiple art forms became the primary objective of an inter-disciplinary project proposed by Dr Siri Rama, a lecturer at NAFA. In June 2011, a group of student artists from NAFA's departments of Dance, Design & Media, Fine Arts and Music were selected to participate in the project which included a study trip to Borobudur. With the guidance of Dr Siri Rama and their respective lecturer-mentor, the students worked independently as well as together to produce performing as well as visual art forms. The students reflected on their experience at Borobudur and researched the monument's unique architecture as well as other related expressive forms including traditional Buddhist chants and classical Indian dance. Sculptures and visual projections that were inspired by the movement of the dancers and music improvisations were also integrated into the final performance.
'Borobudur Re-visited' is about a Visitor's (represented by a dancer) reflection of Borobudur. Although the Visitor finds the monument in a state of destruction, he is still fascinated by the stupas, mandala or geometric patterns representing the universe; mudras or hand gestures seen in its reliefs as well as the head, torso, foot concept used in its measurement and plan. At the end the visitor finds himself enlightened and filled with hope that Borobudur will live on somehow… if only in his memories.
LiszToMania
In 2011, we celebrate the bicentenary of Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886), regarded as one of the foremost technicians of the piano in the Romantic period. Liszt's reputation lies not just in his pyrotechniques and flamboyance, but also his contribution as the first Romantic artist to create the cult of the modern virtuoso.
Presented by students from the Departments of Music, Fine Art, and 3D Design, this mixed-media performance interweaves video art, installation, lighting/ stage design and live piano recital, and seeks to portray the massive public response to Liszt in relation to his personal thoughts, feelings and expressions as a virtuoso. Concurrently, parallels are drawn with popular culture in contemporary Southeast Asian society.
Through a carefully selected repertoire of Liszt's compositions - Liebestraum no. 3, Mephisto Waltz no. 1 and 'Dante' Sonata - students have taken the liberty to address contradictions within society, in relation to three facets of life: work, family and self. The pianist sits as one with the audience, facing the projection, revealing only the silhouette of his form and instrument, while red ropes - a potent symbol in Asian culture - question these ties that bind us all.
LiszToMania in essence uncovers three romanticised ideals of love: the spiritual, earthly and eternal. The abstract philosophy of love is expressed through characterisations within German Romantic literature by Nikolaus Lenau, Ferdinand von Freiligrath, and Dante Alghieri. The texts echo psychological states of one's mundane existence, and detail the growing process of desires, which proliferates journeys of life. In turn, these ideas transcend through the hands of the virtuoso pianist, igniting dialectical debates between body and soul, Man and God.
Toccata
"Toccata" in Italian meaning "to touch", is a genre of largely keyboard works that dates to 16th Century Europe. The music is often fast, brilliant, improvisational in feel, and demonstrates agile finger dexterity. John Sharpley's composition "Toccata" for prepared-piano and percussion follows this approach combined with a 21st century, Southeast Asian twist in collaboration with choreographer Lim Fei Shen who is inspired by the decorative long finger nail dance movements from the Northern Thai dance Fon Laep.
The collaboration between John, a 'westerner' trained in the traditions of western classical music and Fei Shen, whose training is based on ballet and modern dance, came about through their long professional association dating from their very first artistic collaboration. Both have strong interests in multi-disciplinary explorations and have found the other to be exciting and fruitful collaborators.
Toccata is a creative dialogue between music and dance centered on the idea of "touch". For John, this translates into his physical contact between himself and the piano keys as well as with the strings on the inside of the piano. He sees this as being analogous to the dancers' physical contact with the stage. He further extends this idea by "preparing" the piano through the placing of objects on the strings to alter and enhance the sounds produced.
Fei Shen metaphorically explores how the donning of the long metal finger nails portrays power and sophistication, and yet at the same time, the sense of "touch" is hindered, since the nails create a barrier to direct contact to the skin, thus blocking the "truth" or reality of the sense of touch.
