Sexually charged

Published on September 14, 2007

Patravadi Theatre lives up to its slogan "Home of the Performing Arts" again his weekend, hosting an Indonesian-Dutch dance theatre collaboration on an Asia-Europe tour.

At the core of "Para…dise: A Woman? / Bando Kanduang" is the collaboration between two internationally acclaimed artists - the Dutch-Indonesian theatre maker Gerard Mosterd and the world-renowned Bessie Award-winning Sumatran choreographer Boi G Sakti.

Considering their backgrounds, they are a perfect match.

Although Mosterd has built up his international career as a professional dancer, he now experiments and searches in his movement vocabulary for ways to free himself from the male-structured forms. In his productions, he combines autobiographical - his Indo-European background - with literary and contemporary themes.

"Seldom has a question been so clearly translated in image and movement," said a critic of Dutch newspaper Rotterdams Dagblad of his work.

Sakti's work is a continuation of the dancing talents of his late mother, the acclaimed choreographer Suid Gumarang. Sakti develops very particular modern dance-theatre from themes which are deeply rooted in the matriarchal Minangkabau community in West Sumatra. His current subject matters are contemporary while his movement idiom is deeply rooted in an emotional reverence for nature.

"Crystalline choreographic designs contributed to the clarity", said a New York Times dance critic about Sakti's work.

"Indonesia could also be on the way to maintaining the rich traditions and deep roots of dance in everyday life, while remaining open to contemporary movement Boi Sakti is a paradigmatic example of such promise," acclaimed Ballet Tanz International Magazine.

Mosterd and Sakti's new collaboration "Para…dise: A Woman? / Bando Kanduang" is inspired by the matriarchal culture of Minangkabau community. Sakti transforms the rich colourful symbols in rituals and dance into his idioms of performance as he aims to address the issues of women's roles in contemporary society.

Part of the production's title "Bando Kanduang" is an old Minangkabau myth that tells the legend of an ancient powerful queen mother: "The world was a paradise. In this paradise women ruled.

There were no possessions, no war and violence. Eroticism was not a taboo and there was freedom and tolerance."

Solidarity and isolation, interpersonal relationships, the manifestation of the individual in the surrounding world, are dealt with in this unique dance theatre production.

The dancers are an international cooperative, consisting of four Indonesian, one Japanese, and two Netherlands-based dancers, performing the patterns of Sakti and Mosterd which results in this dynamic dance spectacle.

Visually, the creative perspective introduced by multimedia artist Wilhemmusvlug is one that sees the effects of the development of the modern world that constantly draws man away from the nature. In quickening video projections, the dancers sometimes function as living film screens.

Minangkabau composer Dony Irawan's music is acoustic, contemporary compositions with traditional rhythmic patterns from West Sumatra. They are performed on self-made, original instruments, and combined with the equally self-made and original electronic sounds of composer Paul Goodman.

"Para…dise: A Woman? / Bando Kanduang" had its world premiere in Surakarta, Indonesia on September 1, and Bangkok will be the second stop on an Asia-Europe tour, which will run until December, covering Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, the Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Dusseldorf and other cities.  

Apart from the evening performances, workshops will be offered during the daytime, on

how "Minang silek" traditional dance can be combined with contemporary dance.

"Para…dise: A Woman? \ Bando Kanduang" will be performed at 8pm tomorrow and Sunday at Patravadi Theatre. Tickets are Bt600 and Bt400 (Bt200 for students). For reservations, call (02) 412 7287-8. For more information, see www.patravaditheatre.com.

Pawit Mahasarinand  

The writer can be contacted at Pawit.M@chula.ac.th.