Balinese
classical dance, south Indian bharatanatyam, contemporary dance, text
and a composed score - all of these elements came together in
a retelling of the story of the character Ravana from the Hindu epic,
the Ramayana. To gather these parts together and make Atma
gel as a whole was ambitious and difficult.
The performance was a case of many good ideas, some extraordinary moments
and a lot of confusion. Alex Dea's score, evocative and appropriate,
seemed to guide the performers through the choreography, giving some
much-needed breathing space for interpretation. But there was simply
too much to tackle in this dance.
The narrative explores an aspect of one of the greatest epic stories
of all time, a tale known in India, to Bali, Thailand, Cambodia and
beyond. It is revisited and interrogated by both oriental and occidental
practitioners through film, drama, dance and art. For audiences at Atma
versed in the tale, there is much to contemplate and debate in the interpretation
of the characters and the intricacies of the storyline.
To help audience members just coming along for the dance, the subtexts
of the plot could have been abstracted further. This would have highlighted
the universal aspects of human frailty, such as the struggle between
good and evil, weakness and power, lust and greed, the masculine and
the feminine, and the search for the soul.
Although the text provided some insights into the plot and the main
characters, it did not integrate into the performance enough to merit
its inclusion. Actor Noor Effendy Mohamed did well nevertheless, physically
combining the words with movement while maintaining a commanding presence
throughout.
In the masked dance, I Nyoman Sura was superb as he taunted each of
the performers attempting to capture their souls. It was a privilege
to observe the great Balinese dancer almost turn his arms inside out
when he danced to the text about hands that "opened and closed".
Coupled with this, however, was a group of talented yet disparate performers
with vastly different backgrounds.
Their technical differences became very distracting, particularly when
they had to dance in unison in styles that they were not trained in.
The production needed some trimming and direction so that the humanitarian
aspects of the plot could be expressed clearly by all the dancers in
a unified movement or dramatic style. Instead, the stylistic diversity
broke the choreography into many scattered parts, dissipating the narrative.
Maya Dance Theatre nonetheless made some brave and commendable decisions,
including commissioning an original score, assembling a group of quality
performers and tackling the complex tale of Ravana. Yet it might take
years of development and exploration to crystallise each moment of this
dance-drama to make it read physically. Perhaps that is what is required
of the Ramayana and other epic stories that exist in the canon
of universal greatness. |
"There is much to contemplate and debate in the interpretation
of the characters and the intricacies of the storyline"
Credits
Choreography: Kavitha Krishnan and Juraimy Abu Bakar
Dancers: Max Chen, Huang Yuzhu and Khairul Shahrin
Theatre practitioner: Noor Effendy Mohamed
Indonesian performing artists: I Gusti Ngurah Sudibya
and I Nyoman Sura.
Composer: Alex Dea
Set Designer: Lex Marcos
Lighting Designer: Hon Beng
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