Let there be dance

The final curtain fell on the 11th edition of the annual Bangkok Theatre Festival just last night but the stage lights at the Bangkok Art and Culture (BACC) will hardly have time to cool before being switched on again this weekend for the Friends of the Arts Foundation’s “International Dance Festival” (IDF).
Now in its 13th year, the festival, which is on the theme “The Road to Asean, is part of BACC’s second “Performative Art Festival”, itself living proof that the centre is more than a venue for visual arts.
IDF director Vararom Pachimsawat explains: “As we are preparing for the Asean Economic Community, last month the Friends of the Arts Foundation decided to organise a ‘performing arts for all’ workshop for 150 international teenagers attending schools in Bangkok. Even though they had little to no experience at the beginning, after a month of working six hours a day, their performance of ‘Manohra’ was a success. We’ll restage this performance on Saturday.”
However, Vararom notes that the highlight performances, with only one Singaporean company and one Thai in the programme, may not clearly reflect the Asean theme.
“But the free performances as well as the workshops and masterclasses focus more on traditional Southeast Asian dances than those in the previous years,” she says.
While the IDF does receive major support from Unesco and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, it is reliant on foreign embassies for many of its programmes. For example, the Italian embassy is bringing in Il Posto Vertical Dance Company, whose “Little Nemo” will defy gravity on the facade of the BACC, as well as La Botega Dance Company, whose “Paracasoscia” will be the festival’s opening act.
The Embassy of Turkey is funding the Modern Dance Theatre Istanbul (MDTist), which will perform “Travelogue II” and “In Fusion”.
The Indian embassy and the Indian Cultural Centre are sponsoring the Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company, whose contemporary interpretation of Kathak dance “Timeless” is the only highlight performance to be staged in both Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
A new component this year is the symposium, which takes place on Friday on the topic of “Creativity and Cultural Industry”. Speakers include Culture Ministry deputy permanent secretary; Apinan Poshyananda, Tim Curtis, Unesco Bangkok’s cultural unit chief, Sun Ock Lee, secretary to the Asia-Pacific Performing Arts Network (Appan), and Broadway-hopeful commercial theatre producer and director Tak Viravan.
“This is not completely new to IDF, as we have held smaller and more informal talks on various topics in the previous years,” Vararom notes.
Returning to IDF for second year in a row are Thailand’s 18 Monkeys Dance Theatre and Israel’s Rina Schenfeld Dance Theatre, which will both present new works.
“The line-up for this year’s festival is more interesting, unlike in the past when there were many amateur groups. I especially like the fact that there is the young choreographers’ showcase. I’m also glad that the festival is receiving support from more organisations,” says Jitti Chompee, 18 Monkeys’ artistic director.
“Despite the very similar title [to ‘On the Tightrope’ seen earlier this month] ‘Tightrope Walker’ is pure dance and choreography and I developed it while the company was in residence in Fes, Morocco earlier this year. ‘Ganesh’ is a solo dance inspired by the Hindu god of obstacles. I’m working on this now with [Paris-born and Madrid-based dancer] Jean Philippe Dury. The full version of this work will soon be in his company’s repertoire.”
Schenfeld, known as “the Princess of Israeli Dance”, says she’s delighted to be back in Thailand. “I have very strong feelings about the festival and I enjoyed my last visit very much. Working with Vararom is a great honour. She is a great lady and we have a common love, which is dance. She loves dance so much it floats in her body and soul. I enjoy the atmosphere of the festival and the companies who perform here give me much energy and inspiration.
“When I finished my new work [‘Wallz at 5 thirty’], I thought I would like to stage it in this festival.”
Set to music and songs by Shlomo Artzi, the work is described as “a multi-dimensional journey combining the art of dance, music, video, poems and shadows.” Schenfeld explains, “He is the king of Israeli music. I’ve always wanted to dance to Israeli songs and now I can.
“Being at the BACC with this festival and its special people who really love art and work so hard to bring it to fruition takes me back to my roots and my love and pride of being a dancer and a choreographer.”
And that’s partly why Schenfeld, now 75 yet still highly productive, is also scheduled to speak at the symposium.
“I will talk about my career, which spans five decades on the stage and focus on how we have achieved support. I’ll be explaining how at the Batsheva dance company we were lucky to have the Baroness de Rothschild supporting us then how we had to go for the public support and how it influenced our art.”

TWO CITIES
The International Dance Festival runs from Friday to December 3 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre and from December 3 to 6 at Chiang Mai University Arts Centre.
There are many free programmes. Ticketed shows, which cost from Bt600 to Bt1,800, can be booked at ThaiTicketMajor.
For more details, check www.Dance-Festival.info or “International Dance Festival” on Facebook.