Tension on the line

After staging two works “Muet” and “Lieber Adzio” earlier this year, Jitti Chompee, choreographer and artistic director of 18 Monkeys Dance Theatre, went into an artistic hiatus, spending time at Alliance Francaise de Fes in Morocco as an artist-in-residence. His North African sejour gave him time and inspiration to develop “On the Tightrope”.
The piece is inspired by French tightrope artist Philippe Petit, who walked back and forth across his wire eight times between the Twin Towers with nothing other than an eight-metre, 25-kilogramme pole to aid his balance. “That was in 1974, the same year I was born. I am really impressed that he’d put his life at stake doing something that most people thought could not be done,” he says.
“It is my belief that good artists must take risks, just as Petit did, in order to create something new.
Those who have been following Jitti since he started working with classical Thai dance theatre, a discipline in which he has no training, can only be relieved that he has taken risks.
“An artist’s life is like walking on a wire. Like life, the stage has its dangers. You must be bold and resolute in what you do. You must also keep a good balance because this is the only way you can reach your goal. If you make mistakes along the way, learn from them. If you do reach the end of your walk, your success will encourage and give you the drive to achieve what you have never tried or succeeded in before.”
While the company’s two core dancers remain the same – Anucha Sumaman, a principal khon performer at the National Theatre, and Krittin Kiatmetha, who has a strong background in Latin, ballet and contemporary dance – Jitti has brought in new members for this project. They include British saxophonist and composer Nathan Harrow, French jazz pianist and composer Leo-Fabre Cartier, who will also plays the traditional Arab stringed instrument known as the oud, and Moroccan dancer Abd-samad Hammadou.
“With the lack of contemporary dance in Thailand, my work can stand out,” Jitti notes.
“It’s not a comparison but more that that you have to find out why you’re doing this kind of work and believe in it. I won’t say I’m trying to be the best Thai choreographer, It’s just that I love dance and enjoy bringing a high professional level of contemporary art to the stage.”
With the company once again ready to walk the tightrope, would Jitti like to make last-minute adjustments?
He shrugs. “I already change my work everyday though I’d love to have Philippe Petit as a guest performer in my creation.”
The prolific choreographer is not stopping with “Tightrope”. Next month he’ll be presenting a double bill of works at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre as part of the International Dance Festival 2013.

 NOT A WOBBLE
 “On the Tightrope” will be performed at 7.30 tonight and tomorrow and on November 4 and 5 at the Kukrit Institute on Soi Ngamdupli.
It will also be performed at 7.30pm on Friday and 2 and 7.30pm on Saturday at the Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts at Chulalongkorn University.
For tickets at Kukrit, call (081) 814 3304; for Chula, call (02) 218 4802 or (081) 559 7252.
Sign up for a free tightrope-walking workshop on Thursday from 6 to 8pm by e-mailing [email protected].
For more details, visit 18MonkeysDanceTheatre.com.