Rhythm of the game

Football isn't called the beautiful game for nothing. Sometimes, when you watch a brilliant player in action – the way he moves, the way he dribbles and controls the ball – it can be like watching the grace and artistry of a dancer going through a routine.

“Football is an art, just like dancing,” declares Adzwadi Sani, choreographer of “SuperMokh the Musical”, the stage production based on the life of the late Mokhtar Dahari, who is regarded as the greatest Malaysian footballer of all time.

Produced by Tall Order Productions and Jugra Publication, the musical opened last week at the Istana Budaya in Kuala Lumpur. It stars rock singer and actor Awie as the legendary footballer, as well as Maya Karin, Rashidi Ishak, Douglas Lim, Dina Nadzir, Phoon Chi Ho, Oliver Johanan and Clarence Kuna. 

Adzwadi, who used to play football competitively in his teens, relished the challenge of bringing to life a football match on the stage. “I don’t think it had ever been done before! I knew how a football match should be like, but it was challenging to translate that onto the stage,” he says.

The hardest scenes to choreograph were the two football-related set-pieces – one in act two in which Malaysia takes on South Korea, and the second one involving Selangor and Johor - each with its own unique attributes and takes on the legendary footballer’s skills and prowess.

“It wasn’t just a matter of giving the cast a ball and asking them to dance with it,” Adzwadi says. “I had to choreograph the football match in a way that would showcase the skills of the footballers while making it look and feel like a football match.

The first match, for example, involved a combination of dancers and freestyle trick footballers.

“It was hard because it involved actors who were not dancers. The idea was to recreate a football match on stage, but with dance beats and rhythms. Hans (Isaac) was the one who suggested we use trick footballers, which was a good idea, but that also gave me another problem, because they didn’t know how to dance!” Adzwadi laughs.

“Many of the footballers can freestyle very well, but without music. The hardest part was getting them to follow the music and the beat. The set piece has to follow a certain rhythm, but that can be quite hard because most of the footballers follow their own moods and heart when juggling the ball. Sometimes, their energy levels might be higher and they might kick the ball a little harder than they are supposed to.”

Adzwadi is full of praise for the 10 trick footballers, especially for their patience and willingness to learn. 

“I believe everyone can dance, but following the choreography is a different matter altogether,” he said. “We didn’t give them very complicated movements, but the impact they have on the football match was good enough.”

Of course, there’s little point in having real trick footballers in the show without showcasing their skills, so Adzwadi has also given them the chance to show off their skills during the set piece.

“The trick footballers are there to show off their dribbling and juggling skills, which Mokhtar Dahari was very famous for,” he says, adding that the other football-related set piece is a depiction of a Selangor versus Johor match using mostly dancers and LED lights. It wouldn’t be out of place in the movie “Tron”.

“Mokhtar was famous for his dribbling skills and speed, so during that match, we use LED lights and doubles to show how his No.10 jersey would seem to be everywhere at once,” he says.

He remains worried about one element though: the footballs. “We really can’t predict how and where the balls will go sometimes! During our preview show, the ball got lost once, but thankfully it wasn’t noticeable because of all the movement on stage ... but still, that shouldn’t be happening!”