The festival gets jazzy

Bangkok’s 15th International Festival of Dance and Music might be getting underway with the return of the Imperial Ice Stars but that doesn’t mean that the festival has changed its direction and is aiming for more crowd-pleasing or family-friendly programmes.
 “It’s partly for technical reasons”, says International Cultural Promotions’ Egasith Chotpakditrakul. “We’ll need to spend a few days filling the stage with ice and so it’s a better idea to open with the Ice Stars than having to pause in the middle of the festival. Also, each programme depends on the artists’ schedule and so this audience favourite doesn’t set tone for the whole festival.”
In other words, Bangkok’s grandest showcase of international performing arts is maintaining a balance between the classical and the contemporary and hopes to entertain both the conservative and the liberal.
The Ice Stars, back in Bangkok for the third time, are this year offering audiences “The Nutcracker on Ice” after “Cinderella” and “Swan Lake”.
A quick glance through the programme line-up reveals that jazz fans will be in their element, with the festival bringing in not just heavyweights Chick Corea and Mike Stern, but also staging a “Dutch Jazz Night” with three more bands.
Sittikun Boon-itt, who has been Egasith’s right-hand man since last year’s festival, has a wealth of experience in organising jazz concerts and festivals.
“Apart from Japan, Thailand is the only Asian country who’ll get to listen to Chick Corea and his new band the Vigil this time. Both the bassist and the drummer are Cubans and so this programme will have a Latin flavour,” he enthuses. “As for Mike Stern, I
 picked him because I realise there are many guitar players in Thailand. He brings fire to the stage wherever he performs and his band members are also Grammy nominees. And this concert is a Thailand exclusive – they’ll come straight from the US and go back there afterwards.
“The three jazz bands from the Netherlands complement Corea’s fusion jazz and Stern’s jazz rock, with electronic and swing jazz. It will complete the jazz repertoire for Bangkok fans.”
With a jazz line-up that’s much stronger than in previous years, Sittikun is aiming to expand the audience base of the festival. He’s quick to point out, however, that this is not at the expense of the classical programmes. “This is, after all, an international festival of dance and music and so we always have to keep a fine balance of different genres of dance and music,” he says.
That classical programme includes a symphony concert by Moscow’s Helikon Symhony Orchestra featuring Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 3 and “Pictures at an Exhibition”, with which Thai audiences are familiar, and a concert by Italy’s Orchestra of the Teatro Regio di Parma, which will present well-known Verdi arias sung by soprano Annamaria Dell’ Oste and tenor Bruno Ribeiro.”
The festival is taking some risks this year though. “The two operas we picked – “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” and “Il Barbiere di Seviglia” by the Helikon Opera Theatre – are not really the Thai audience’s cup of tea. So let’s see how they fare,” says Egasith. “This is our way of responding to criticisms of bringing in the same operas again and again, even though these were performed by different companies.”
Egasith also notes that audience numbers have gradually risen and last year about 80 per cent of the seats were booked. Out of this number, Thais made up 65 per cent and the average age of this group was lower than in the past.
“I think the Thai audience is more educated than when we began. Part of that is due to foreign education and more international schools. They want to explore more options [in arts and culture] than pop and rock. The festival offers a rare opportunity for them to watch a kind of culturally sustainable performance, like opera, which they cannot see very often in Thailand,” Egasith says.
“We also have more audience members coming in from overseas. Even before we announced the programme line-up, we were receiving emails from people in Singapore and Hong Kong.”
Egasith adds that these performances are also benefiting Thai artists, as witnessed by the group booking from [TV and stage production company] Scenario of 900 tickets total for all programmes.
“In the near future, we’d like to focus on education and working with universities because masterclasses and workshops have proved very effective in developing future audiences. Unfortunately, we don’t have time this year to plan them,” Sittikun says.

Bangkok’s 15th International Festival of Dance and Music is made possible though the support of Bangkok Bank, Bangkok Hospital, |B Grimm, Dusit Thani Bangkok, Indorama Ventures, The Nation Group, SCG, Singha, Thai Airways International, Tourism Authority of Thailand and Toyota Motor Thailand.

BOOK NOW
Bangkok’s 15th International Festival of Dance and Music runs from September 13 to October 14 at the Thailand Cultural Centre. Tickets are on sale at ThaiTicketMajor. For more details, visit www.BangkokFestivals.com.

THE BEST OF THE FEST
Here’s what I am looking forward to watching at Bangkok’s 15th International Festival of Dance and Music:

Chick Corea and the Vigil, September 20 – This is the Bangkok debut of world-renowned jazz pianist and his band comprising saxophonist Tim Garland, guitarist Charles Altura, drummer Marcus Gilmore and bassist Hadrien Feraud. A definite sell-out. Visit www.ChickCorea.com.

The Ten Tenors, September 22 – “Ten” isn’t necessarily better than “Three”, but a chance to listen to “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “I’d Do Anything for Love”, “Pie Jesu” and “Nessun Dorma” on the same evening is rare. Check out www.TheTenTenors.com.

“Correr O Fado”, Quorum Ballet, September 25 – We’ve been enthralled by fado singers in the previous festivals and now it’s time to see how this national heritage of Portugal fits into contemporary dance. For more, www.QuorumBallet.com.

“Carmen Suite” and “Aires de Tango”, Inaki Urlezaga, September 28 – The Festival has rarely missed with its choice of Argentinean tango and I’m curious to see how “Carmen” will be reinterpreted and infused with Latin passion. Find out more at www.InakiUrlezaga.com.

Mike Stern Band, October 4 – The guitarist – a former member of Blood, Sweat and Tears and Miles Davis’ band – will be backed by bassist Anthony Jackson, drummer Steve Smith and saxophonist Bob Malach. Not to be missed. Visit www.MikeStern.org.

“Sem Mim” and “Onqoto”, Grupo Corpo, October 6 – I watched this Brazilian contemporary dance company in 2006 and was blown away by their extraordinary movements that blend in folk dance traditions as well as their stunning costume and set designs. Find them at www.GrupoCorpo.com.br.

“Romeo and Juliet”, Ballet du Grand Theatre de Geneve, October 14 – The festival will close with a bang with this new choreography by Joelle Bouvier who focuses on the drama rather than the history or decor. A member of this highly experimental Swiss company is Thai dancer Sarawanee Tanatanit. Check out www.GeneveOpera.ch.