Multi-Tasking in #liTHE as Choreographer & Performer

Coming this 16-18 September, T.H.E Second Company will be performing 3 works that have been incubated over a 2 year period, in 1 programme celebrating young, experimental and emerging talents. #liTHE2021 will showcase 20 dance artists, with our most senior dancer in his 49 years of fabulous-ness! Check out Dr Jason Chia, a Senior Consultant Sports Physician and Head of Medicine & Surgery Clinic, and his experience in Nah Jieying's The Remains of Being in this post here!

Here's a lil sneak peek of the programme order to intrigue your curiosity:

The Remains of Being by Nah Jieying

When Five Encounter by Goh Jiayin & Maybelle Lek

Kawayan by Klievert Jon Junia Mendoza

Trailer

Once again, it has been a HOT minute since I've had the opportunity to sit down and write. In this post, I will be sharing what goes on 'behind the scenes' to get a production (like this one) going - from the lenses of a choreographer (When Five Encounter) & performer (Kawayan).

Let's begin with:

When Five Encounter - Goh Jiayin & Maybelle Lek (hello!)

Jiayin and I will be presenting our collaborative work titled 'When Five Encounter'. This piece marks my second year of collaboration with Jiayin!

Working with any collaborator is a highly creative process as it involves discussion, decision-making and a consensus to the ideas that is brought to the table. Our first iteration presented last year, Re:Writing (2020), was the two of us coming together with ideas and individual working styles that we needed to negotiate and work around. This year, the process is much smoother as we have learnt each other's strengths and ways to work around picking up the pieces for each other. Let's move on to specific questions to understand the process in a deeper level:

Synopsis

Five bodies. Unraveling. One space.

Q: What's our inspiration behind When Five Encounter?

Jiayin: "We were inspired by how the pandemic has redefined our notion of space in a multitude of ways and levels. In our piece, we explore duality in space and how stories unfold from there."

Q: Did you & Jiayin have a specific process/theme that you wanted to explore in the beginning stages?

Jiayin and I went into this with a semi-clean state, where we wanted to draw upon the main themes from last year and approach it from a different angle. In comparison to last year, we had very clear themes that we wanted to dive into - click here to read my reflection on the process of Re:Writing. (may help to provide context and a clarity towards the difference in approach this year).

Some main themes that we were inspired by for When Five Encounter:

1. Work From Home (formal top, lazy bottoms for Zoom meetings)

2. Dissection of space in a public setting (social distancing measures/officers)

3. Everyday life (conversations, looking through a block of flats and seeing windows of lights)

4. Storytelling (episodes/chapters)

Q: Did the questions and feedback you've gathered from the Post-Show Dialogues last year influenced the making of When Five Encounter?

I feel that this year's edition of liTHE is an evolution from last year's renditions (from what I've gathered and watched in the full dress rehearsals). The core essence in each work is translated to this year's #liTHE2021, it's just presented in a different manner.

I can only speak for myself in this choreographic process, that I have taken the feedback from the post-show dialogues into some degree of consideration. This year, Jiayin and I have decided to expand on the structure of chapters/episodes, and we wanted to use the marley(s) to represent the unraveling of stories/conversations between people in different 'spaces'. We are very grateful to have such receptive and open-hearted movers, where they each contributed through their individual inputs.

For the dancers, how has this experience been for you? What was the rehearsal process like?

Zeng Yu: "It has been a very interesting process. I think we have a very quirky mix of dancers in this piece, so a large part of the process is to sieve out little nuggets of our personalities, see how our differences interplay and bring them to life in movement.

At the beginning of the exploration phase, Maybelle and Jiayin asked us to think of any space that comes into mind in our daily lives. Most of us then immediately thought of a mundane but much-needed place of relaxation and solace, be it watching Netflix whilst doing laundry, or playing with the dog after coming home ---"

--- let me just interject here, and say that watching Netflix whilst doing laundry is too relatable... ahem, back to the regularly scheduled programme...

" ---- I thought it was quite cool for that to be the first space everybody thought of - rest. Another key aspect of building the piece was to think of everyday gestures that we subconsciously use; how we would naturally react, for example, in a fight, so again finding common features in life that go unnoticed and making them present during rehearsals and on stage."

Q: How did the title 'When Five Encounter' come about?

Jiayin and I wanted something simple for the title and synopsis (simplicity is key).

Our thought process: we have five dancers performing in one space, 2 grey marley(s) that cuts and divides the space (up to audience imagination to decide what it might represent) . Additionally, there are many different short phrases between the dancers that resembles encounters or conversations, like a chit-chat or a coffee date.

When Five Encounter! (with some debate on the grammar)

... So that's where the title originated from.

Q: What was the main challenge in the creation of this work?

The main challenge that Jiayin and I faced was to find a balance between theatricality and movement. As Zeng Yu mentioned earlier, a key aspect of building the piece was using everyday gestures and incorporating them into the choreography. We had to walk a delicate balance between overusing gestures (to the point of miming), and incorporating just enough to enhance intention and movement physicality.

For me, gestures has always been a point of interest towards choreography-making. Over time, I discovered that gestures allows some accessibility in abstract movements that may seem intimidating to an audience member watching contemporary dance for the first time. Yet, on the flipside, any body can gesture and mime because we are all capable of telling stories in our own way. As dancers, our bodies are trained towards a physical state that embodies both athleticism and artistry. As choreographers, not only did we need to provide a safe space for the dancers to be able to explore that challenge, we needed to make sure that it didn't come across as dishonest. It's really tricky!

Q: What's the one takeaway you guys have from this work?

Yixuan: "The work explores how individuals coexist in and occupy a shared space, and its resulting social dynamics - one takeaway would be the realisation of how a singular space holds multitudes as its occupants live and breathe in it, and that as much as we shape a space, it in turn shapes us too."

Q: Why should people watch #liTHE2021?

Jack Ng: "liTHE 2021 builds upon the works of liTHE 2020, so the choreographers have had the time to hone and focus their visions, and us dancers have developed movement qualities and skills specific to our choreographers' intent. Come see 2 years' worth of exploration, fine-tuning and commitment involving more than 20 different artists!"

Let's move on to Kawayan, another piece in the lineup that I'll be performing in...

Kawayan - Klievert Jon Junia Mendoza (T.H.E Dance Artist)

I'll be performing alongside 6 incredible movers in Kawayan, meaning "bamboo" in tagalog. This 25-minute work is a reflective nod towards man's challenging and oft-times destructive relationship with nature, and a call to resilience. It is a movement-based choreography derived from Klievert's fluid movement style.

Q: How has the rehearsal experience been like?

Natasha Neo: "The experience has been great! It allows me to check in with myself in terms of where I am physically and creatively. Rehearsals were productive, and I appreciate the space given to us to explore our personal movement vocabulary."

For me, the rehearsal experience has been medicine to my body. Due to my busy schedule, it's been really challenging to find time to attend classes and nourish my muscles. I personally enjoy performing physical works, so Klievert's movement language makes sense for my body and it has taught a new way of approaching movement that I can add to my repertoire.

If I have to describe Klievert's movement style in three words - viscous, expansive, breathy. At the beginning stages of the process, we created phrases based upon our own personal experiences and interpretations of his tasks. From there, we expanded into solos, duets and unison work. In Kawayan, there is a strong emphasis on synergy and breath that we have to maintain as a group.

Moving as One.

(it's harder than it looks)

Q: What's one takeaway you've gained from this process?

It's the opportunity to learn from Klievert. I've always admired Klievert and the way he moves, so it's really cool that I get to learn more from him. Klievert is a man of few words when it comes to rehearsals. The biggest learning point is when he demonstrates it with his body, you immediately understand what he wants and try to emulate in your own body. Additionally, being a part of this hard-working, talented group of movers has allowed me to learn immensely from each of them!

Putting on 2 Hats - Performer and Choreographer

Q: How has the switch been from performer to choreographer, and vice versa?

It has been quite challenging, shifting my mindset from choreographer to performer and vice versa. I feel like it takes a disciplined mind to be able to put on a different hat in a matter of minutes, especially when we are doing a full run on the day. I feel fortunate to be able to have a collaborator like Jiayin where she is still able to lead the team and make decisions that benefits the audience experiences' of the piece.

Q: How do you mentally prepare yourself for Klievert's piece, Kawayan and then shift to your choreography with Jiayin When Five Encounter?

I usually check in with my dancers to see how they're doing, and if there are any sections that they need to go through with feedback before the run through. Since the length of each piece is approx. 20-25 minutes, it gives me ample time to warm up physically and get in the headspace - putting on Nils Frahm and just warming up to atmospheric music.

Q: If I'm not able to attend the performance physically, should I still watch via livestream? Wouldn't the experience be compromised?

Let's sit down and dissect this because this is important:

A livestream performance is more than just a live-feed to your home screens. It is an opportunity to experience the works in an alternate perspective that enriches your perspective and imaginations.

As choreographers, we wear multiple hats (choreographer, director, music editor, costume designer etc.) that goes beyond dance movement. We work very closely with these guys from Pangolin Films to still bring that sense of immersion and participation to the performance, just like any in-venue performances. The decisions that goes behind any camera-angle and transition is a thoughtful intent with the desire to enhance the depth of the works.

Additionally, these cameras are not your regular iPhone or camcorders. These are cinema cameras - which means +1 to the aesthetically pleasing cinematic feel. According to James Khoo, "they have a shallower depth of field, which provides a more dynamic image, and along with an overall higher quality camera system, the stream would be about to emulate the experience of watching the work 'live'.".

So, if you're unable to join us in the venue of Goodman Black Box, but are still intrigued and interested, I'd highly recommend getting your tickets to the livestream performance. You'll be able to experience these 3 works in an alternate perspective that may enhance and entice you through the screens!

Team Effort Makes the Production Going

It takes a cooperative team working towards the same goal to get a production like #liTHE2021 going. It would not be possible without the hard work and professionalism from the following people:

Silvia Yong (Artistic Director of T.H.E Second Company)

Kuik Swee Boon (Artistic Director of T.H.E Dance Company)

T.H.E Admin Office - MVPs (Athelyna Swee, Jaycee Ho, Denise Leong, Danielle Patayan)

Tennie Su (Production Manager)

Ng Siaw Hui (Stage Manager)

Liu Yong Huay Faith (Lighting Designer)

The guys at Pangolin Films

Collaborators (Kent Lim & Nah Jiemin)

Photographers (Crispian Chan & Bernie Ng)

Choreographers - Nah Jieying, Klievert Mendoza, Goh Jiayin and myself

+ 20 dance artists

+ 3-5 months of hard work from everyone

So, whether it is physical or virtual, local or international, I hope that you'll be able to join us from the 16th-18th for liTHE 2021.

I want to T.H.E Dance Company for the opportunity to share my thoughts and use their marketing materials.