One of the most celebrated artists in his home country, Heri Dono has exhibited internationally including at the Venice Biennale, Asia Society New York, Singapore Art Museum, and the Gwangju Biennale.

For almost 40 years, Heri Dono has developed a fantastical world of dichotomies in his paintings. Humorously juxtaposing reality with imagination, folk with contemporary art, and politics with fiction, the tension between these opposing forces create narratives that cut across a complex, multilayered system of ideologies. Having lived through the struggle against oppression by the Indonesian regime in the 1980s, and later the “reformasi” in 1998 that spawned from the end of Suharto’s regime, Heri Dono’s artistic methodology reexamines power structures through satirical illustrations of humans versus the Other, man versus machine, offering a kind of passage for others to survive real life transitions during challenging times.

Known for his uniquely contemporary, Javanese style inspired by traditional Wayang Kulit puppet theatre, Heri Dono “humorously skewer[s ] the current political situation with imagination and illusion,” writes critic and curator Hou Hanru.

His new series of paintings speak to very current times. The tides of global politics have shifted with the inauguration of new world leaders, causing a great divide of opinion among the masses. “Trump vs the Dragon” and “Between Two Cards” examine the ethics of choosing one thing over another, each begging the question, do their moral consequences weigh the same? Who gains, and who suffers?

The exhibition will also showcase his 2004 kineticsound installation “Born and Freedom”. Inspired by John Barry’s song “Born Free”, the archaiclooking figures of five dogs leashed to five humans parallels the relationship between the Indonesian population and the government, despite being freed from military regime after the 1998 reform.

“Land of Freedom” runs through August 12.

The first in the series takes place this Sunday (July 23) from 11am to 12.30pm. Titled “Experience from Malaysia”, it will be given by Badrolhisham Mohamad Tahir, the current curator of Galeri Petronas, a leading private gallery in Malaysia’s capital, with Dr Toeingam Guptabutra from Silpakorn University serving as moderator.

Regionally and internationally recognised as an active curator, Tahir is also a veteran lecturer and researcher, as well as a productive writer/editor. His distinct curatorial practices include the Southeast Asia Triennial, Jakarta 2012 and 2016; and Young Malaysian Artist: New Object(ion) series 1–3. On Sunday, the graduate of Goldsmiths College, UK, will discuss not only his background, past work and the environment of contemporary arts in Malaysia, but also open the floor to questions and reflections on the art scene in Malaysia and Thailand.

Next Thursday (July 27), Margaret Shiu, a renowned cultural activist of Taiwan, will give a talk on “Experience from Taiwan”, from 4 to 6pm with Dr Paramaporn Sirikulchayanont, the director of Silpakorn University’s Art Centre as moderator.

Shiu found the Bamboo Curtain Studio in New Taipei City. Located inside a former farm, this well-known cultural venue has become a model for its active role in promoting an exchange programme on contemporary arts, as well as in conserving and regenerating a new context for old valuable architectural spaces through art and creative activities.

Despite a background in economics, Shiu went into arts in the ’80s and became a prominent figure in Taiwan. Thanks to her contacts in the administration, several old industrial buildings have been saved from the bulldozers and turned into creative spaces for artistic activities. Moreover, she has initiated many projects on artists’ role in cultural, social and environmental development and continues to network with international art organisations.

Both programmes are suitable for artists, those in art management, visual art and cultural regeneration circles, as well as the general public who have an interest in regional and international art and cultural scenes. Besides the subject of their own organisation and personal experiences, both speakers will share the situation of contemporary art and culture in Malaysia and Taiwan respectively, and open the floor to the local audiences to both share and ask questions.

Both public lectures are free and conducted mainly in English, with Thai translation. No reservation is required. For more information, contact education@bacc.or.th, or call (02) 214 6630 extension 519. You can also join the conversation at the “bacceducation” page on Facebook.

Each handcrafted basketry reflects local identity and wisdom. Among the delicate works on display , all guaranteed by the prestigious Asean Selection 2017’s awards are “TB’s Bag/Basket” by Maxweel Anak Janilta from Brunei who uses the classic shades of black and white to represent his hope that hand-crafted products will last forever.

Em Riem from Cambodia presents “Jungle”, which blends structural decorative design and fine art to speak about human unity and nature. A human’s chest-like form fashioned from rattan is blended with the spiralling and circling structure to represent nature.

“Spirit Handbag” by Phouvieng Saisnith from Laos presents the wisdom and culture embedded in natural bamboo basketry blended with embroidery showing silk threads and golden yarns. The work reflects equality of mankind through the mixed use of strong material and soft silk. Meanwhile, Korakot Aromdee from Thailand presents his “Spell Daybed Dome” by using woven bamboo to create a daybed for relaxation.

The exhibition is open daily (except Monday) from 10am to 9pm. The Centre is at the Pathumwan Intersection, opposite MBK shopping centre.

B-FLOOR THEATRE is one of the most prolific and award-wining companies in Thailand. That’s partly down to the fact that, while most of their works are movement-based and politically charged, many members create their own works, frequently with other independent artists and performers, in different styles, on different subject matters and at different venues. For example, when you watch works by Teerawat “Ka-ge” Mulvilai and those by Dujdao “Dao” Vadhanapakorn, you wouldn’t think they belonged to the same company. I wish other companies were like this, which would mean fewer of them but more consistency in their works.

Dao’s new experiential performance “Blissfully Blind” premiered at Bangkok City City Gallery last Thursday. Given the multidisciplinary nature of the work and the venue, an art gallery turned white box theatre, it was delightful to see not only die-hard fans of B-Floor but also visual arts audience among the crowd. That’s quite an achievement in a country where visual arts and performing arts are taught separately as if they were not related and their studios were not in the same building.

Before the start of the performance, we were told in Thai and English, that we could experience this by sitting down, on what we discovered later were lightboxes-cum-benches, standing, or walking around the space. We were not allowed, though, to touch the performers or the installations.

The massive light installation designed by Mont Watanasiriroch and his Zeight team, comprising hundreds of lightboxes and through which the performers as well as the audience could walk, was in the middle of the gallery. Different installations filled the other two parts of remaining space. In one part, close to the door were Navinda Pachimsawat and Phuttiporn Suttimanad; in the other, Amornsri Pattanasitdanggul and Vidura Amranand. With different and corresponding movements, the four switched places from time to time, while Dao remained in the centre structure, occasionally visited by one of them when she needed emotional healing.

While Dao and Democrazy Theatre Studio’s Thanapol Virulhakul were credited as choreographers, it was clear from many scenes that the four other performers also had input. For example, the scene in which Phuttiporn, a recent graduate in dance, was practising classical ballet turns, watched by Navinda, a dance teacher, reflected how the arts are being taught in this country – blindly and obediently.

I chose to stand in the centre structure throughout the one-hour performance, hoping that I would get to see all the stage action. Unfortunately I could not. In addition, the sound designed by Kamonpat Pimsarn for the two parts of the room was frequently different. Again, like in life, I could not hear everything.

In this day and age when we’re rebuilding our democracy but the media is “bound” by government to print and to broadcast only what’s “positive” and “appropriate”, we rely more than ever on what’s delivered directly to us on social media. We tend to believe that what we get through these new channels, uncensored, is truth and fact. Often though, we come to realise that we don’t actually see or hear everything, that there’s always a limit.

And that’s why we need a contemporary performance like “Blissfully Blind” to remind us of this.

– B-Floor Theatre’s “Blissfully Blind” continues at Bangkok CityCity Gallery, Soi Sathorn 1 (MRT Lumphini, exit 2) until July 30 except Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

– The show starts at 7.30pm. Tickets are Bt700 (Bt450 for students), at (094) 494 5104.

– The lighting installation is open for public viewing–free of charge–every Saturday and Sunday from 1-5pm.

– For more information, visit http://www.BFloorTheatre.com.

TO THE technical innovation and masterful craftsmanship that mark the startling jewellery of Van Cleef and

Arpels, add patience as a key quality.

In time for the annual Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, the firm has just unveiled the “Automate ้e

Ondine: Extraordinary Ordinary Object”, the fruit of seven years of labour in collaboration with the automaton

maker Francois Junod.

In a merging of jewellery and watchmaking traditions, the unique table clock adorned with precious stones and enamel has a complex mechanism animating various elements as it tells the time.

It’s been likened to a work of poetry, a sonnet on movement and lightness, the beauty of nature, the grace of a fairy waking from slumber. 

Elise Gonnet-Pon, managing director for Southeast Asia, said on a recent visit to Bangkok that Van Cleef and Arpels has always drawn inspiration from nature, femininity and elegance.

The automaton genius Junod, who’s based in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland, finds his work complemented by that of lapidaries, jewellers, stone-setters, enamellers and cabinetmakers.

They faced constant challenges in miniaturising the mechanism that wakens the fairy and shaping the flower petals that had to be sufficiently light to be borne along by the movement. The production entailed a continuous process of research, from design through to the finishing touches.

The fairy-like scene is spectacular – a dual spectacle, in fact, with its combination of a retrograde hour display

and animation “on demand”.

On the side of the clock’s ebony-toned base, a ladybird formed of Mystery Set rubies moves peacefully along the time scale. Reaching 12 o’clock, it returns to its starting point to begin its journey for the next half-day.

When activated, the automaton comes to life for about 50seconds. First the leaf of a water lily begins to ripple, as if blown by a gentle breeze. Chimes ring out a crystalline melody and the water lily’s flower slowly blooms.

The fairy awakens and raises her head to admire a butterfly at the centre of the corolla as it rises into the air, beating its wings and twirling about. The butterfly then returns to

its shelter, the fairy goes back to sleep, and the lily’s oscillation comes to an end.

Clearly an enormous amount of work goes into creating such unique pieces. The Fee Ondine’s remarkably graceful fairy was formed in white gold using the “lost wax” casting technique, and then dressed in her glittering finery.

Her bodice and skirt are set with a gradation of sapphires, while her face is crowned with a diamond

headdress. Her features display the gentle hue of aquamarine, which the lapidary has faceted by hand and by eye to evoke a feminine expression.

The blue tones are prolonged on her translucent wings, magnified by the plique-a-jour enamelling technique.

The light passes through the different shades, from navy blue to turquoise, as the fairy beats her wings in an irregular rhythm. Lines of brilliant-cut diamonds illuminate the spectacle.

The water lily flower was one of the major technical challenges. All ele ments of the automaton had to be as light as possible so they could be animated by the mechanism.

Exceptionally thin, the petals had to be entirely shaped by hand before being enamelled. This last stage was particularly delicate due to their large dimensions and the risk of the metal being deformed during firing.

Their colouring also called for a specially adapted method in order to render their subtle gradation from white to powdered pink. The large lily leaf is made of some 60 strips assembled together, which ripple during the animation.

The butterfly is a true high-jewellery creation, in keeping with the firm’s Papillon clips. It required careful research to ensure realistic movement as it takes to the air. 

In a coat of white gold, diamonds, pink sapphires and Australian white opal, the butterfly’s body was designed to house a hidden mechanism, while the wings can be admired from different angles.

The ladybird, which so exquisitely keeps watch over the hours, is notable for its delicate proportions, combined with refinements in the Mystery Set. The tiny insect is pink gold and white gold, decorated with diamonds and rubies.

“Each and every detail requires a true high-jewellery mindset in terms of craftsmanship,” Gonnet-Pon explained. “It’s all finished and polished by hand, and this is what we wish to offer to every lady who wears Van Cleef and Arpels – to have the high-jewellery spirit in a quest for excellence.”

The jeweller’s new Frivole collection is quite specific in terms of style. Yellow gold paved with diamonds makes its appearance in small earrings, a large pendant and a “Between the Finger” ring.

Floral motifs have always been at the heart of Van Cleef and Arpels creativity. Enthralled by nature’s constant metamorphoses, the firm transposes the vitality of its movement and its myriad nuances and forms.

For the Frivole line, architectural forms and the orientation of the petals have been worked with care to reproduce the random quality of nature.

Mirror polishing – a technique it has used since the 1920s – provides a way of highlighting the glitter of gold and creating particularly intense reflections, suffusing each piece with unique vitality.

This is seen in the openwork – openings the jeweller pierces in the gold structure to enable light to pass through the diamonds. All of these techniques combine with rigorous attention to detail.

With lightness of touch, the flowers unfurl their stylised petals in single corollas or bouquets. Yellow gold, evoking the style of the 1950s, sparkles with a sun-like glow, enhanced by the luminosity of a diamond heart.

“During the ’40s and ’50s there was a lot of polished yellow gold with diamond centres, so this new collection is a reinterpretation utilising plain yellow gold,” Gonnet-Pon said. “With the gold-plated petal, it helps reflect the diamonds, so it’s very lively, as well as mirroring the geometry in nature.

“The petal will grow in volume as it’s turned around, because nature is very asymmetrical, and we wanted to convey this in a collection that’s very joyful, very light and very luminous, to give the impression that the flower has just landed in your hands and is very lightweight.

“You can appreciate how comfortable the ring is to wear too, and we worked very carefully on the intricate setting. The diamonds are enhanced by the way they’re set, and to enhance the design is to make it extremely pure and light.

“‘Frivole’ refers to a lot of lightness, and that’s the positive vision of life at Van Cleef and Arpels. This philosophy is, like the craftsmanship, passed on from generation to generation of jewellers.”

Asia: Boom or bust?

The effects of Asia’s economic boom is addressed in the new group show “Soil and Stones, Souls and Songs” running at Jim Thompson Art Centre through October 13.

Co-curated by Cosmin Costinas and Inti Guerrero, the touring show features photography, video art, installation and mixed media by 35 artists and collectives, most of them Asian. The artists address the effects of the boom through cultural, socio-political, environmental issues.

Participating Thai artists include Prabhakar Pachpute, Pratchaya Phinthong, Chulayarnnon Siriphol and Suttirat Supaparinya.

Find out more at http://www.JimThompsonArtCenter.org.

The South unveiled

Chiang Mai’s Maiiam Contemporary Art Museum explores the deep south in new group show “Patani Semasa”, which defines the geographical area known in modern day Thailand as the provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and parts of Songkhla.

The show, which opens on Wednesday, features works by 27 artists and those engaged with issues relevant to the Patani region and is a kaleidoscope of different perspectives, methodologies and responses developed over 13 years.

Among the artists are Ampannee Satoh, Amru Thaisnit, Anis Nagasevi, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, I-na Phuyuthanon, Jakkai Siributr, Jamilah Daud, Jamilah Haji, Jehabdulloh Jehsorhoh, and Kameelah I-lala. The show is co-curated by Gridthiya Gaweewong, Kasamaponn Saengsuratham, Kittima Chareeprasit and Ekkalak Napthuesuk.

Thanet Aphornsuvan, Wattana Sugunnasil, Davisakd Puaksom, and Nualnoi Thamsathien will lead a panel discussion on Patani history, art and Islam on the opening day at 2pm.

The exhibition will continue through February 14. Find out more at http://www.MaiIam.com.

Man and beast, in bronze

Thai artist Kma Sirisamphan will showcase his bronze sculptures in his debut solo show “Weaving Narratives: Awaken” opening on August 5 at 6pm at Subhashok the Arts Centre.

A man lying on a buffalo’s back is the key figure in this collection, in which attention to detail establishes a middle ground where abstract meets realism. The focus is on the lines of the muscles and the colours used are natural.

The exhibition continues through September 10.

For more information visit Facebook page/sacbangkok.

Just looping along 

All aboard the Ferry Gallery for a cruise along the Chao Phraya River while enjoying an exhibition of video art by Australian new media artist and curator Xanthe Dobbie.

“Desktop Holiday”, which will be shown until September 30, is a triptych of digital collage loops. The three parts, intended to play simultaneously, explore notions of fractured identity in the age of globalisation and instant travel.

Each loop is made up of sourced digital content and gathered footage of the Catholic Island of Malta, shot by the artist in 2016 on an iPhone 5.

Find out more at http://www.TheFerryGallery.com.

WHEN IT PREMIERED two years ago, actor and French literature professor Banthun Ratmanee’s script “An Epilogue to ‘The Malady of Death’”, adapted from Marguerite Duras’s 1982 novella “La maladie de la mort”, struck the right chord with critics, albeit not so much with the audience, and was nominated for an IATC Thailand Award.

Its revival has been through many changes and much development, as evidenced by the new title “La maladie de l’amour: Detoxification of a Heart”.

Director and scenographer Wasurat “Leon” Unaprom says: “Like the 2015 version, this performance is a deconstruction of ‘The Malady of Death’, which Duras suggested could be performed as a play, and indeed has been staged in many countries around the world.”

“We’re still focusing on Duras’s relationship with her muse Yann Andrea, who actually wrote ‘The Malady of Death’, as Duras, who by then was incapable of writing, recited the lines. I came to realise that I’m more interested in Andrea, his homosexuality and the fact that, overwhelmed by Duras’s influence, his writing career never took off as people only wanted to read about his relationship with Duras,” Wasurat says.

“We also did more research on the boy who was mentioned in ‘The Malady of Death’. It seems Duras was hired by a newspaper about this time to cover the murder of a seven-year-old boy by his own mother. But instead of interviewing people or reporting the facts, she wrote entirely from her imagination and even took the side of the mother, portraying her as a victim of the society who needed to sleep with a man she didn’t really love. In ‘The Malady of Death’, |there’s a hint that Andrea himself wanted to kill Duras while she was asleep.”

With these new focuses, Leon had the accompanying installation artwork created even before Banthun finished revising the script. “As the audience walks into the studio on the third floor, they’ll see a typewriter with a long roll of paper filling the entire room. They’ll have to find a way through it to get to their seats.”

Only two actors perform in this revival–Banthun himself and Japanese actress Yuka Ehara. Leon adds, “They’ll speak Thai, French and Japanese and if there are English-speakers in the audience, they can switch to English. I think that, for this performance, spoken language is not the most important tool in communicating with the audience.

Also, I’d like to show how Duras’s words sound in different languages as they’ve been translated into many.”

Leon also notes that Duras’s words only make up 30 per cent of the script. The rest are Banthun’s and, in any case, the visual elements are more important.

“We’ve also added a prologue, a meeting of all the production crew and Banthun before the performance at the cafe on the second floor. This is where the audience, if they arrive early, can also read the programme leaflet, which includes an article on the relationship between Duras and Andrea, more information on the murder case and the original version of this performance. From the previews, it’s evident that the audience understood and enjoyed the performance better. On the other hand, a few complained that these additions framed the way they thought and blocked their imagination.”

Earlier this month, “La maladie de l’amour: Detoxicification of a Heart” was invited to Scenofest, as part of the World Stage Design Festival at Taipei National University of Arts (TNUA), and the response was positive.

“Tickets were sold out before we even arrived in Taipei and we needed to add seats to all three performances. Audiences enjoyed especially the scenography and other design elements; some also liked the prologue scene.

“I think this is partly because the audience there, unlike here, is already familiar with this kind of performance, rather than the conventional theatre, and contemporary arts from around the world, and the environment of the World Stage Design Festival itself also helped a lot.”

– “La maladie de l’amour: Detoxicification of a Heart” is at Thong Lor Art Space (three-minute walk from BTS Thong Lor station, exit 3) on Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 4pm, and on July 28-29 at 8pm and July 30 at 4pm.

– It’s in French, Japanese and Thai. Tickets are Bt550 (Bt450 for True and CP Privilege Price customers).

– Find out more at Facebook.com /ThongLorArtSpace.

Called AIS D.C, it’s being run by the leading mobile phone operator Advanced Info Service (AIS) in partnership with the Centre.

The new space is designed to provide a full range of support to start-ups and people with creative minds to share their ideas, inspiration, and knowledge, so they can further sharpen their creative edge and create their own businesses.

The AIS D.C. consists of six zones: a library, meeting room, an exhibition area, a space for seminars and workshops, a studio, and a playground, all wired with the broadband Internet network boasting the highest Gigabyte-level connection speed. One of the highlights of the venue is the Playground zone. A first for Thailand and Asia, it’s a place where program developers and start-ups are allowed to try the API connection system on their products and services using the AIS digital platform. More than 100 test devices are available at no charge. Moreover, the zone offers a simulation of an NB-IOT network on which program developers can test their IOT equipment and services and benefit from the advice of AIS experts.

“Over the past six years AIS had provided the full range of support to the new generation through its ‘AIS the Start-Up’ project. Our close collaboration with start-ups has enabled us to understand the different desires and needs of various groups. One of these is a desire to access world-class infrastructure and supporting tools in order to turn their creative ideas into reality and then get their businesses off the ground. They also need mentors from various fields to share business management knowledge in marketing, human resources, public relation, law and more.

“That’s why AIS decided to set up the AIS D.C. space, which aims to be their new community and a new centre of creativity. It’s where they can enjoy the creative power of technologies, design, and business ideas, all in one place,” said AIS’ acting chief marketing officer Pratthana Leelapanang.

The annual membership fee for the general public is Bt1,200 per person and Bt600 for students.  AIS D.C. members can also use the facilities at every branch of the TCDC. Apply for membership at https://aisdc.ais.co.th. For more information, visit the “AIS D.C.” page on Facebook.

BANGKOK’S 19th International Festival of Dance and Music brings to Bangkok one of the world’s premier ballet companies – the Stuttgart Ballet – presenting its hallmark production “The Taming of the Shrew”.

Germany’s Stuttgart Ballet has been at the forefront of dance creation for decades. Distinguished by its pioneering work, the company will present John Cranko’s “Taming of the Shrew”, based on William Shakespeare’s famous comedy.

Scheduled for October 18 and 19, the whimsical and witty two-act masterpiece, set to a delightful score orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze (after Domenico Scarlatti), is a Cranko classic filled with spectacular dancing and hilarious action. The action moves along at a fast lick, doing absolute justice to the Shakespearean original.

Cranko’s choreography has the lovers Petruchio and Katherina in a constant battle of wits, with the dancing underlining the humour perfectly.

The story in a nutshell has Petruchio determined to bend the feisty and tempestuous Katherina to his will, but Katherina will have none of it. Even as they duel, the couple gradually falls in love.

The ballet, as critic Jim Pritchard of SeenAndHeard-International.com puts it, is “a masterclass in how a classic play can be transformed into an entertaining two-hour ballet that celebrates the ability of pure dance to tell a story with just music and movement”.

Lavish scenery and costumes, created by the famous Elisabeth Dalton, give the ballet its perfect setting in Padua, Italy. Made for the production’s world premiere in 1969, they became the highlights of Dalton’s career. Several companies that subsequently incorporated Cranko’s “Taming” into their repertoire also used her designs.

The Stuttgart Ballet has a devoted following among aficionados. Tanz, Europe’s biggest and most respected ballet and dance magazine, has said the troupe “doesn’t follow trends – it sets them”.

Ballet’s history in Stuttgart goes back to the 17th-century court of Wurttemberg, an acclaimed centre for dance in Europe from the 18th to the early 20th centuries.

Post-World War II, the company rekindled public interest in classical dance. In 1957 Nicolas Beriozoff, a former dancer with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, was appointed to lead the ensemble. In 1961 Cranko was appointed director and choreographer, and with him a new era began. Until Cranko’s death in 1973, he authored the most successful chapter of Stuttgart’s ballet history. He brought in exceptional dancers like Marcia Haydee, who became his muse and prima ballerina.

Cranko’s vision helped renew the genre of the full-length narrative ballet with three new works – “Romeo and Juliet” (1962), “Onegin” (1965 and again in 1967) and “The Taming of the Shrew” (1969).

He also created one-act masterpieces – “Jeu de cartes, Opus 1” and “Initials RBME”.

A triumphant New York presentation in 1969 had critics talking about the “The Stuttgart Ballet Miracle”.

Cranko laid such deep and strong foundations that, even after his death, the “miracle” continued.

His successor, George Tetley, opened the minds and bodies of the dancers to an entirely novel movement-language and conveyed to them a contemporary dance aesthetic.

In 1976, prima ballerina and principal dancer Marcia Haydee took over the directorship, broadening the repertoire.

Most importantly, she appointed William Forsythe – a dancer in the company – and subsequently Uwe Scholz as resident choreographers.

After 20 years as director, Haydee handed over the baton to Reid Anderson, who prepared the company for the new millennium with a stylistically broad repertoire that attracts the best dance talent from around the world – with more than 25 nationalities currently represented.

Highlighting this wealth of talent are the leads. Dancing Kathe-rina are Elisa Badenes (on October 18) and Alicia Amatriain (October 19), while Petruchio is essayed by Adhonay Soares da Silva the first night and Jason Reilly the second.

Both Amatriain and Reilly have been recognised with the national title of “Kammertaenzerin”, the highest status a dancer can achieve in Germany. They bring more than just technical perfection to the stage as they deliver an emotional performance that is at the same time comical.

George Balanchine judged the ballet to be “just as amusing to see in dance form as it is in the spoken theatre”. And that is exactly what the Stuttgart Ballet delivers, seamlessly bringing together acting and dancing. The cheerful and boisterous music, the colourful costumes and charming set, the comedy and the flawless dancing make this the perfect ballet for the whole family.

Bangkok’s 19th International Festival of Dance & Music has the support of the Crown Property Bureau, Bangkok Bank, Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, BMW Thailand, B Grimm Group, Dusit Thani Bangkok, Indorama Ventures, Ministry of Culture, Nation Group, PTT, Singha Corp, Thai Airways International, Thai Union Group and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Just a kiss, Kate!

See “The Taming of the Shrew” by the Stuttgart Ballet on October 18 and 19 at the Thailand Cultural Centre.

Seats are available at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3191.

Find out more at http://www.BangkokFestivals.com

“The focus is on functionality and design, and more than 60 per cent of the materials must be rubber foam. The products could be developed into real merchandises to be sold at Rubberland. This project encourages Thai students to become professional designers,” said Thawat Sommanophat, marketing director of Rubberland.

Run by PP Siam Latex Co, Rubberland is an edutainment centre about Thailand’s rubber. The centre is the first and only in Asia to educate visitors about rubber and is located on a four-rai plot right in the heart of Pattaya.

“Thailand is one of the top rubber growers in the world and we export a lot of rubber. Therefore, the rubber tree is important to our economy. If we can develop the industry, it will benefit both our country and our rubber farmers,” said Vanjak Chotchaicharin, senior vice president of operations and merchandising of Rubberland.

The design contest’s panel of judges include Assoc Prof Dr Singha Indrachuto of the Creative Centre for Eco-design, Kasetsart University’s Faculty of Architecture; ML Pasakorn Abhakorn, head of designer development at DITP, Dr Surapich Loykulnant, a researcher at MTEC rubber laboratory, and Dr Dararat Mekkriangkrai from Material ConneXion Bangkok (MCB), TCDC. The contestants will have a chance to join interesting workshops to improve their product design, visit a rubber factory, and visit Rubberland edutainment centre.

“We are certain that the Rubberland Design Contest will inspire designers to put naturally found materials in Thailand to good use by adding creativity and innovation. This not only makes their product different, but also adds value to our economy as a whole,” added Thawat.

Contestants must be 17 to 25 years old, and each team must have three or fewer members. Fill in the form and submit your work from now until September 30 at http://www.ThaiRubberLand.com.