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Remembering a master

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

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Performance artist Takao Kawaguchi paid tribute to Butoh pioneer Kazuo Ohno by copying his characters and movements, and capturing their spirit. Photo/Takuya Matsumi
Performance artist Takao Kawaguchi paid tribute to Butoh pioneer Kazuo Ohno by copying his characters and movements, and capturing their spirit. Photo/Takuya Matsumi

Remembering a master

Art October 22, 2018 01:00

By Pawit Mahasarinand
Special to The Nation

2,753 Viewed

Japan Foundation brings a globetrotting performance to Chang Theatre this weekend

IN POST-WAR JAPAN, Kazuo Ohno and Tatsumi Hijikata not only pioneered butoh but also put it firmly on the world map of arts as a major contemporary genre. After 10-years of semi-retirement from the stage, Ohno, then 71, came back with a seminal work “Admiring La Argentina”, which toured around the world and delighted audiences everywhere. He continued to perform “a dance of soul”, despite problems with his eyes until his death in 2010 at the age of 103. Hikikata described Ohno as “a dancer of deadly poison, capable of striking with just a spoonful.”

Performance artist Takao Kawaguchi paid tribute to Butoh pioneer Kazuo Ohno by copying his characters and movements, and capturing their spirit. Photo/Takuya Matsumi

Thanks to Japan Foundation Bangkok, who more than two decades ago invited butoh master Katsura Kan to teach at a few universities and work with other professional dance and theatre companies, butoh has had significant influence on the development of contemporary Thai dance and theatre. Proof of this can be found in the annual International Butoh Festival Thailand, upcoming in December, which is now in its 13th year.

Performance artist Takao Kawaguchi has never seen Ohno perform live. In last year’s interview with Japan Times, he said that in the late 2000s while attending a butoh exhibition at a museum, he was so mesmerised by Ohno’s photo that he bought a poster to put on his wall. Several years later, the idea to create this performance took shape along with the realisation “that I wanted to work with his movements to understand butoh on a deeper level and not just as a concept or an idea.”

Photo/Takuya Matsumi

In creating “About Kazuo Ohno: Reliving the Butoh Diva’s Masterpieces”, he extensively studied such films as “The Portrait of Mr. O” (1969), “Admiring La Argentina” (1977), “My Mother” (1981) and “The Dead Sea: Viennese Waltz and the Ghosts” (1985).

During the same interview, he said: “My approach was to copy as much as I could see on a video,” adding, “Ohno is improvising, of course, so to copy or repeat anybody’s improvisation, even my own, is very difficult. But I tried hard to be faithful to the video and to not intervene with my own interpretation – just create a representation of the video movements themselves.”

Yoshito Ohno, the late master’s son, not only gave him permission, but also loaned his father’s costumes and gave him all the necessary archive materials. Yoshito’s support has continued from the 2013 premiere until today.

Photo/Takuya Matsumi

Reaction wasn’t always positive though. Kawaguchi, whose works often challenge artistic genre boundaries, noted some disapproval, saying “Others were reluctant, feeling perhaps a sense of taboo towards copying the master. The butoh heritage is very strong, and I am coming from outside, so it did provoke some strong feelings.”

Since the premiere in Japan five years ago, “About Kazuo Ohno: Reliving the Butoh Diva’s Masterpieces” has been to many important festivals and theatres around the world, receiving favourable reviews from those who have and have not seen Ohno on stage.

Photo/Takuya Matsumi

At the Japan Society in New York two years ago, the performance, later nominated for the Bessie Award, was called “a bold copycat tribute” by a New York Times critic who elaborated: “In ‘The Embryo’s Dream,’ from ‘My Mother,’ he staggered across the stage, an androgynous figure with a parched rose in one hand (Ohno was known for gender-bending), his body as brittle but tenacious as its petals. Passages from ‘La Argentina,’ a tribute to the flamenco star Antonia Merce, were melancholic, flirtatious and extravagant. Onstage costume changes – into a liturgical robe and cap for a section of ‘Dead Sea,’ or white face paint and red lips for ‘La Argentina’ – underscored the premise of becoming someone else.”

That same year, the LA Times critic described Kawaguchi’s accomplishment, writing: “He is lean and muscular, and every nerve ending and fibre works independently as he transforms him before our eyes into the unnatural poses, awkward gaits and slow, controlled movements that Ohno originally created. It is the art of self-sculpting.” “About Kazuo Ohno” was seen at Theatre de la Ville, as part of “Festival d’automne a Paris” earlier this month.

Photo/Takuya Matsumi

Pichet Klunchun, artistic director of his namesake company, which is in residence at Chang Theatre, hopes many butoh enthusiasts will come to watch this work. “Chang Theatre presents dance works and undoubtedly ‘About Kazuo Ohno’ is one of the most significant dance works in the world now,” he says.

“The work is a record of the artistic journey of a dance master who devoted his whole life to his art, until his last breath. And that’s why, for me, Kazuo Ohno still lives, on stage. In Thailand, there’s no equivalent to him and I think his legacy solidly proves that you can still be a professional dancer until you’re 80 or 90 years old, and not have to stop at 30 or 40 like many people think,” the internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer adds.

“Also, while many Thai dance and theatre artists know butoh, very few of us really know who created it and how. And so this is an important opportunity to get to know the master and the original.”

Make A Date

“About Kazuo Ohno: Reliving the Butoh Diva’s Masterpieces” is on Friday and Saturday at 7.30pm, and on Sunday at 2pm.

Chang Theatre is in Soi Pracha-uthit 61, in Thung Khru, Thon Buri.

Tickets are Bt 700 ( No student discounts). Book at (099) 213 5639 and (095) 956 9166, or by emailing ChangTheatre.Bangkok@gmail.com.

Find out more at, http://www.ChangTheatre.com.

Takao Kawaguchi’s Body Sculpture Workshop: Experience the process of making “About Kazuo Ohno” is at the same venue on Saturday, 1-3pm. Free admission. Recommended for those with some basic dance background.

For more on the late Butoh master, http://www.KazuoOhnoDanceStudio.com/english/kazuo

Painting over the cracks

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/art/30356889

Director Taco Dibbits of the Rijksmuseum announces that “De Nachtwacht” (“The Night Watch”) by Dutch painter Rembrandt will be restored in 2019 in front of the public. /EPA-EFE
Director Taco Dibbits of the Rijksmuseum announces that “De Nachtwacht” (“The Night Watch”) by Dutch painter Rembrandt will be restored in 2019 in front of the public. /EPA-EFE

Painting over the cracks

Art October 22, 2018 01:00

By Agence France-Presse
Amsterdam

Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch” to undergo restoration in full view of the public

LIKE WATCHING paint dry? Soon art lovers will be able to watch one of the world’s most famous paintings being restored live and online.

Rembrandt’s masterpiece “The Night Watch” will undergo a years-long, multimillion-euro overhaul at Amsterdam’s Rijks- museum under the full gaze of the public.

Restorers will work in a “state of the art clear glass chamber” so visitors can see the 17th century classic receive its makeover – a process that normally happens in secret.

The unique project starting in July 2019 is the biggest in the Rijksmuseum’s history, general director Taco Dibbits said on Tuesday.

“‘The Night Watch’ by Rembrandt is one of the most famous paintings in the world and we feel we have to preserve it for future generations,” Dibbits explained.

Director Taco Dibbits of the Rijksmuseum announces that “De Nachtwacht” (“The Night Watch”) by Dutch painter Rembrandt will be restored in 2019 in front of the public. /EPA-EFE

“Over two million people a year come to see ‘The Night Watch’. It’s a painting |that everybody loves, and we feel that the world has the right to see what we will do with it.”

The last major restoration work was carried out 40 years ago after a mentally ill man slashed it with a knife.

Since then experts have noticed a white haze appear on some parts, especially in the area around the knife damage, where it is bleaching out the figure of a small dog.

Rembrandt Van Rijn was commissioned in 1642 by the mayor and leader of the civic guard of Amsterdam, Frans Banninck Cocq, to paint the picture of the officers and other members of the militia.

The groundbreaking picture is the first of its kind to show such a group in motion, rather than in static poses, and features the interplay of light and shadow for which the Dutch master is famed.

Rembrandt’s masterpiece “The Night Watch” will undergo a years-long, multi-million-euro overhaul at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum.

“The Night Watch” – also remarkable for is huge three-metre-by-four-metre size – is now the Rijksmuseum’s most famed exhibit, taking pride of place in its Gallery of Honour.

Experts will examine the painting using high-resolution photography and computer analysis of every layer including varnish, paint and canvas before deciding on the best restoration techniques.

The work will then take place in a glass case designed by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, who was behind revamps of both the Rijksmuseum and the Louvre gallery in Paris.

It will also be livestreamed “so everyone, wherever they are, will be able to follow the process online”, Dibbits says.

“Conservation is usually done behind closed doors, but this is such an important painting, we feel that the public who owns it has the right to see it and we want to share this very important moment.”

Over the last three centuries the painting has endured vandalism, restoration attempts and an escape from the Nazis.

In the 1700s large chunks were cut from each side during a move, followed by several bouts of work on the varnish that darkened the picture and helped give it its name.

In 1911 a man stabbed it with a knife, then in September 1939 the painting was evacuated from the Rijksmuseum as Nazi Germany closed in and hidden in a cave. After the war in 1945 it needed major restoration.

But the painting’s sufferings were not over: the 1975 attack saw a disturbed man slash the painting 12 times, with traces still visible today.

The museum decided to carry out a major restoration then, only for a man to spray acid on it in 1990.

Recently, however, new problems emerged.

“We noticed that over the past years there’s a white glare that appeared on the bottom part of the painting. We want to be able to understand what that is,” Dibbits explains.

Restoring “The Night Watch” will not be cheap, or quick.

“That will cost several millions,” said Dibbits, adding that the museum would also be looking for private funding.

“The Night Watch” will be the centrepiece of an exhibition marking the 350th anniversary of Rembrandt’s death starting in February 2019, before restoration work begins in full in July.

“As we say in Dutch, conserving paintings is a monk’s job,” said Dibbits. “It takes a lot of patience, so it might be several years.”

Messages in their art

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/art/30356800

  • Visitors are encouraged to take off their shoes and navigate their way through the cocoon-like tunnels made from adhesive tape at BACC by the Croatian Design Collaborative Numen For Use. /Nation/Tanachai Pramarnpanich
  • Komkrit Tepthian’s three-metre-tall fibreglass sculpture “Giant Twins” is at Wat Arun. /Nation:Tanachai Pramarnpanich
  • Choi Jeong Hwa creates a plastic jungle fashioned from the suspended vines of more than 10,000 colourful plastic baskets at BACC. /Nation:Tanachai Pramarnpanich
  • Yayoi Kusama’s two fibreglass sculptures “I Carry On Living with the Pumpkins” are on view at Siam Paragon. /courtesy of Siam Paragon

Messages in their art

Art October 20, 2018 01:00

By Khetsirin Pholdhampalit
The Nation Weekend

4,524 Viewed

From comments on sex workers to those who toil in the fashion industry and polka-dotted pumpkin balloons, the Bangkok Art Biennale has something for everyone

THE CREATIVE skills of 75 international and local will be bringing a special shine to the city this season as the inaugural Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB), which kicked off yesterday, swings into gear. More than 200 art pieces can be admired at 20 venues ranging from riverside temples, historical buildings to malls, hotels and galleries over the next three-and-a-half months.

Continuing until February 3, both big names and emerging artists explore diverse platforms on the festival’s theme “Beyond Bliss” – a paradox to the world we live in. Here are just some of the works awaiting a visit from art enthusiasts.

Big Names

CentralWorld is dipped in polka dots with 14 giant-sized, pumpkin balloons by Yayoi Kusama. /Nation:Pattarawadee Saengmanee.

Suspended from the atrium’s ceiling at CentralWorld are 14 giant red-and-white polka-dotted pumpkin balloons by Yayoi Kusama – the eccentric grande dame of optical illusions. It’s the same collection that was displayed last year at Ginza Six complex in Tokyo. At nearby Siam Paragon, her admirers can share in her hallucination with dots, pumpkins and meshes of netting through two fibreglass sculptures “I Carry On Living with the Pumpkins”.

Choi Jeong Hwa’s black inflatable robot “About being irritated” keeps falling down. It’s at Central Embassy until tonight. /Courtesy of Central Embassy

Celebrated South Korean artist Choi Jeong Hwa brings in his best-known inflatable sculptures and site-specific installations fashioned from mass-produced products that are playful yet satirical. His gigantic black inflatable robot that keeps falling down despite trying to get up is on view at Central Embassy in a criticism of the powerlessness of men in this frustrating world.

The inflatable porker “Love Me Pig I” by Choi Jeong Hwa is on display at Siam Center. /Courtesy of Siam Center

His large inflatable metallic pink pig with moving wings at Siam Center would really like to fly but never gets off the ground. Meanwhile, at the Bangkok and Culture Centre (BACC), Jeong Hwa creates a plastic jungle fashioned from the suspended vines of more than 10,000 colourful plastic baskets and invites visitors to walk through vessels that sway as they are passed in a comment on mass-consumerism.

Marina Abramovic invites visitors to participate in some long durational activities such as counting rice grains at BACC. /Courtesy of Marina Abramovic

Like her 2015 audience-participation project in Sydney, veteran performing artist Marina Abramovic invites visitors to participate in some long durational activities such as counting rice grains to examine the limits of the body, the possibilities of the mind and the being of the present time.

There are some protocols to follow before joining the activities at BACC until November 11. All electronic devices and belongings must be stored in lockers and Abramovic’s assistants – they’re referred to as facilitators – will direct a series of preparatory exercises that need to be undertaken before proceeding, such as breathing and blocking and physical squats. Noise-cancelling headphones must be worn at all times and no one is allowed to speak.

 Courtesy of Marina Abramovic

The facilitators will lead participants to join activities in each section from counting rice, sitting on a chair and gazing at coloured rectangular sheets of paper hung on a wall, standing in silence on a raised wooden base, or sleeping on camp beds. Visitors can choose which activities they want to join and how long they want to take.

Inspired by Abramovic’s performing method, the Marina Abramovic Institute (MAI) – a multidisciplinary collaboration of artists for long durational works – is bringing eight artists from different countries, each of whom presents a daily eight-hour performance over the three-week period on the theme “A Possible Island?”

BACC

 Visitors are encouraged to take off their shoes and navigate their way through the cocoon-like tunnels made from adhesive tape by the Croatian Design Collaborative Numen For Use. /Nation:Tanachai Pramarnpanich

BACC is BAB’s main venue with 25 international and Thai artists showing here. The Croatian Design Collaborative Numen For Use brings in their famous cocoon-like tunnels made by wrapping tendons of translucent multi-layered adhesive tape then suspending them between the floor and ceiling. Visitors are encouraged to take off their shoes and navigate their way through the web of tunnels and hollows.

“When you go inside, you may feel insecure at the beginning about crawling, walking or sliding along the translucent tunnels with an amorphous surface. But it allows a space for you to become your own self – away from the outside world. Though it can hold the weight of about 20 persons, I suggest having only three individuals at a time inside the tunnel so that each person will have a space large enough for self-awareness,” says a member.

Imhathai Suwatthanasilp presents her crocheted works and a light box with thousands of moth wings to comment on sex workers. /Nation: Prasert Thepsri

For more than a decade, Thai artist Imhathai Suwatthanasilp has been painstakingly crocheting strands of her hair into outlandish mixed-media artworks, in what she calls a commemoration of her origins and significant episodes in her life.

Working with the Empower Foundation – an NGO that assists and educates sex workers in Chiang Mai –she displays 174 pieces of a sewing machine’s parts in a glass cabinet – each of them crocheted with the hair of the sex workers. On the wall, she has another light box to which thousands of moth wings have been glued with the message “Good Girls Go to Heaven, Bad Girls Go Everywhere”.

“All the parts come from one sewing machine donated to the foundation. I took them apart, crocheted them with hair and rearranged them in a glass cabinet according to the diagram of the sewing machine. I wonder why so many people donate sewing machines to these workers for their alternative jobs. The fallen wings of flying moths I collected overnight represent fragility – just like the sex workers who couldn’t hold on this career for life,” says Imhathai.

East Asiatic Building

Kawita Vatanajyankur uses her body to represent a weaving shuttle in a reflection on female workers in the fashion industry. /Nation:Tanachai Pramarnpanich

Kawita Vatanajyankur will again use her body as the art object for her performing and video art to speak about inequality, feminism and women’s rights. For her “Dye” series, a loom-like structure with warp yarns is set up, and Kawita, who transforms herself into a shuttle tool, will attach herself to the weft yarn and constantly move back and forth between the yarn threads in order to weave a textile during the course of a 45-mintue performance.

In her performing video also showing in this space, Kawita taking the roles of a spinning wheel producing threads, and a skein of fibres with her body suspended above a bowl of brilliant red dye to dye the white wool attached to her head red.

“My latest series talks about the female labourers in the fashion industry. About 80 per cent of employees in weaving factories are women who are little celebrated and perceived like machines. I have therefore chosen to present myself as a tool that is lifeless and works repetitively according to the production process,” says Kawita who previously turned herself into a broom, suspending and sweeping her hair across floor until its touched the dustpan to question the social ideologies related to the repetitive tasks of a woman’s mundane labour.

The gigantic sculptured bull terrier “LostDog” by Aurele Ricard waits patiently in front of Mandarin Oriental Hotel. /Nation:Tanachai Pramarnpanich

Opposite the East Asiatic Building and in front of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel is a giant fibreglass bull terrier coated in gold leaf. This is part of French artist Aurele Ricard’s “LostDog” series, inspired by posters of lost dogs in New York and metaphorically representing the displaced state of human beings in the confusion of the modern world.

Riverside Temples

Komkrit Tepthian’s three-metre-tall fibreglass sculpture “Giant Twins” is at Wat Arun. /Nation:Tanachai Pramarnpanich

Inspired by the Sino-Siamese architectural and sculptural elements of Wat Arun, which underwent major refurbishment during the reigns of Kings Rama II and III, and the legend of Siamese twins Chang and Eng who were born and lived in that period, Thai artist Komkrit Tepthian creates a three-metre-tall, fibreglass conjoined twin figure “Giant Twins” consisting of a stone Chinese warrior and a white guardian giant statue modelled after the statues situated at the temple.

Komkrit Tepthian’s garuda sculpture

Adjacent is a stone-like sculpture of a garuda – a mythological half-bird and half-human creature – modelled after the stone ones of the temple but with a torso painted red and in a different style from the originals.

“The original garuda stone sculptures were created by Chinese artisans and shipped to Siam. With the differences in cultural belief, these garuda figures have torsos that are more female than male according to the typical Thai style. For my work, I replaced the Chinese-style female torso with that of Thai-style male,” says Komkrit.

He will also install a gachapon – a vending machine – dispensing capsule toys with random playouts of tiny resin models.

“I will make about 100 resin models created after the sculptures and statues found in the temple. In each capsule, I will also provide a location and a detail of the sculpture/statue-inspired model in Thai, Chinese and Mandarin,” adds the artist who is known for his sculptures made out of Lego bricks.

Huang Yong Ping’s fanciful creatures “Zou You He Che” guard the door of the Chinesestyle sala at Wat Pho. /Nation:Tanachai Pramarnpanich

On the opposite side of the river, celebrated Chinese-French artist Huang Yong Ping installs his two large fantastic creatures at the door of Wat Pho’s Sala Masikawan whose murals depict Chinese tales. Acting like the gatekeepers, the creatures have man-like legs but goat heads with scrolls in their mounts.

“My work incorporates the mystery of gods and the philosophy of Taoism but I would like viewers to feel free to interpret my works as they see them,” says the artist who three years ago put his large-scale sculptures on show at BACC including his 2002 masterpiece “Nightmare of King George V” featuring an elephant mounted by an attacking tiger to comment on imperialism and the hunting safaris of bygone colonial days.

MAKE A DATE WITH IDEAS

Bangkok Art Biennale 2018 continues until February 3 at 20 sites around Bangkok.

Find out more at http://www.BKKArtBiennale.com or download the application “BAB 2018”.

Lights and shadows

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/art/30356692

Lights and shadows

Art October 18, 2018 12:40

By The Nation

Chakrit Leelachupong reflects on the rituals of grief following the death of King Rama 9 on October 13, 2016 when the white wall that surrounds the Grand Palace, where King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s body lay in state, became the place for simple displays of mourning by ordinary people, in his show “The White Wall”.

The photographic exhibition opens at Kathmandu Photo Gallery from November 3 and continues through December 28.

Chakrit held a photographic vigil at the Grand Palace, bearing witness to the phenomenal grief over the Kingdom’s momentous loss. “For me, the white wall marks the dividing line between the living and the dead,” he says.

“The camera angle, the composition, and the selective close-up framing that accentuates the shadows, all imbue this series with an eerie mystery, as if the worshippers were performing some occult rite as invisible souls congregate around them,” curator Manit Sriwanichpoom adds.

A professional photographer based in Bangkok, Chakrit graduated in business administration from Assumption University in 2012 but fell in love with photography, which has become his life and livelihood. ‘The White Wall’ is his first solo exhibition.

Kathmandu Photo Gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 6pm. For more information, call (02) 234 6700 or visit http://www.KathmanduPhotoBkk.com.

Brothers and sisters

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/art/30356361

Commendable performances by four thespians added to the merit of this play adaptation. Photo/Pichamon Changkwanyuen
Commendable performances by four thespians added to the merit of this play adaptation. Photo/Pichamon Changkwanyuen

Brothers and sisters

Art October 15, 2018 01:00

By Pawit Mahasarinand
Special to The Nation

Life Theatre delivers with two tradaptations of one contemporary American domestic drama

LAST YEAR, Life Theatre impressed us with the English translation of French playwright Yasmina Reza’s “Life x 3”, although some of us wondered why it was not performed in Thai as most of the audience were indeed Thai. This year, they made sure we didn’t have to read any Thai surtitles with “Rx3”– nothing to do with their previous work—which ended its second run, after the first in June, last Sunday at Blue Box Studio.

Commendable performances by four thespians added to the merit of this play adaptation. Photo/Pichamon Changkwanyuen

Bhanbhassa Dhubtien and Apirak Chaipanha deftly translated a two-hander “Rosemary with Ginger” by Edward Allan Baker and changed its context – a tradaptation approved by the American playwright – into two versions. They are collectively called “Rx3”, referring to the three names of the four characters – Rosemary (Rose), Rocket and Roong. This is thanks in part to the experiments they did in Life Theatre’s workshop called Actor’s Gym. The American original features two sister characters, both straight, and took place in the US. The first Thai version has two gay American brothers, Rosemary and Rocket, in a diner of a small American town; the second two Thai sisters Rose and Roong, at a small bar in U-Tapao, a Thai naval base out of which the Thai navy holds special drills annually with their American counterpart.”

Photo/Pichamon Changkwanyuen

To add to the fun, the order of the two playlets changed from one evening to another, and of course the experience differed – I only wish I had the time to experience both.

Last Saturday, the queer version was presented first and Apirak and Sathasai Ponghirun were credible as brothers. The former added depth and vibrancy to the character we saw him portray in Life Theatre’s “Four Sisters”; the latter was more subtle and more compelling, but that might have been because we haven’t seen him on stage for many years.

Photo/Pichamon Changkwanyuen

The two are in the diner writing their mother’s bio on an application form for her shopping spree prize and as they do so, the audience discovers that their childhood years with a violent father was every bit as troubled as their adulthood present, with failing marriages, alcoholism, and so forth. Notwithstanding their gayness, the discussion on child custody was also believable.

Despite the multitude of life problems, the audience laughed at many moments as the play became a dark comedy, thanks in part to Apirak’s characterisation of Rosemary.

Photo/Pichamon Changkwanyuen

After the 15-minute intermission when some props were moved and others replaced, seasoned actress and singer Narinthorn Na Bangchang portrayed the elder sister of Rasee Diskul Na Ayutthaya, a former supermodel and TV actress making her stage debut here. A two-character play is like a boxing match but Rasee, with much less stage experience, never let her guard down and was at no point upstaged by the veteran, with the result that theatre audiences are now looking forward to her next stage work.

Photo/Pichamon Changkwanyuen

I was in the third row from the stage, without earplugs, and I felt the actors were too loud in some parts, as if they were performing in the much larger M-Theatre nearby. A little less here might have meant the characters coming across as more realistic, rather than theatrical, and allowed for a faster pace.

Photo/Pichamon Changkwanyuen

In both versions, though, the audience was touched by the characters’ stories and moved by their emotions. It didn’t feel like watching the same story twice; rather, it showed that these situations could happen to anyone anywhere. Sexual orientation and location aside, we could empathise with them and learn that in our misery and despite the distance, our one true friend might be our sibling.

More Compelling Drama

Watch out for Life Theatre’s next production, British playwright’s award-winning drama “Closer”.

Visit Facebook.com/LifeTheatre.net.

Bangkok as art

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/art/30356360

  • Choi Jeong Hwa /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale
  • “Happy Happy Project: Love Me Pig I” made from synthetic textile by Choi Jeong Hwa will be displayed at Siam Center from Thursday to October 26. /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale
  • Yayoi Kusama /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale
  • Marina Abramovic /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale

Bangkok as art

Art October 15, 2018 01:00

By Khetsirin Pholdhampalit
The Nation

We take a look at some of the works being acted out and exhibited at the Thai capital’s first biennale

WHILE THE eventual outcome of the current conflict over subsidies to the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration remains uncertain, the potential of the Thai capital as a contemporary art hub in the region is being thrust into the spotlight with the opening this week of the first-ever international Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB).

Kicking off on Friday, the Biennale is fortunate to have plenty of private sponsorship for its three-and-a-half-month run, allowing it to showcase more than 200 art pieces by 75 international and Thai artists spread over 20 venues around the city from galleries, riverside temples and hotels to malls and historical buildings.

Yayoi Kusama’s sculpture “I Carry On Living with the Pumpkins” will be presented at Fashion Gallery of Siam Paragon. /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale

“Beyond Bliss” is the theme conceived by BAB’s chief artistic director Apinan Poshyananda and his curatorial team, who include Adle Tan from the National Gallery Singapore, Patrick D Flores from the University of the Philippines and Luckana Kunavichanyanont, the former director of BACC.

“Beyond Bliss may be paradoxical to the world we live in. It can be happiness that is followed by sadness or perhaps unhappiness that is finally prolonged happiness. At least, art can raise consciousness of what we’re facing,” says Apinan. “I’m sure a lot of people won’t like it and many people will love it. But it’s up to the viewer to choose what he or she favours or otherwise.”

Here are sneak previews of some of the works at a few of the venues.

Marina Abramovic will have her performances at BACC from Thursday to November 11. /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale

BACC

The Bangkok Art and Culture Centre is BAB’s main venue with 25 international and Thai artists showing here. Among them is a big name from the world of performance art, Marina Abramovic, who will explore the relationship between performer and audience, the limits of the body and the possibilities of the mind through her performance running from Thursday to November 11.

Her best-known and critically acclaimed work is 2010’s “The Artist is Present”, in which she sat silently at a wooden table across from an empty chair for seven hours a day, six days a week for three months at New York’s Museum of Modern Art as more than 1,000 people took turns sitting in the chair to gaze at her.

She credits the Aboriginal idea of “here and now” where everything is happening in the present time as being one of the major influences on her life’s work. She has yet to reveal what she will perform at BAB, though a restage of “The Artist is Present” is expected.

South Korean choreographer Jihyun Youn from Marina Abramovic Institute will convey the emotion of lament into measurable geometry through her daily eight-hour performance. Nationphoto/Wanchai Kraisornkhajit

Inspired by Abramovic’s performing method, the Marina Abramovic Institute (MAI) – a multidisciplinary collaboration of artists for immaterial art and long durational works – is bringing eight artists who will each present a daily eight-hour performance over the three-week period on the theme “A Possible Island?”

MAI artist, South Korean choreographer Jihyun Youn’s “Geometry of Lamentation” will convey the abstract of emotion into measurable geometry. Each day, she will sew white paper pieces into the traditional Korean dress known as a hanbok and wear a white mask while moving in a dance, the sequence of which is regenerated from the geometrical form of the Korean alphabet Hangeul.

“I will work on the emotion of lamentation and objects by putting myself as an object of lament,” says Youn.

Taweesak Molsawat will walk from his home in the Ram Indra area to the BACC during the performing period. Nationphoto/Wanchai Kraisornkhajit

To question the sense of being a human in this fast-changing world, Thai artist Taweesak Molsawat will walk from his home in the Ram Indra area to the BACC during the performing period. Each day, he will hold an object taken from his home and the walk, which will take about five hours, will be along different routes and live broadcast through Facebook, simultaneously playing on the TV screen at his performance space at BACC.

Myanmar artist Lin Htet’s performance will explore the identity of minority and Rohingya crisis. Nationphoto/Wanchai Kraisornkhajit

Myanmar artist Lin Htet will spend the entire three weeks within an enclosed structure made up of barriers and barbed wire as he comments on the ongoing Rohingya crisis.

Viewers are invited to join Indian artist Vandana in constantly gazing at a candle flame, challenging their minds to stay in the present and connecting with their inner selves.

Wat Pho

Huang Yong Ping’s mythical creatures “Zou You He Che” /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale

At Sala Masikawan of Wat Pho, which is decorated with murals of Chinese tales, Chinese-French artist Huang Yong Ping who formed the avant-garde movement Xiamen Dada in China will present fantastic Chinese creatures with scrolls related to medicine in their mouths. Wisdom, faith and healing as a pursuit for happiness are shared by Buddhist and Chinese philosophies.

The myth about Tha Tian – one of Bangkok’s oldest communities next to Wat Pho and opposite Wat Arun – has inspired Thai artist Sakarin Krue-On to produce a short film on the battle of giants.

Sakarin Krue-On’s Tha Tian Art Project “The Guardian Giants VS The Super Magnificent Man” /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale

Legend says that the giant guardian statues that now stand in front of the mondop of Wat Pho used to be actual giant warriors. They got into a battle with their counterparts from across the river at Wat Arun. The fighting was so fierce that it levelled all of the area subsequently known as Tha Tien, and the Lord Shiva was so mightily displeased at the destruction that he turned all of the giants into eternal stone security guards for the temples. And that’s why the battlefield came to be known as Tha Tian – it literally means “wiped-out pier”.

Sakarin’s version is a playful critique on recent angry arguments by so-called giants that resulted in depression and disillusionment. The film will be screened at both Wat Pho and Wat Arun.

Wat Arun

Komkrit Tepthian’s three-metre-tall fibreglass sculpture “Giant Twins” /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale

The myth of the giant warriors and the legend of Siamese twins Chang and Eng also inspired Thai artist Komkrit Tepthian to create the three-metre-tall fibreglass sculpture “Giant Twins” made out of Lego parts. The conjoined twin figures consisting of a giant and a hybridised stone Chinese warrior are his reinvention of a Sino-Siamese mixture.

Sanitas Pradittasnee’s project “Across the Universe and Beyond” /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale

Inspired by the temple’s khao mor – a rock garden modelled after the mythical mountain Sumeru that is believed to be the centre of the universe, landscape architect Sanitas Pradittasnee will create a contemporary version of the sacred enclosure to remind people how small we are in this universe.

Wat Prayoon 

Montien Boonma’s “Zodiac House” /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale

The riverside temple is home to several works dealing with spiritualism. The installation art “Zodiac House” by late artist Montien Boonma, who is considered the father of Thai contemporary interactive art, is being recreated at the temple’s Sala Kanparien (Sermon Hall), and viewers are invited to go inside his six figures symbolising different aspects of a church chapel. They are infused with scented herbs and a view of the stars is rendered through pinprick holes in the ceiling.

 Nino Sarabutra invites visitors to walk barefoot on her porcelain skulls. /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale

Another Thai ceramic artist Nino Sarabutra invites visitors to journey, barefoot on a bed of miniature porcelain skulls to stimulate contemplation of their existence through her site-specific work “What Will You Leave Behind?” exhibited around the principal stupa.

Malls

 Yayoi Kusama’s sculpture “I Carry On Living with the Pumpkins” (Silver) will be presented at  Siam Paragon. /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale

Bangkok will be dipped in polka dots and pumpkins by Yayoi Kusama, the eccentric Japanese purveyor of optical delusions.

Her two fibreglass sculptures “I Carry On Living with the Pumpkins” (Red) and “I Carry On Living with the Pumpkins” (Silver) will captivate visitors with dazzling colours at Siam Paragon’s Fashion Gallery, while, her installation “Inflatable Pumpkins Balloons” will be displayed at CentralWorld.

Happy Happy Project: Love Me Pig I” made from synthetic textile by Choi Jeong Hwa will be displayed at Siam Center. /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale

Choi Jeong Hwa, a bad boy of South Korean art who has always created site-specific installations from mass-produced everyday objects, will present his “Happy Happy’’ project at Siam Center, Siam Discovery and Central Embassy.

Yoshitomo Nara’s “Your Dog” and “Miss Forest” /courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale

Yoshitomo Nara will display his white gigantic dog sculpture “Your Dog”, similar to the one shown at Patong Beach in 2005 after the tsunami disaster, in a public space at One Bangkok. Another of his sculptures, the bronze “Miss Forest”, which is inspired by nature and the supernatural, will stand at Nai Lert Park Heritage Home.

SEEING IS BELIEVING

Bangkok Art Biennale 2018 runs from Friday to February 3 at 20 locations around Bangkok.

Find out more at http://www.BKKArtBiennale.com or download the application “BAB 2018”.

Turkey submits to power of Thai arts

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

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  • Thailand stamp 2018 60th Diplomatic Relations Thailand and Turkey.
  • Muay Thai performances highlighted the Thai cultural roadshows in Turkey. Photio courtesy of Culture Ministry
  • Khon dancers put on a show for the packed Turkish audience. Photio courtesy of Culture Ministry
  • Avant-garde fashion by designers Prapakas Angsusingha and Ek Thongprasert. Photio courtesy of Culture Ministry
  • Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat, with his Turkish counterpart Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, enjoy the Thai-Turkey photography exhibition in Ankara. Photio courtesy of Culture Ministry

Turkey submits to power of Thai arts

Art October 13, 2018 01:00

By Phatarawadee Phataranawik
The Nation Weekend
Ankara

2,140 Viewed

Country will next month counter with a showcase of its culture here

Sharing the same sporty spirit and fascination with martial arts, Thailand and Turkey have decided to kick 60 years of ties up a notch. Marking the long friendship, the two countries launched stamps featuring their national sports – muay thai and Turkish wrestling – in May. Thai kick-boxing is popular among Turks, with the Muay Thai Federation of Turkey boasting more than 100,000 members. So it was no surprise when muay thai topped the bill in the roadshows the Thai Culture Minister towed through Turkey last week.

Muay Thai performances highlighted the Thai cultural roadshows in Turkey. Photio courtesy of Culture Ministry

Turks were also treated to puppet performances, Khon (masked dance), modern Thai dance, fashion shows, a Thai textile exhibition and a film festival. The tour spanned the capital Ankara, Izmir and Istanbul from September 27 to October 6, in celebration of Thai-Turkish Cultural Year 2018.

“Thailand and Turkey established diplomatic ties in 1958 and both countries’ relations have been close and cordial,” noted Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat, speaking alongside his opposite number Mehmet Nuri Ersoy at the opening ceremony inside Ankara’s famed Anatolian Civilisations Museum. “The bilateral ties have been upgraded to the level of strategic partnership since 2015. Besides vibrant relations, Thailand and Turkey also cooperate in a number of multilateral platforms.”

Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat, with his Turkish counterpart Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, enjoy the Thai-Turkey photography exhibition in Ankara.  Photio courtesy of Culture Ministry

The ministers then unveiled an exhibition by Thai and Turkish photographers, capturing the cultural and natural beauty of their respective lands. “In exchange, Turkey will bring take cultural shows to Thailand in November and December,” said Ersoy. Before that, packed Turkish audiences were spellbound by muay thai performances, Hun Lakhon Lek puppet shows, Khon and avant-garde fashion by designers Prapakas Angsusingha and Ek Thongprasert, as the Thai roadshow rolled into the Cuneyt Gokcer Theatre.

Avant-garde fashion by designers Prapakas Angsusingha and Ek Thongprasert.  Photio courtesy of Culture Ministry

“I really enjoyed the Thai boxing and fashion shows. The puppet show was fascinating too,” said one Turkish spectator, who declined to give her name.

Muay thai also starred in an animation screened for Thai Film Week at the Grand Pera Cinema in Istanbul. Produced by the Culture Ministry, new film “The Legend of Muay Thai: 9 Satra” with Turkish subtitles kicked off the September 28-October 2 festival. Turkish cinemagoers were also treated to six other, featuring both contemporary and traditional Thai culture.

The programme of award-winning films ranged from the remastered classic “Santi-Vina” to contemporary blockbusters “The Legend of Muay Thai: 9 Satra” and “Bad Genius”, giving Turkish cinemagoers a taste of drama spanning traditional to contemporary Thailand.

New animation “The Legend of Muay Thai: 9 Satra” is produced by the Culture Ministry

“Thailand has always been an exotic location for foreign films, owing much to her popularity as a world-renowned tourist destination,” said Thai ambassador to Turkey Phantipha Iamsudha Ekarohit, unveiling the film week. “There are the crystal-clear seawaters in the South, seen in famous movies like ‘The Man With the Golden Gun’, or the white-powder sandy beaches seen in the movie ‘The Beach’. Or the lush forests in the North, and the cosmopolitan setting of Bangkok.

“The Thai movie industry is also very active and lively,” noted Phantipha. “In 2017, there were 52 Thai productions shown in local cinemas, highlighted by top earner and international hit ‘Bad Genius’. “Thai people, like the Turks, love watching movies, and going to the cinema is an experience that whole families share and cherish together. Movies offer not only entertainment but can also be a window into another culture, where we can learn about other ways of life, languages, thinking and environments from the comfort of our seats.

“And as we learn and understand each other better, we can foster and build constructive and long-lasting ties of friendship.” Vira added nearly 31,000 Thais visited Turkey in 2017, while up to 75,000 Turkish tourists arrived in Thailand during the same period. “There should be a big increase of tourists from both sides after the Thai-Turkish Cultural Year 2018. With this ‘soft power’, we aim to forge a more creative economy by promoting food, fashion, festival, fight and film. We hope to extend our investment [in Turkey] too,” said Vira.

“In 2017, the bilateral trade volume was around US$1.517 billion. Currently Thailand and Turkey are in the process of negotiating a Free Trade Agreement that will promote and increase trade and investment between two countries significantly,” Phantipha said. Thais have much to look forward to when Turkish artists arrive in November to return the favour. “Truly, we are excited about Turkish performers coming to share their arts and culture with people in Thailand,” Vira concluded.

Portrait of the artist

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

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Portrait of the artist

Art October 11, 2018 16:23

By The Nation

John Hockney, David Hockney’s brother, will give a 120-minute lavishly illustrated talk about the artist, his family and the friends he has painted, photographed, I- Padded, etched, and lithographed in The BACC Art Talk 2018: Lesson Abroad Series #1 “Hockney on Hockney” on Tuesday (October 16) in Meeting Room 501 of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

 The talk runs from 6 to 8pm.

With humour, and an intimate understanding, John examines the many genres David Hockney has mastered during his life of making pictures. The talk embraces his early life, the Man, The Artist, and his pursuance of knowledge.

David Hockney is a renowned English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer.

“The hand, the eye, and the heart are important to every picture I make,” Hockney has said. :I’ll do it till I drop.”

This programme is a collaboration between British Council Thailand and BACC. The lecture is conducted in English, with summary translation in Thai and free of charge. No reservation is required. Limited seats are available. (A larger room will be announced in case of high demand.)

For more information, please contact the Education Department at (02) 214 6630-8 extension 519 or email at education@bacc.or.th

Dance of enchantment

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

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  • Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” gets a makeover courtesy of the Karlsruhe Ballet, in a performance that’s as magical as it is hilarious.

Dance of enchantment

Art October 10, 2018 01:00

By THE NATION

State Ballet Karlsruhe Pirouettes in for two magical shows, including ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Fifteen years ago, the world-famous former prima ballerina of the Stuttgart Ballet, Birgit Keil, and Professor Vladimir Klos, its former principal dancer, joined forces to create the State Ballet Karlsruhe.

Within a decade and a half, they’d established it among the leading classical ensembles not just in Germany but across Europe.

Karlsruhe went on to produce classics like Peter Wright’s “Giselle and Copellia”, Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Christopher Wheeldon’s “Swan Lake” and John Cranko’s “The Taming of the Shrew”.

The ensemble’s repertoire includes many new full-length narrative ballets as well.

And now they’re coming to Bangkok’s 20th International Festival of Dance & Music, with two shows – “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on Sunday and a Gala Performance on Monday – at the Thailand Cultural Centre.

Keil, the artistic director who was once dubbed “the Stuttgart Ballet Miracle”, was a soloist at the Paris Opera, La Scala in Milan, the American Ballet Theatre in New York and the Royal Ballet in London.

She went on to establish the Dance Foundation and is also director of the Academy of Dance Mannheim. Her career is marked by numerous honours, including an Emmy Award, John Cranko Medaille |and Germany’s Order of Merit.

Youri Vamos is choreographer for the company’s rendition of William Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream”. He is credited with securing the survival of full-length ballet classics in revised forms that remain faithful to the originals while bubbling with inventiveness and wit, as well as drama and musicality. His “Midsummer Night” is a magnificent work with stunning sets and decorations. Shakespeare’s best-known comedy gets a Vamos makeover in a ballet that is as magical as it is hilarious.

Set to Felix Mendelssohn’s music, the narrative takes the viewer deep into a quixotic mess of multiple love triangles, bands of fairies at war and craftsmen caught in the middle of the chaos.

The Gala Performance will feature the best soloists of State Ballet Karlsruhe dancing extracts from “Swan Lake”, “Le Corsaire” and “Romeo and Juliet” to the choreography of Cranko, Sir Frederick Ashton, Thiago Bordin, Marius Petipa, Sir Kenneth MacMillan and Christopher Wheeldon.

The evening opens with Cranko’s “Holberg Suite” pas de deux, created in 1967 for Birgit Keil and Heinz Clauss. It blends virtuoso technique, spiritual expressiveness and sublime musicality.

Ashton was the founding choreographer of the Royal Ballet and is here represented by the “Voices of Spring” pas de deux from 1977, set to Johann Strauss’ “Fruhlingsstimmen”.

Bordin contributes “Desiderium Pas de deux”, “Episodes” and “Sibelius for B”. The first is an emotional dance for two that’s set to Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto and explores the different phases of a relationship between a woman and a man.

“Episodes”, which recently premiered in Karlsruhe, is dedicated to the beauty of Robert Schumann’s brilliant Second Symphony. “Sibelius for B” is a danced dedication by Bordin to his mentor, Birgit Keil. It celebrates the kinship among artists and the ability of dance to cross all political, cultural and ethnic barriers and bring people together.

A must for any dance gala is Petipa’s “Grand Pas Classique Pas de deux”, the most famous passage from the ballet “Paquita”. Also from Petipa comes “Le Corsaire Grand Pas de deux”, one of the most famous duets in the history of classical ballet.

MacMillan’s “Concerto second and third movements” is set to Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concert No 2 and was inspired by Lynn Seymour, MacMillan’s friend and muse, warming up at the barre.

And his “Romeo and Juliet Balcony Pas de deux” is one of the most beautiful of the 20th century, transforming Shakespeare’s tragedy and Prokofiev’s expressive music into a passionate yet innocent declaration of love.

A Pas de deux from “Swan Lake” Act 2 completes the evening. Choreographed by Wheeldon after Petipa and Lev Ivanov, it captures the moment Prince Siegfried and Odette see each other and fall in love. It is a mesmerising portrait of the impossibility of love and eternal happiness.

Supporting the Festival are 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, Major Cineplex, PTT, Singha Corp, Thai Union Group, Thai Airways International, Tourism Authority of Thailand and True Corp.

Both shows start at 7.30pm at the Thailand Cultural Centre of Bangkok.

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

Learn more at http://www.BangkokFestivals.com.

Love en pointe

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

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  • Photo by Supachat Vetchamaleenont
  • Photo by Supachat Vetchamaleenont

Love en pointe

Art October 10, 2018 01:00

By SAMUEL HUXLEY
SPECIAL TO THE NATION

5,124 Viewed

The Singapore Dance Theatre brings romance to the spotlight with the wedding scenes of three popular ballets

 The Singapore Dance Theatre brought love to Bangkok’s 20th International Festival of Dance and Music last week, performing their renditions of the wedding scenes from “Coppelia”, “Sleeping Beauty” and “Don Quixote” in a show titled “Classical Weddings”.

Celebrating the Festival’s 20th year and the Singapore Dance Theatre’s 30th, artistic director Janek Schergen and ballet master Mohamed Noor Sarman began the evening with “Coppelia”, a light-hearted ballet that combines comedy and drama with classical dance. It tells the story of two young lovers, Swanilda, portrayed by Li Jie and Franz, by Hou Liang. Their love story is threatened by Franz’s affection for a mysterious girl he sees on the balcony – Coppelia – who oddly enough turns out to be a doll.

The beginning of Act III was introduced by the music of Leo Delibes, “Marche de la Cloche”, and featured 12 ladies dressed in stunning costumes of black bodices and skirts with silver trimmings. They danced in perfect unison, kneeling in a circle and then rising, one by one, to do a pirouette and pose before kneeling again. As the villagers gathered to celebrate the harvest, and the wedding of Swanilda and Franz, the festivities continued into the night, with the Dance of the Hours and the wedding Pas de Deux.

A few mistimings aside. the dancers performed wonderfully. Li Jie’s ability to perform an arabesque penche slowly, while sustaining her pose and holding her hands together in prayer demonstrate the capabilities of the cast.

The second performance of the evening was Aurora’s Wedding from the classic fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty”. Act III begun with the fairies entering the scene and starting to dance followed by the Cavaliers who lifted the fairies high as they pirouette, before lowering them and supporting them in arabesque penche, demonstrating the fitness and prowess of the dancers.

Audience favourites, White Cat played by Mai Suzuki and Puss in Boots by Reece Hudson drew applause and laughter as they pranced around the stage and wiggled their bottoms. Akira Nakahama was confident as Aurora, with her backbends and long arabesques adding to the energy of the performance.

Act III, Kitri’s Wedding from “Don Quixote”, began with the Toreadors marching on stage in groups of three throwing their hats to the unseen spectators off stage, while stomping, clapping, dancing and slapping their tambourines. The showstopper came just after Kitri and Basilio appeared. Kenya as Basilio, not only danced with eye-striking precision but also with admirable energy and spirit. The couple alternated in demonstrating multiple corkscrew turns to the already applauding audience. The celebration of their marriage ended in an amazing pas de deux, bringing the house down amid calls for more.