The Struggle in Pandemic

By Fairul Zahid

Edited by Umi Ellysyah

      In Malaysia, the Covid-19 outbreak which began on January 24, 2020 was the eye-opening. It became a concern when the people are not aware of what is happening. This is also due to the publication of the information was only to the urban city and not where everyone who will have access to hear the news, to log in to Facebook, YouTube or Instagram to hear information about the outbreak. Most of the people living in the rural area or in a village are mostly old and aged citizens who still rely on newspapers. Even so, most newspaper agencies are closed because they cannot afford the high costs. At the time of this transmission, infants, expectant mothers, and elderly people still enjoyed walking here and there, not knowing or dealing with the current issues. No one was able to see the future, and no one was able to see the impact of this flood like how the tsunami hit Aceh in 2004. On January 27, the MOH had advised the people of Malaysia to not travel anywhere, most especially to China. By that time, it was already an uncontrollable phase. The infection started to increase from day to day. What made it even worse was that in the absence of awareness of the current situation, there was a mass assembly of the Tabligh people at the Jamek Mosque which involved thousands of people to be gathered in the mosque for religious purposes. At that time, there were still no signs, and the public still held mass gatherings such as weddings, dinner parties, dance competitions, concerts and so on. Gathering activities were still ongoing without knowing what would happen next. Tun Dr. Mahathir Muhamamd, who was then Prime Minister of Malaysia, had ordered some Wuhan citizens to be sent back to China, but it was too late since the spread had already begun. The public people blamed Tun and the government for not taking the initiative steps to fight against the outbreak earlier. Like the virus that was still considered new, neither the government nor the MOH were aware of the dangers of the virus as it is still considered "foreign". After the number of deaths and several studies were carried out, it was then that the virus was declared dangerous and the government took more precautions. On March 16, when the Tabligh Cluster became infected, it began to spread to hundreds and thousands of people to be infected as well. So a new command was started where all activities involving "Mass Gathering" were stopped immediately.

     The conditions started to be panicking at the time and all the of people who did not know before, were finally aware of the dangers of this virus. Many sectors had a major impact especially on the business sector when the new government under the leadership of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as the new Prime Minister of Malaysia after the resignation of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad made an official statement to close all business sectors and subsequently announced the Movement Control Order to be effective of April 18, 2020. At that point everything went awry for a while, as the daily supplies were getting lesser and lesser by the minute as if it was a lockdown. And so, supermarkets and grocery stores were filled with people looking for long-term food supplies. However, when Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the people to not be in the “panic buying” mode because supermarkets and the grocery stores will still operate as usual but with precautions. To date, Malaysia is almost successful on handling this situation but has yet to find the solution. Our country Malaysia and most places in the world are still in the Movement Control Order. There are countries that have surrendered such as Italy, America, and major countries whose people are still negatively thinking about the dangers of this outbreak.

     The government has also indirectly giving out initiatives to assist the people by providing funds and donations through the “Program Rangsangan Ekonomi” where citizens can apply for assistance through the “Bantuan Prihatin Nasional” (BPN). Not only that, most agencies are also working together and collaborating to provide assistance such as not making loan cuts to the borrower, ability to withdraw from the EPF and much more. Most of the Malaysians who are impacted are of the B40 group because their source of income depends on their daily wages and the concept of the proverb “another day, another dollar”. This pandemic situation reminds all of us not to take it easy and to always be prepared for what may happen. Each of the Malaysians plays a part in this situation to by obeying all the instructions and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) set by the government under the MOH. What is difficult here in Malaysia now is that the pandemic had fallen on the Ramadan and Syawal month in the Islamic Calendar. Many people have begun to feel happy and when the government started to loosen up from having the Movement Control Order (MCO) to change to the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO). Yet, the government has also set up some rules that must be followed. Following this, the government had to give permission to the traders and business people to reopen their business because the government had to bear the loss of millions of ringgit and could no longer bear it anymore. The loss was felt by all the traders and business people and they had to spend their money wisely to meet their daily needs and so on. Although, in my opinion, the MCO should be retained for a little while so that we can reduce the number of spread to zero. Even so, the government has decided and most of the people are beginning to believe that this pandemic is over. The malls are beginning to be filled with the public and the people are visiting one another. Although rules such as applying hand sanitizers and wearing face masks are recommended, it does not necessarily prevent the virus from spreading. Awareness needs to be present in every society. The excitement that is present now is not going to last for very long. Once the government had loosened up the strings, the cases began to increase slowly, and this showed that it was still spreading.

      As we all know, when all the agencies in the public and private sectors were closed down, the economic journey fell into ruin. And many sectors were in bad luck. Overall, the public were not prepared for this. Some employers are forced to terminate their employees because they cannot pay their workers the wages. The field of art is also in bad luck as all arts activities are either halted or mainstreamed or marginalized. Everything seems to be gone for a moment, but there will always be light at the end of the tunnel. The lower and higher education institutions are also closing down and are directed to find new solutions by establishing an online learning approach. Most teachers and lecturers are forced to think deep to find solutions for online teaching by considering the students who do not have strong internet access, especially those who live in rural areas and are not from the high-income family. The teacher and lecturers often communicate and exchange ideas to improve the quality of teaching and learning in situations like these. Institutions of Higher Education should sit and communicate to find new ideas in deliberation and set aside hostility into helping to improve the quality of the educational system in this pandemic. 

      At the institute of higher level as mentioned earlier, various efforts have been made to develop a system that is applicable to all educators in particular and the community at large. This initiative was initiated at the beginning of the MCO where educators like UiTM, UM, Lassalle Singapore, the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Taylor’s College, and other institutions, often shared ideas through meetings at the Zoom application. Among the efforts discussed is how students can enjoy this online learning system similar to the face-to-face learning. Many approaches were made especially when UiTM under the Faculty of Theater and Animation initiated a Zoom discussion with educators and art practitioners under the title “Can Dance Be Taught Effectively at Tertiary Level”. Discussions for example as on how to get the idea of how can educators teach their students using the online system. Teaching at the university level in the field of dance is a bit difficult as it requires focus, touch, face to face and feel, but this is a new normal where we have to adapt and find the best way to give the whole lesson.

     Like at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), Prof. Dr. Joseph Gonzales also shares the high technology there is in the university that makes the students to have ease studying online. This shows that the maturity of the technology overseas such as Hong Kong has been applied from the very beginning and it is not impossible for the university to be ranked 7^th best in the world. Joseph's approach in HKAPA is also shared by other activists and educators in Malaysia. Again, the problem that is often addressed are the internet access problems. We are aware of these issues; however, every educator should seek the initiative to provide the best. Lately, Taylor’s College had recently hosted a Webinar on Zoom, for the same purposes, but this time it has significantly increased the involvement of more than 80 people including artists activists in both domestic and overseas industries in collaboration with the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center (KLPAC) . This sharing is more about the operating system and how they teach students online. This kind of effort does not have a solution or any final sayings, but it is a good effort to make sure that all activists and educators should begin to think about the best way forward. It is also worth noting that universities and government agencies such as JKKN have started an online art competition to assist and activate the arts in Malaysia during this pandemic. This is a good venture and provides a new norm for the younger generation to be closer to technology in particular. 

     The closed-door art field is also seeking new ideas by adopting a technological approach to continue performing and staying relevant in such situations using social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and more. Most young people are starting to take on to social media and are actively engaging in their hidden talent. It is one of the ways and effort to stay relevant in situations like these. It is noteworthy that among the conditions enshrined in the SOP in MCO is to not hold mass gatherings, however, UiTM's efforts under the Department of Theater have established an online platform using Instagram and invited a number of local and foreign arts activists to talk and discuss about the current state of the world. Indirectly, technology has brought us all together. The government's recommendation for adopting this technology or IT literacy is not new. Since the time of the reigning Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has urged us all to move forward in line with the modern state of the country. Nevertheless as it was said, modernity and technology did not reach the rural area just yet.



     If we are seeing the help from the government, in the field of art is not so impressive. It is not just happening in Malaysia, but what Pamela Pietro said on her live Instagram that in America is facing the same thing. Funding in this field of art is not very encouraging. Could it be that art is just as a one advertisement? The Malaysian government's focus is more on restoring the tourism sector under MOTAC, and what the Minister of Tourism Arts and Cultures, YB Dato' Hajah Nancy Syukri said in an interview with a local television station that the arts and craft field are helping the tourism sector. Could this statement be a fact that it could be mistaken? Or missaid? Nonetheless, the arts should be in line with the country's economic development. Overall, one of those infected by this pandemic are the freelance artists. Until today, they are still working hard to fend for themselves by doing small businesses through online such as Grab Food, Food panda and etc. In my point of view, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) should review and revise the suggestions of the arts activists as well as provide public assistance with creating new job opportunities. Perhaps maybe by allocating RM 150,000 to 30 art groups in Malaysia and giving them a contract to hire dancers or actors or musicians on a yearly basis? If each art groups had 10 permanent workers, then the government automatically provided 300 new local artists to work on a contract basis. These are some of the possibilities that will allow these free-lance artists to find jobs after the pandemic to enrich their lives. Most of the funds were channeled under Cultural Economic Development Berhad (CENDANA) to provide grants to local artists with the allocation provided through the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia to conduct productions and various arts activities locally and abroad. But maybe CENDANA can think of changing the form of grants to help local artists, as we know there are no other arts activities that can be done at this time. Many arts activities require large scale of involvements and it is almost impossible to do so.

     The New Normal is for us to try to adapt and to apply it into our lives now. This is not only for the virus to be gone now, but to be gone for good in the future. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently issued a statement that the virus may be completely gone for the next 4 to 5 years and that it may remain existent like any other virus for a long time. Every society must take part and should play an important role in addressing this problem and always adhere to the SOP set by the government. We must see that this new approach as an ideology towards improvement, and not as a burden. Every citizen is sure to feel the pressure of life due to economic factors, however, we must ensure that this outbreak is fully addressed to ensure the stability of life and the economy.

RICE, feast or to sense?... By Fairul Zahid

 Huang Pei-hua and Tsai Ming-yuan in Cloud Gate Dance Theatre's Rice. 

Photograph: Liu Chen-hsiang

      Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Concept and Choreography by Lin Hwai-Min.

September 19^th 2015 at 7.30 in the evening, I watched a contemporary performance entitled RICE by Lin Hwai-Min and was performed by Cloud Gates Dance Theatre of Taiwan. Lim Hwai-Min has received various awards both local and international since 1973 till today including the eminent International Movimentos Dance Prizes (Germany) and  Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival. As the founder of Cloud Gates Dance Theatre of Taiwan 1973 and Cloud Gate 2 in 1999, Lin Hwai-Min has also received honorary doctorates from six Universities in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The inspiration of RICE came from the landscapes and story of Chihshang in the East Rift Valley of Taiwan. Previously tainted by the use of chemical fertilizer, this farming village has now regained its title as the land of the Emperor’s Rice by adopting organic farming and has exported its rice to European countries. Awed by the immense waves of grain rolling across expansive fields of rice, and inspired by the environmentally-conscious farmers, Lin took the dancers to Chihshang, where they joined the farmers in harvesting the rice. The movements are inspired by the sunlight, wind, water, and fire. He attempts to tell the story of the land while contemplating the devastation of the earth. Lin also  uses cinematography that devoured 2 years to complete the overall. As a result, it was evident that the cinematography being showcased was absolutely effective and captivating. The production RICE had been staged for the very first time in  year 2013 in Taiwan commemorating the 40^th anniversary of Cloud Gates Dance Theatre. 

The position where I was seated watching the performance was most strategic which was on the mezzanine level seat E16 together with my friend. During the time of waiting for the show to start, I recurrently whispered to my friend that I have high expectation towards the performance because the name Lin Hwai-Min is often heard of and learnt by me since ASWARA (Malaysia) until New York City. The overflowing audience manifested that he is extremely likeable and known by all levels of society be it artists or common people. Time passed by remarkably fast and I looked at my watch showing 7.40pm yet the performance has not even begun. They began at 7.45pm.  As the curtain was drawn a light from the side was being projected and there appeared a dancer walking on stage from the side corner. The dancer did a movement that has the elements of Chinese dance and ended with stamping of the feet following the musical rhythm of Hakka community. The movement was continuously performed for several times and finishing it off with a stomp every time the movement phrase ended. A few seconds interval, one dancer emerged until as many as 7 dancers faded the stage. They used the same movement whilst stamping their feet. To me, it is an initial or opening of one thousand and one excitation of wanting to know what comes next. The movement began to expand until it transformed into a movement which was virtuosic with the floor-pattern and stage command in a complete manner. This part was performed for 5 to10 minutes. Nonetheless what I could see from here is that there exists something extraordinary that Lin was trying to reach out to the audience by using and merging the Chinese traditional dance and Western contemporary moves. 

It is undeniable that he is exceptionally reputable in the contemporary dance world ever since 1973, during the period of turbulence between China and Taiwan. Lin Hwai-Min was very well-known amongst the community in Taiwan because he is one of the genuine children of Taiwan whom started modern dance there and moreover at that point of time the existence of Lin in the contemporary dance arts indutry in Taiwan was much needed as a Choreographer with the capability of making the country proud in general. Nevertheless, all the popularity and expertise  ought to be exhibited in his choreography, however following my opinion, RICE is a local production specifically for the local (Taiwan) and explicitly for a certain period of time. Every choreographer should adopt a time evolution suitable to the definition of contemporary which is “present”. Yes he has produced an engaging and a valuable choreography, however is his each and every choreography credible and valid for every era? Each choreographer should observe his work from the content perspective, what was it presented for, why, what is he trying to convey so on and so forth.  In Europe as an example, most of the contemporary dance artists generate conceptual and abstract ideas in their choreography, yet what is un-doubtable although the piece is conceptual and abstract it needs to have a journey, not necessarily the audience has to understand but more or less the message that is desired to be delivered can be comprehended and felt by the audience.

Back to RICE, not all of the contents in the choreography is not excellent, but there exist moments which I can say is exceptional and have their own identity. RICE is divided into 3 parts as what I have stated above whereby Lin follows a process of how RICE was evolved into and the process of food chain and working on it. The second part in this choreography is showcasing all of the male dancers that possess techniques and dance qualities of the highest level. Lin uses a long “Rotan” to replace or symbolizing the paddy stem. I do not have any problem with the concept attempted to be delivered but to me the movement vocabulary which was used did not captivate me enough as an audience. Yes, the ideology amalgamating the elements of traditional and contemporary is a magnificent idea and exotic in the eyes of the artists and community in New York as well as in Taiwan possibly, yet the integration ought to be more fluid and sinuous, not merely a+b = ab. In fusing both these forms of dance, the choreographer needs to understand as to why it is appropriate to be fused and what makes it interesting if merged. Should the marrying of traditional and contemporary be based on appearing it to be exoticism, meaning it is still at the level which is ineffective. The cross-breeding of both these forms should be seen as one new revolution in the contemporary world, hence the birth of hybridity. Perhaps what is attempted to be delivered by Lin in this choreography is more towards experimental, or lacking of idea?  I don’t know, but obviously he looks like lost in translation. Perhaps, the average society and artists whom are more senior and wise may say that the choreography RICE has a class of its own. Yes, I agree but is it valid for now? Rice is the staple food for Asian society particularly East Asia in which the idea is effective as it is close to the society, but how to make it engaging, he has to be more sensitive towards the choreography. Imagery yes tip top, cinematography yes tip top, dancers yes tip top, however how about choreography? Is it interesting or effectual for the public? Probably yes but for me it is still in the time period of 1999 the zone whereby Cloud Gate 2 was formed. After the show has ended, on average the audience whom attended praised and applauded the credibility and dance structure which was executed by Lin, one compliment after another, and I myself feel that Lin is a highly acclaimed choreographer amongst the Asian community in particular  and America in general. 3 nights of performance by Cloud Gates Dance Theatre, all of them full-housed. Therefore is this critic merely a nature of condemn? Entirely up to the reader.

As what I have mentioned earlier in this write up that it is not all that I am criticizing, however there are some parts to me that have the potential to become even greater, especially the first section. The pull factor for the audience to watch and know deeper about this choreographer does exist, yet it does not extend a long duration . In 1969, Lin left for the United States on a scholarship to study journalism at the University of Missouri. At Missouri, he received a fellowship to the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program to study under renowned poet, Paul Engle. At the university, he participated actively in theatre and fine arts. He also attended a Modern Dance course by Marcia Thayer. Lin would later on refer his strong passion and dedication to the art of dance as an important influence. It is from this increased involvement in dance and fine art that he sharpened his interest and enrolled in a summer course at Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance in New York, where he would later on spent most of his time upon receiving his Master's degree from Iowa to hone his artistic skills and knowledge. In 1970s Lin Hwai-Min returned to Taiwan. He started writing and choreographing as well as teaching at the National Chengchi University and the Chinese Cultural University. In 1983, he created the Department of Dance at Taipei National University of the Arts and since 2000, he has been serving as the Artistic Director of the Novel Dance Series for the Novel Hall dance venue in Taipei.

Through all the background and experiences that he had, I expected nothing less from him.  Not all his choreographies are disappointing, but this is just my view of his choreography. RICE was acknowledged and received as early as its dancework presentation in year 2013 and successfully received a phenomenal review from New York Times. Once again I must say that perhaps at that moment in time the choreography was still fresh and adjacent to the society. After all this is merely a personal opinion that is possibly good or not. Every choreographer has to review the past as reference, and create a present choreography for the future. Therefore, I as a choreographer, we or him as well as whoever must ensure what is the essence they are trying to convey in their choreography? What is the main issue to make as the front cover of their choreography? Yet the RICE performance by Cloud Gates Dance Theatre was a show that could be said to be a league of its own. Applaud be given to Lim Hwai-Min due to his dedication in dance arts arena and his contributions for 42 years. When can we ever get to witness a contemporary dance Asia pioneer who is superbly renowned as him? Perhaps in 10 years more? Maybe 20 years ? Or probably this is the last. We shall see...

Experiencing the abstraction and ideology as a maker : by Fairul Zahid, edited by Alex Abarca

                 When I first began choreographing professionally (in 2006), I felt a need to “control” the work — to ensure that the audience “understood” what I was “trying to say.” Since that time I have come to believe that this is essentially impossible. I have heard so many people in dance say that “dance is a universal language.” I recognize the comfort this idea brings, and I admit that there are certain physical expressions of human emotion that seem to be shared across cultures. But dance is not a universal language. There are so many layers springing from the context in which the dance is born or created that we don’t even recognize when we are using a sort of “short hand”_ which references and alludes to a vast communal consciousness that is not “universal,” not even global. What is a clearly defined, even ‘literal’ dance to one group of people can be experienced as purely abstract movement to another. 1 

                  I remember the first time I welcomed the empty space rather than wrestling against it. I had set out to create a piece that would only be completed by the viewers’ perceiving the dance through the filters of their lives, memories and experiences. It required a structure, of course, empty space, and images and moments that resonated strongly enough to call upon the reservoir of information that each one carried within movements. I felt a need to find more and digging more about choreography, how to control the work to ensure that the audience “understood” what I was “trying to say.” Since that time I have come to believe that this is essentially impossible.” I recognize the comfort this idea brings, and I admit that there are certain physical expressions of human emotion that seem to be shared across cultures. But for me personally after learned by watching, observing other performances and teaching experiences, dance is not a universal language. What is a clearly defined, even ‘literal’ dance to one group of people can be experienced as purely abstract movement to another.

            The “content” of my work is always base on movements and always literal, easy to understand and lacking of idea sometimes. I have been surrounded by people who had experience in choreography for a decade and I felt very small standing besides all of them, but I always try to make my work more original and different from others. My perception always towards how to create abstract dance, what is abstract dance? We have been discussing in Jamie’s class about how European choreographers started to explore conceptual and abstract works. My mind kept thinking about that and keep asking a lot of people especially teachers, friends and members of Tisch School of the Arts. My choreography, it seems that I am exploring the possibility of extending this aspect of dance that I love so deeply to the audience. This seems to me to require a certain use of the empty space through which the viewer may enter and experience themselves as living, fully sentient beings. That empty space which invites us to journey through the dance into a space in our own being where not only our conscious mind, empathy and emotions are engaged, but also our visceral senses and subconscious memory. With all this elements I make them as “core” for me to expand the idea of conceptual and abstract work.

            Nonetheless what I am experiencing is a process of familiarising and observing as to whether the approach in this city of New York has similarities with other big cities like London, Berlin, New Zealand and others. I give an example via Phylis Lamhut's2 class, she is an artiste who is highly influential and possesses an experience and knowledge of more than a decade. Embellished pride and honour to be under her  countenance. Several paramount aspects in choreography which are time, space, dynamic, impulse and others are of vital aspects, yet I as a student am still scrutinizing  if I as a student with minimal experience ought to begin from basic? The answer is no, because the modus operandi that Phylis has given in her class is the primary thing in fostering one choreographer to delve, burrow into and blend so that it transforms into a new idea.

            I try to provide structure, metaphors within a particular frame and enough empty space to invite the viewer to experience and interpret of the work, which may or may not be the same as what I need. One of the things I have loved about choreography is the empty space. Not all empty space and not just any empty space, but that empty space between resonant movement or images which allows the viewer to experience the work, to sense its energies, textures, movements, and most important thing is it is a life.

1.  - KJ Holmes_ Guest Choreographer, Graduate Seminar Tisch School of the Arts.
2.  - Phyllis Lamhut : Choreographer of over one hundred works. Received her professional training in dance technique, pedagogy, percussion, improvisation, choreography, notation, and stagecraft from Alwin Nikolais. A principal member of the Alwin Nikolais Dance Company and a leading dancer with the Murray Louis Dance Company. Formed the Phyllis Lamhut Dance Company in 1970. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and awards from the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and Meet the Composer's Choreography Project. The National Endowment for the Arts has honored her with sixteen Choreography Fellowships. She was director of the National Association of Regional Ballet Craft of Choreography Conference, the Canadian National Choreographic Seminar, and the Carlisle Project's New Impulses Choreography Workshop. She is published in the Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy, The New Dance Review, Ballet Review, Poor Dancer's Almanac and Dance USA.  Has served on the National Endowment for the Arts Dance Overview and Mentor Panels and on the advisory board for the New York Foundation for the Arts Artists and on the Artists Advisory Board of the New York Foundation for the Arts.  She is published in the Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy, The New Dance Review, Ballet Review, Poor Dancer's Almanac and Dance USA

Creating a "present" Choreography.

In this modern world, most of the dance creators primarily in the contemporary area specifically, are constantly searching for something new to be showcased to or viewed by the public. Yet, it is not as easy as it is expected to be. In producing an excellent dance piece in the contemporary area does not necessarily need to see who in the audience are coming to watch the show or for who the performance is being showcased to. When we have that kind of thinking, indirectly the control of external element will begin to shroud the mind and creativity of a choreographer. Why do we produce a choreography? Why do we have the desire to produce it? This question seems to be as easy as A B C, yet it is formidable and intricate like answering a million dollar question. In producing a piece needs a very long time, it even requires a high level of concentration. Nonetheless not all choreographers need all of that, there are some choreographers who are fortunate enough to produce a piece within a short time and procure excellent outcome. These are all probabilities and we as choreographers cannot sit and wait for that probability as hope in producing a magnificent choreography.

What is an outstanding choreography? This question becomes a booby trap for every choreographer because it can possibly consume the role of the choreographer itself in producing a choreography. Choreography is also used to arrange ice skating, cheerleading, synchronized swimming, and a variety of other performance arts. Someone who composes choreographed pieces is known as a choreographer; typically, a choreographer works as a performer before becoming a composer, so that he or she will have a deeper understanding of the art. The practice of choreography is ancient; the word itself comes from the Ancient Greek, and it literally means “dance writing,” a reference to the notation used to record choreography. Over time, people came to use the word “dance notation” to describe the specific style of language used to create a written record of a choreographed composition, and “choreography” to describe the process of developing and directing that composition in performance.

I took an example from Sacred Monsters by Akram Khan. Monstres Sacres. The term was used for the first time in France in the 19th century as a nickname for the big stars of the theatre, such as Sarah Bernhardt. It marks the birth of contemporary stardom in which the icons of the arts and sports world are given divine status by their audience and the media. Sacred Monsters is first and foremost the meeting and exchange of two such 'stars' of the present day dance world: Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan, but there is also a flip side to stardom. Having to live up to the expectations of your audience to be perfect, positive, good (at), … There is no more room for failure, imperfection, to express one's real feelings and emotions. The divine status becomes inhuman, monstrous.

If we look at Akram Khan who uses a lot of approach and conducts numerous research towards his choreography. This choreography was presented in 2006 and took a long time for it to be completed. What attracted me to write about the product of the choreography according to evolution of time is because many Generation ”Y” choreographers often adopt to produce a specific choreography. Making YouTube as reference is an atrocious preference and that choice I can say is a dead end’s meet. A lot of the recommendations that we hear amongst the senior choreographers is by watching other performances and make that as reference. Yes, it is perhaps appropriate and I cannot say that it is not precise or impossible. Yet it also encourages me to applaud the same thing to other choreographers. Back to watching YouTube as reference. It is not a good commendation as watching 2 dimensional performances has several limitations which is space. The difference in watching a form of 3 dimensional performance and a 2 dimensional one is highly significant whereby the 2 dimension is more towards viewing from the frontal angle whereas 3 dimensional is more towards various different perspectives.

Choreographer supposedly should produce a piece that can make it become everlasting in conversation or permanently ingrained in another person’s mind for a durable time. Therefore, the choreographer can make the past choreographer as reference but producing a present choreography as a reference for the future. By producing current choreography there exist dance and multimedia, pilobulous, dance for camera and others. What I meant is that choreographers Y have to be more alert towards the present time so that the current society that watches does not feel that they are left behind nor does the choreographer himself.

Most of the choreographers from the old generation produce avan-gard creation, has it ever occurred to us the reason we whom are born and exist at this present time are not capable of producing such choreography. Comprehensively, choreographers ought to be more vigilant in producing a choreography so that it does not falter. Make the past as the reference for the present and producing a present choreography for future reference. Perhaps my thinking is not as precise but this is my observation and citation which I recently ordained.