SPECIAL TO THE NATION
Published on December 21, 2009
The Mekong Arts and Media Festival weaves disparate visions into a brighter future
The Mekong Arts and Media Festival is a well-organised, multifaceted festival that proves how dance and theatre serve not only cultural purposes, but social, educational and economic ones.
Attended by a few hundred artists, students, drama teachers, public officials and cultural and development workers from 11 countries, as well as a few thousand Cambodian spectators, the five-day festival in Phnom Penh last month was set up by the Philippine Educational Theatre Association's Mekong Partnership Programme.
The event afforded ample time for informal discussion on such topics as the role of art and culture in social development and the fusion of traditional and contemporary forms.
I've been to many performing-arts festivals in the region, but the Mekong Festival stood out despite its meagre budget by offering traditional, classical and contemporary work that communicated coherently from a stage without hierarchy.
The works were created with true passion, and without concern for being "world class" - the classic term for begging invitations to Europe and America.
Performances by Burma's Mandalay Marionette and Cambodia's Apsara Arts Association were proof that classical pieces will survive into the future.
Cambodia's Performing Arts Department, headed by senior artist Em Theay and her daughter and granddaughter, presented one of the most memorable works, "Mother's Hope".
The show effectively demonstrated the necessity of preserving classical dance in the face of political interference and foreign influences.
Cambodia's Phare Ponleu Selpak and the frequently hilarious object theatre of Laos' Kabong Lao, on the other hand, showed how European forms can be successfully adapted to local stories.
Three Thai companies staged works that were diverse in style and content, all developed with the support of the Mekong Partnership Programme.
Crescent Moon Theatre presented "Purgatory", a social drama-comedy commenting on the changing roles of women today. Khandha Arts 'n Theatre offered "For a Little Less Noise: Mae Nam", a dance theatre inspired by butoh and advocating a better understanding of HIV/Aids.
And Wandering Moon and Endless Journey staged "The Reborn of the Butterfly", a shadow-puppet show exploring relationships between men and women in different times and cultures.
"Our performance had a lot of dialogue in Thai," noted Crescent Moon artistic director Sineenadh Keitprapai, "but thanks in part perhaps to the English and Khmer translations on the screen, we heard a lot of laughter, even from the younger viewers.
"Evidently it's not the form - some people might not be familiar with it - but the content that's more important."
Sineenadh praised a workshop by Indonesian dancer Martinus Miroto and at another seminar traded tips with artists from other countries on using symbols.
Khandha's Nammon Joiraksa, whose trip was subsidised by the Thai Culture Ministry, was moved by the performances of Phare Ponleu Selpak.
"I can see how they grew out of sheer necessity. Their village evolved from a refugee camp and many of the performers are orphans. Without their school and their company, which has just been to Europe, there's nothing else for them to hold on to.
"It taught me that we can continue to develop our group in the future through management and grants. Each and every one of us now wants to improve our skills and thinking process so that we develop along with the group."
"The whole experience reconfirms the significance of networking," Monthatip Suksopha, head of the all-women Chiang-Mai based Wandering Moon, said of the festival.
"Or, to put it in simpler terms, helping each other. The festival encountered many financial problems, but in the end we found that money wasn't the most important factor - willpower and management were the keys."
Monthatip noted that local young people took a keen interest.
"One of my Cambodian friends said she'd never seen such a large gathering of youths in Phnom Penh before. They're from Battambang, not the capital, and they have a clear and strong vision.
"I wish these kinds of extraordinary dynamics could happen in Thailand, but frankly I don't know how yet. In Chiang Mai there are many troupes with diverse identities, and it seems we can't find a way to join hands."
The writer's trip to Phnom Penh was fully supported by PETA and Save the Children.
Give youth a chance
With a new major partner in Britain-based Save the Children, the Mekong Partnership Programme is focusing more on youngsters.
Among the Mekong Arts and Media Festival's conferences was the Youth and Children Bloc, comprising three days of courses and workshops.
Yiumrung "Mint" Thanpermpoon of Khandha, a business-administration major at Bangkok University, got to attend her first international workshops.
"Although many of us don't speak English very well, we did our best, had a lot of fun and became friends," she said.
"I was particularly impressed with the Phare Ponleu Selpak circus workshop. They taught me how to use the trampoline and, when I found I could do it, it was just amazing and encouraging."
Published on December 21, 2009
The Mekong Arts and Media Festival weaves disparate visions into a brighter future
The Mekong Arts and Media Festival is a well-organised, multifaceted festival that proves how dance and theatre serve not only cultural purposes, but social, educational and economic ones.
Attended by a few hundred artists, students, drama teachers, public officials and cultural and development workers from 11 countries, as well as a few thousand Cambodian spectators, the five-day festival in Phnom Penh last month was set up by the Philippine Educational Theatre Association's Mekong Partnership Programme.
The event afforded ample time for informal discussion on such topics as the role of art and culture in social development and the fusion of traditional and contemporary forms.
I've been to many performing-arts festivals in the region, but the Mekong Festival stood out despite its meagre budget by offering traditional, classical and contemporary work that communicated coherently from a stage without hierarchy.
The works were created with true passion, and without concern for being "world class" - the classic term for begging invitations to Europe and America.
Performances by Burma's Mandalay Marionette and Cambodia's Apsara Arts Association were proof that classical pieces will survive into the future.
Cambodia's Performing Arts Department, headed by senior artist Em Theay and her daughter and granddaughter, presented one of the most memorable works, "Mother's Hope".
The show effectively demonstrated the necessity of preserving classical dance in the face of political interference and foreign influences.
Cambodia's Phare Ponleu Selpak and the frequently hilarious object theatre of Laos' Kabong Lao, on the other hand, showed how European forms can be successfully adapted to local stories.
Three Thai companies staged works that were diverse in style and content, all developed with the support of the Mekong Partnership Programme.
Crescent Moon Theatre presented "Purgatory", a social drama-comedy commenting on the changing roles of women today. Khandha Arts 'n Theatre offered "For a Little Less Noise: Mae Nam", a dance theatre inspired by butoh and advocating a better understanding of HIV/Aids.
And Wandering Moon and Endless Journey staged "The Reborn of the Butterfly", a shadow-puppet show exploring relationships between men and women in different times and cultures.
"Our performance had a lot of dialogue in Thai," noted Crescent Moon artistic director Sineenadh Keitprapai, "but thanks in part perhaps to the English and Khmer translations on the screen, we heard a lot of laughter, even from the younger viewers.
"Evidently it's not the form - some people might not be familiar with it - but the content that's more important."
Sineenadh praised a workshop by Indonesian dancer Martinus Miroto and at another seminar traded tips with artists from other countries on using symbols.
Khandha's Nammon Joiraksa, whose trip was subsidised by the Thai Culture Ministry, was moved by the performances of Phare Ponleu Selpak.
"I can see how they grew out of sheer necessity. Their village evolved from a refugee camp and many of the performers are orphans. Without their school and their company, which has just been to Europe, there's nothing else for them to hold on to.
"It taught me that we can continue to develop our group in the future through management and grants. Each and every one of us now wants to improve our skills and thinking process so that we develop along with the group."
"The whole experience reconfirms the significance of networking," Monthatip Suksopha, head of the all-women Chiang-Mai based Wandering Moon, said of the festival.
"Or, to put it in simpler terms, helping each other. The festival encountered many financial problems, but in the end we found that money wasn't the most important factor - willpower and management were the keys."
Monthatip noted that local young people took a keen interest.
"One of my Cambodian friends said she'd never seen such a large gathering of youths in Phnom Penh before. They're from Battambang, not the capital, and they have a clear and strong vision.
"I wish these kinds of extraordinary dynamics could happen in Thailand, but frankly I don't know how yet. In Chiang Mai there are many troupes with diverse identities, and it seems we can't find a way to join hands."
The writer's trip to Phnom Penh was fully supported by PETA and Save the Children.
Give youth a chance
With a new major partner in Britain-based Save the Children, the Mekong Partnership Programme is focusing more on youngsters.
Among the Mekong Arts and Media Festival's conferences was the Youth and Children Bloc, comprising three days of courses and workshops.
Yiumrung "Mint" Thanpermpoon of Khandha, a business-administration major at Bangkok University, got to attend her first international workshops.
"Although many of us don't speak English very well, we did our best, had a lot of fun and became friends," she said.
"I was particularly impressed with the Phare Ponleu Selpak circus workshop. They taught me how to use the trampoline and, when I found I could do it, it was just amazing and encouraging."
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