Monday, March 9, 2009

NAF 09: State of Emergency by NUS Ilsa Tari and NUS EML


At this spectacular joint performance put up last Friday, the dancers from NUS Ilsa Tari and NUS Electronic Music Lab dazzled the audience with surprises. This project also involved video artist Shaun Koh and Panasonic who sponsored TV sets for the show.

I warmed up in my seat at the beginning of the performance, expecting to see traditional Malay dance steps to electronic music. As the music started playing and dancers moved out from backstage, I found myself glued to them from beginning, right up to the end. I had not expected Malay Dance to be this modern and so well-choreographed (by well-known choreographer Cikgu Osman) to creative electronic music (partly performed by the NUS EML members from the 2nd level balcony), honestly, I was impressed.

Even the audience were tickled by the black humour that was evident in the video clips, music and dance. The cheeky arrangement of grinning dancers being pushed out on trolleys and pushcarts showed how we are all in this green movement, and loving it for various reasons.

The most compelling part of the performance was the extremely unexpected dancers appearing at the sides of the audience, succesfully startling them a little. This interaction was especially poignant in bringing the message across.

Zombie Dancers from NUS Ilsa Tari

posing with Mona, Asst. Director of Grp Management, and Dorothy, Stage Designer

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