Loom Ensemble brings Art Monastery performance to Dubai

Loom Ensemble's Dubai-based cohort returned to the city this month after half a year away, to begin a residency of performance and workshops at thejamjar. The fruits of their Art Monastery residency in Italy during their time away, which they refined over an international tour, premiered at thejamjar this weekend as a contemporary theatre performance they call "Prime".

The central theme of the performance is a relationship that becomes increasingly tempestuous as one of the two characters, played by Neva Cockrell, finds herself unable to relate to her partner, played by Raphael Sacks. The tension and lack of meaningful communication in their relationship is portrayed using an array of visual, verbal, physical and vocal metaphors -- some with more than one dimension of allusion.

The play features beautiful choreography and appropriate pacing, with some particularly interesting motifs expressed through color and clothing. A keen observer will notice a few internal cross-references in the narrative, and see aspects of the broader themes in seemingly mundane actions or words. Much is also added by the tactical lighting and playback sound, which were technically executed very well.

The many questions and interpretations from audience members were addressed during the short discussion session that followed, in which the inspirations and process behind the project were also described.

The Object as Mediator

Flemish artist duo Robbert&Frank/Frank&Robbert brought their performance art piece, The Object as Mediator, to the city this week. It's rare to see something of this abstract level here, even deep under the dermis of Dubai's art world. I had to miss their show at the Mahani event on Dec 10th, but there was, fortunately, another opportunity to see them perform today at The Mine, along with an unexpectedly strong turnout.

One especially interesting dimensions to their 45-minute performance was the lighting. The performance began with the gallery lights shut off, and all the lighting from then on came from performance props, including a film projector and the headlamps of a MINI they drove through the gallery. Featuring no dialogue, their performance, as well as the occasional audience members' participation, took place silently, with an oddball music track mix playing in the background.

Employing such props as wooden blood pools, forensic brushes, and miniature pine tree cutouts, the artists' actions during the performance seemed to be portraying the construction of violence, and depicting as farce the process of investigating, analyzing, and assigning responsibility for it. Such themes could be particularly relevant now, given recent events in the US and in the Middle East.

Music Diversity at NYUAD

After a long time, I attended a NYU Abu Dhabi music event tonight. These have always been "different", and this one was, well, no different.

In this special performance, five specialist musicians from very diverse schools and cultures shared the stage: (left to right) American-based Peruvian computer musician Jaime Oliver, Ghanian traditional percussionist Gideon Alorwoyie, Indian traditional instrumental and vocal percussionist Akshay Anantapadmanabhan, British saxophonist Barak Schmool, and French computer-assisted composer/mixer Gérard Assayag. 

Each performed solos -- occasionally leading collaboration acts -- in turn, before a closing performance as an eclectic quintet.

As someone who works with computers, I was fascinated at a technical level by Mr Oliver's setup, which created electronic sounds based on the movements and shapes he made with his hands. Mr Anantapadmanabhan's traditional Indian percussion (top) was also very impressive, especially his vocal percussion.

And being both a jazz fan and a general performing arts fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the moves and chords in Mr School's act (bottom), in which he played saxophone to a backing track while synchronized video slides of him casually dancing to elements of the track were projected overhead.

Whatever the individual tastes for their styles of music, though, I understood, from overheard reviews on the way out, that many fellow attendees thought the final collaborative quintet performance was amazing -- an assessment with which I heartily agreed.

A look at the Recent Acquisitions of Barjeel Art Foundation

The last time I went there, the Barjeel Art Foundation showcased exemplary modern Arab World art with RE: Orient. About a year later, hearing of an upcoming few weeks' exhibition of some of its recent acquisitions -- appropriately entitled Recent Acquisitions -- I drove down to Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah to catch opening night, betting on a show as good as before.

The exhibition included a selection of paintings and drawings from among the foundation's art vault newcomers, ranging from modern to contemporary, and by artists from several countries around the Arab World. I recognized some of them, such as Guirguis Lotfi (bottom left), and discovered many more I liked, like Yaser Dwaik (right).

Overall, I liked the quality of the artworks, as well as the broad and interesting range of styles, ages and origins represented in the curator's choice. If you want to see some great diverse art from the region, I once again recommend a visit to the Foundation, before the gallery's contents are archived after the first week of November.

Looming large in Dubai theatre

Visiting Loom Ensemble members Sasha Bogdanowitsch and Michael Bauer joined their now Dubai-based fellow members Raphael Sacks and Neva Cockrell at thejamjar, staging their experimental play Say I Am You for the first time here. While the Dubai-based members have been running workshops and short public performances at the same venue for some time now, this marks their debut feature play in the UAE, and is a testament to the potential of online collaboration in theatre production.

We have had plays in the genre in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, including ones featuring dance, but the ensemble brought in something fresh with laudable integration of excellent synchronized singing, and live music performance by actors who often made use of unconventional instruments like panpipes.

Multiple stories taking place in different times and places took turns onstage as they interwove on approach to a shared conclusion. Some of the cast play roles in different stories, so there had to be a lot of quick costume changes. I think the play's greatest strength is the colorful and well-written characters, along with some memorable bits of dialogue for those paying close attention. Michael's performance was especially commendable. I also liked the light use of props (which included visual projection, symbolic objects and found objects), and the use of lighting. A new semi-stepped seating arrangement greatly helped with the visibility of lower parts of stage space. After the show, the Q&A session with the cast and director answered many of our burning questions.

A couple of days later, performing as the Loom Vocal Trio at The Fridge's Fridge Concert Series, Sasha and Raphael sang together with Kate Hamilton, who also directed Say I Am You, and is herself a rather talented singer. Much of the music that night was composed by Sasha too, with cryptic and elemental lyrics sung in forms somewhere between monastic chanting and communal tribal song. Some of the instruments from the play were used in this concert, including a jaw harp in a mesmerizing solo by Sasha.

Resuscitation Theatre stages One More Try by Saleh Karama

Abu Dhabi's experimental/contemporary theater group, Resuscitation Theatre, staged Emirati playwright Saleh Karama's play One More Try last Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi National Theatre. The play, directed by Maggie Hannan, starred a tight cast of four, and ran ten short of an hour.

Khristene Astoriano as Baya, Sanoop Dinesh as the guard, Prabhath Dhevindra as Toufic

It was about the rather odd circumstances and encounters of a woman, Baya, who is in prison after killing her husband for cheating on her with her best friend, Betina. Betina later visits her and shares a cordial chat. Her lawyer, Toufic, is a conflicted and frustrated man, who seems to be trying to mess with her mind, which she variously deflects and reciprocates. The unnamed prison guard spends most of his time in the background, engrossed in closed circuit surveillance and interpretive dance.

Khristene Astoriano as Baya, Nancy Awar as Betina

Khristene Astoriano did a very commendable job playing Baya, her ample theater experience showing in her portrayal of this seemingly fatalistic character. I also liked Sanoop Dinesh's prison guard, well-choreographed and fluid as he was. Aside from a few lines sounding forced, it was an enjoyable experience in its genre, especially towards the end.

Serkal Art Night 2011

A rare bit of luck. 8 galleries in one compound opening new exhibitions at night at the same time.

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/art/autumn-is-no-season-of-decay-for-dubais-art-scene?pageCount=0


And a special treat of Chinese contemporary art: