Cambodian Dancing
I didn’t really know what to expect when I sat down to see the Cambodian troupe performance at the Joyce theatre. We’d already been shown a film about Cambodian dance, so I knew that I didn’t really enjoy that particular kind of dance so much because of the pacing. It didn’t seem so much like a dance; it came off more like Tai Chi because it was very slow and made me restless. The Magic Flute, therefore, was two hours of restlessness after being in initial awe of the glamorous costumes, which were gold, shiny, and topped off with foot-high gold head-pieces. The costumes complimented the simplicity of the set, which I liked very much; the uncluttered stage and glassiness of the wooden floors left me with a very serene feeling.
The thing that I kept noticing about the Cambodian dancers were that every single one was female, even though there were male roles. There was also a very peculiar way in which the dancers would straighten their fingers and the fingers would almost curl backwards. The quality of the performance was marred, however, by the fact that the subtitles were extremely light and difficult to read. Because of this, I was often unaware of when the subtitles would change or whether there were subtitles at all. The Magic Flute was interesting, though, because it utilized an ancient form of dance with traditional music and (I’m assuming) costumes but mixed it with Mozart. It’s very much like Zhang Huan because he took traditional mediums & mixed them with unconventional themes.
When we went to the Met and were given a tour of the print archives by Nadine Orenstein, I thought it was pretty interesting because print making seems so antiquated and yet it’s Nadine’s job to make sure that interest in prints (particularly that of Rembrandt) is presented in a modern and interesting way that pertains to the public. Sophiline Shapiro is working to preserve the art of Cambodian dance, just as Nadine strives to keep the art of print-making alive.
October 17th, 2007 at 2:45 am
I really like that you pointed out that all the dancers were female, even for the male roles. I wonder why no males were used for any of the roles, and now that I think about it, there were no male students in Em Thea’s school (from the video we watched in class).
October 17th, 2007 at 11:18 am
Your observation concerning the all-female cast reminded me of how in traditional Western theatre it was the opposite: an all-male cast playing both female and male parts. I found that difference to be so telling of Eastern culture. Traces of ancient matriarchal societies are apparently still present in Eastern society today.
As to your interest in the mixing of Mozart and Cambodian dance, I found that aspect of the play to of greater import than the blending of traditional and modern art forms. The East-West fusion was much more prevalent. Although, modern conveniences, such as the subtitles and lighting, did help the production along in terms of conveying a clear picture.