✮ Dunas ✮

Thank you Ridz... who brought a bunch of us to this stunning performance at the Esplanade named Dunas (World premiere in Singapore).

In it are María Pagés (Spain) and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (Belgium), the performers, dancers, artists and choreographers. Beautiful music by composer Szymon Brzoska (Poland) and Rubén Lebaniegos.

Starting from 2nd left: María, Sidi and Szymon

I have never attended a dance performance in the past, so didn't know what to expect and definitely didn't bring any along. Came back a wiser person, more appreciative of arts, definitely inspired about how emotions can be such a crucial factor in developing concepts and bringing art in a form of expression.

“The two of us, María and I, are enthused about exploring the desert we have before us”. With these words, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui sums up the show which, side by side, he is going to stage with bailaora María Pagés. The show, in which the Belgian-Moroccan’s contemporary dance and the Sevillian’s flamenco dancing will dialogue with one another, is entitled ‘Dunas’. It will be performed from November 18th to 21st at the Teatros del Canal in Madrid, in the setting of the 2009 Autumn Festival.
-- taken from & copyrighted by http://www.flamenco-world.com

Flamenco is expressed through the toque -- the playing of the flamenco guitar, the cante (singing), and the baile (dancing).
-- taken from & copyrighted by http://en.wikipedia.org
Contemporary dance is a genre of concert dance that employs systems and methods found in modern dance and postmodern dance.
-- taken from & copyrighted by http://en.wikipedia.org

Watch Dunas to enjoy the following:

- how the desert is being portrayed with pieces of fabric
- how beautifully the music complemented the dance
- Maria's expressive arms movement and stomping of the feet
- how Maria grew into a tree
- Maria's very beautiful and colorful flamenco costumes
- Sidi's fingers doing up amazing, witty, inspiring sand drawings (both his hands can do symmetrical drawings!)
- Sidi's very flexible body movements
- how silhouttes interact with each other with clever use of lightings
- a very emotional and visually expressive performance
- be inspired --> Art is a form of expression --> phrase digested
- i wish I'm a dancer too

Catch more of Da:ns Festival 2009 performances at Esplanade from 23 Oct till 1 Nov!

p/s: pic is up!

Hola Amigo

Yes, it's Spanish!

More food places to introduce. Like wine, I think I grow better with age. I learnt to appreciate good food, and unlike the past where I regard spending on food is a waste.

I have been to La Viva thrice, and everytime it has given me new surprises. Great tapas (though I think the mozzarella mushrooms aren't their best)!! I tried their escargots once, certainly not my favourite, especially after that night when we dined, we met a snail on his escape... helped him to got away from being trampled by giant human feet.

The squid ink risotto is quite to my liking, despite looking a little like coal! Actually it does look a LOT like coal, but I assure you they taste much better (not that I have eaten coal anyway!). My favourite tapas is asparagus wrapped with parma ham, I swear I will be able to finish another plate even with a full stomach. Desserts weren't their specialities, I find them too sweet and my custard pudding a little too dairy (milky) for me!

I had peach Sangria that evening and it's indeed very refreshing... best for people whom like some fruity flavour in their alcohol.

I will certainly go back for their tapas... and they do have very alluring main courses on promotion too. Delicioso!

2 movies - seen and loved

Film: Barfuss (In German)
My Rating: * * * * (4 out of 5) for the humour and romance

Barfuss means "barefooted" in English.

This is one of the funniest german films... despite quite a few serious ones I have seen in the past. Barfuss is about a mental patient whom followed the cleaner (Til Schweiger as "Nick") from the psychiatric hospital. Nick (yay, drools... he's so gorgeous!) is a hedonistic bachelor who has too much trouble himself (from being jobless, penniless, unruly and on a conflicting relationship with his brother and step-father). Leila, the barefooted girl, who has clung herself to him since escaping from the hospital, began a journey of adventure and love with Nick. He soon realised... Leila is someone he would want to take care of. How touching, absurd and crazy the way the story ends... But I guess I'm another foolish romantic at heart who constantly believe such fairytale exists.


Film: Quinceañera (In Spanish but based in USA)
My Rating: * * * ^{+ 1/2} (3.5 out of 5)

"The Quinceañera or Quince Años is, in some Spanish-speaking regions of the Americas, a young woman's celebration of her fifteenth birthday. This celebration marks the transition from the childhood to womanhood of a Quinceañera." -- quoted from Wikipedia.

Something about this film is very engaging... It must be that personal feel you can almost put yourself in those shoes. The kinship, love and hate, misunderstanding(s) in our everyday life can be so easily seen in the movie, it's very expressive - the characters. It also touches certain sensitive issues: immigrant culture, gay, sex, drug and teenage pregnacy. The story revolves around a 14-year-old girl who got pregnant, and how it stirred up problems in her love, family and school life; and living under the same roof with her gay cousin and great-grand uncle. A heart-warming film, I would say.