Front Row

Dennis Lau plays his electric violin when he isn’t telling a musical story. This musician who has appeared in TEDxKL tells not only about playing but also about composing and mixing genres. In this interview during the holiday season, he plays some Christmas music. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the years, this not-for-profit dance organization, Han Fong Dance Ensemble, has been promoting and staging Chinese dances in the country while winning accolades in Hong Kong and mainland China.  Next year, 2016, marks the 10th anniversary of HFDE’s founding, and our guests explain not only Chinese dances and the history of the dance ensemble but also the reasons for this retrospect...

Our guest has written and staged several popular Shakespeare plays as a one-man show: “I, Banquo”, “I, Cinna”, “I, Caliban” ‘‘I , Malvolio’ (based on Twelfth Night) and now in town, he is performing ‘I, Peaseblossom’ (from A Midsummer Night’s Dream). All these are targeted at the young. He shares with us why Shakespeare i...

I went to ‘Becoming King’ - the Pakyung Revisited’, a full-length contemporary dance performance and left thinking not only about the vote I cast but also the voting process and the eventual selection of a winner. The performance was executed in the style of So-You-Think-You-Can-Dance, but in the context of the Mak Yong.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our guest gives us a view into contemporary art in the region and the role it plays in creating the sense of the city. Contemporary art, he argues, raises questions about urbanization. He says, “In the same way that designers and planners build and shape cities, art explores visceral depths of human existence and civilization and making the invisible visible. Contemporary art is a reflection...

The artist tells of his journey from flipping burgers to a school learning classical animation, and then, via a circuitous route,  producing three volumes of cartoons (with cute messages) which travelled the world as HJ Story.  In this  trajectory, he went from Canada to South Korea, owned a digital games company, gave that up to freelance and to test a new life as an artist. See om...

Through a performance of both her own story and that of Mak Yong in Jalan Primadonna , the dance drama, the actor-dancer-singer points out why she wants to ensure the survival of our country’s traditional dance culture. Zamzuriah Zahari also tells us about what it takes to stage her show in which she performs 17 songs. This episode of Front Row was co-produced with Nadiah Aziz. See omnystudi...

As the year comes to a close, the community choir  is back to present a concert of seasonal music showcasing a charming repertoire ranging from traditional must-haves, to modern tunes and contemporary favourites.  Our guest also tells how this choir has transformed since its birth in 1958. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 72-year-old Indian-born artist from Penang is being honoured with a retrospective at the Penang State Museum & Art Gallery. His work as a student was selected in the inaugural exhibition in 1965 when the gallery opened; now 50 years later he is back having led the life of an artist and he tells about his discovery of art and the influences in his artistic life. See omnystudio.com/listener...

While detailing why he’s bringing in international dancers, organizing special bridge projects between Asian dancers and choreographers and premiering some new dances, the artistic director explains what contemporary dance is and how to enter that world as a member of the audience. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Not a common sight, but when they are dancing, it is a sight to behold. A sight that compels your holding your breath. Our guests are from the all-male ballet troupe called Men in Tutus by Les Ballets Eloelle. The dance that the group will be performing this time in the country is ‘The Nutcracker’ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The artistic director explains the dance-performance which is based on the preparation to play the ‘pakyung.’ The dance itself is a “behind the scenes” look that that gives an insight into the process of acquiring the skills to become the pakyung.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martial arts are about hurting, disarming, about contact. Maybe not, as the other side of this apparent violent art is the call to be disciplined, humble, to know and control oneself. Wushu Arts Theatre explores through martial-arts influenced dance to unearth the spiritual soul of a fighting art.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The organizers and artists tell about the festival which combines performances by local and international artists, like the Philippines Ballet Theatre, Qawwali from Pakistan, Sizzling Violin from India, Odissi experts from Odissa and Flamenco from Singapore.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Instant Cafe Theatre makes its followers laugh with them and sometimes at themselves. Sometimes shows that offer less laughter and more soul searching. In the coming weeks the theatre company celebrates 2.6 decades of D’Nonsense bringing to the stage the revues it was popular for: something edgy, something naughty, something provocative. But always lots of belly-shaking laughter.  See o...

A pantomime opens today--Universal Children’s Day--and Rashid Salleh and Llewellyn  Marsh take the opportunity to tell us about what makes a panto beyond the song-and-dance which is a characteristic of all musicals. Rashid reveals his role as the grand Dame.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Classically trained pianist and a lover of choral singing, and in particular, of sacred songs, Elaine Pao will be leading a choir to sing the rarely heard--in this neck of the woods--Handel’s ‘Messiah’. Hear and learn what this oratorio is about and what creates its beauty. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the season of musicals by adults for adults; adults for children, comes a musical written and created by adults and performed by children. Our guests share with us the premise of this musical and paint a future for musicals in the country. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Though we have taken in Negaraku’s lyrics and weaved them to our hearts, few of us know how this song traveled from France, Seychelles, Hawaii, Indonesia and to our own shores (though not necessarily in that order). It was once a pop song, a dance song, a state anthem but today holds a special place with a Parliamentary Act to protect it.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

The inaugural concert under royal patronage for a brand new professional orchestra in the Klang Valley.  The founder explains why we need another classical orchestra in the valley and what it needs to do to get bums in seats. And more importantly, engage young audiences. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Instant Cafe Theatre is gathering its current and alumni actors and singers for a big reunion celebration. ICT is now 26 years old, and in this country it is no mean feat to have this kind of history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Literally grandparents tales in four dialects. The artistic director tells that through Hakka, Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese folk songs, four tales are told in this musical journey. And the reason for such a performance: the preservation of four voices; the preservation of four cultures. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The conductor has a second love: perfume. And he has his own personal line of perfumes. We get the opportunity to ask him how one passion informs the other and how these two interests inform his sensibilities.  He also shares why he likes Mahler, Beethoven and Bruckner. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

South Korea’s soft power comes from its exporting of its TV-soaps, costume-dramas and of course kookie-kutter K-pop kuties. In images the artist--from Taiwan who spent an art residency in KL-- tells the story of transformation and the presentation of the ideal perfection. Isa Ho details her project Mr Peony Pavilion in which she investigates the Asian obsession with K-pop. See omnystudio.com...

Southeast Asian curators of and academics who write on traditional cultures gather in KL for conversations on culture & arts, look at and explore our what we share in common: our traditions, histories and cultures. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.