BUILDING BRIDGES THROUGH DANCE
Fresh from completing his Master’s in Fine Arts at New York University, Fairul Zahid Bloom tells Subhadra Devan he’s excited about his new show Axiomatic
ONE of a handful of Malaysians with a Fine Arts advanced degree in dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Fairul Zahid Bloom is all for building bridges between dancers so that a larger diaspora can be drawn upon for new works — wherever they may be.
Fairul, a National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage (Aswara) student and former principal dancer with Aswara Dance Company, went to the Big Apple in 2014 for his master’s degree under the Sime Darby Foundation Star Scholarship and in no time, the gregarious fellow was talking to fellow dancers, and artistes in the genre.
“I was making connections,” says Fairul, 28. “I still am.” That’s how he visited dancers in Spain, Italy, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines.
He started his own Asia Duo Dance Company with NYC colleague Yachao Zhu, 25, of China, in 2014, whom he met during English language classes.
The company is mentored by Pamela Pietro (New York) and Dr Joseph Gonzales, former Aswara Dance Faculty dean.
FELLOWSHIP OF DANCERS
“But Asia Duo Dance Company’s main focus is the impoverished places, to build bridges with dancers who have not left their country. You know, when I visited the dancers in the underprivileged places, like the Philippines and Sri Lanka, the environment was not conducive for proper dance education — there were chickens in the dance studio, even — but when they danced, it was like they forgot to remember to eat.”
That heart-and-soul passion touched a chord in Fairul, who has been staging work with his fellow dancers around the world. “It’s not easy and not cheap. I have used up my ASB savings. “he says.
The idea of bridge-building, of course, is not new, but for the Johor-born dancer, it makes even more sense in a world of digital connection to have that human touch.
ASKING QUESTIONS
Soon to present his second Asia Duo
production, called Axiomatic, the awardwinning Fairul says its first production was in May, in New York, called Draw-err, which won him the Crystal Award for choreography from New York’s Joffrey Ballet School.
He says his time abroad has seen him develop a different style and methodology in dance. “As a traditional dancer, there are specific movements for different parts of the body, but now every part is moving together.
“Axiomatic is a contemporary dance production, mainly supported by Yayasan Sime Darby, of which I am so grateful because even though I am a part-time lecturer with Aswara, and I work at three dance companies in New York, the money is not enough to do productions under the ‘building bridges’ concept,” says the versatile choreographer-dancer, who is versed in contemporary and ballet, as well as Malay, Chinese and Indian Classical dances.
He explains that Axiomatic will offer five short dances, of which the main dance of the same title will be 20 minutes long.
“It’s about showing something that is not right, all over the world. The leaders tell the followers, who never dare to say no. So, what if we say no?
“All five dance pieces will build on this theme. Axiomatic offers contemporary dance, mixed with Asian influences. There will be four dancers from the Philippines,one dancer from New York, two from Beijing and nine from Malaysia.
“It’s a collaborative effort, where we show our shared identities and similar cultures as well as dissimilarities.”
nstent@nst.com.my