(Re-post) A Reason for Falling - It's Alive!
Originally posted on weallfalldown.dance/blog (now defunct) on 7 August 2022.
Well, this is a quick announcement.
This year, A Reason for Falling will be presented as part of the annual da:ns festival, hosted by Esplanade: Theatres on the Bay.
It’s been a long journey, that started back in 2016 when I stumbled across Steven Kotler’s book, Rise of Superman, when I was looking for some fresh motivation to push myself as a dancer, to look for new possibilities and reasons to keep working hard at dance. This book led to the exploration of the flow state (something that I’m still working on, slowly), and also to an avid fascination with watching various forms of freeriding, from mountain biking (I see you, Red Bull Rampage), snowboarding (Natural Selection Tour!), big wave surfing (if you’ve never watched surfing at Nazaré, link is below!), and more. The list of things that I watch goes on.
It takes me back to the days of watching the X-Games on ntv7 back here in Malaysia, in early secondary school. (I’m sure I’ve posted about this in a previous post, but do you really read all my blog posts? If you do, thanks. Haha!) Clips from the X-games would be screened in the mornings, before the “real programmes” came on, and sometimes instead of doing my homework I’d end up watching the Yasutoko brothers blasting out of the half-pipe, executing California Rolls and Viking flips and other ridiculousness that I always wanted to experience.
And now, here I am, trying to find my own way into this world that I want to experience. I’m not a freerider of any sort, freerunner or traceur, tricker or professional b-boy. What I do is fall down a lot. And that’s become, in a way, my language to experience the heights of mountaintops and the crashing of waves around me. It’s not the same, I’d be the first to admit. Life and limb are not something I risk in the pursuit of what I’m trying to do on stage, and the air of various dance studios and stages, nice as they might be, is not the same as what might be found in the mountains or the seashore. But I’ll make do with this till I get the opportunity to become a professional snowboarder, mountain biker, or surfer, and dig as deeply and richly into falling and flow as I can.
One reason why I’m looking forward to October - as nervous, and at times stressed out and tired as I may be - is that after years, this is a chance to get back on stage. To share what I do live and in-person, not through a screen, whether broadcast, telecast, simulcast, or YouTube or Instagram video. Last time I was on stage? August 2020, at Dancebox, organised by MyDance Alliance, when I was trying out an idea for A Reason for Falling (which actually isn’t in the piece anymore; not this time, anyway). And whatever may be thought, I don’t believe getting back on stage excites me because of some inner narcissistic drive. There’s no denying that it’s nice having people watch me dance, but there’s also something to sharing what’s meaningful and valuable to me with other people. There’s a life that sharing brings to something, that is both validation of years of hard work and very often pain, and a joy in something… being shared. A good meal, a crazy slopestyle run, a dance work that’s spent years cooking in the solitude of far too many hours alone in dance studios and in front of computer screens.
(I’ve probably shared this video in a previous blog post too, but just watch Nicholi Rogatkin. Not just in his own run, but how he celebrates the successes of his friends. Even when he crashes and doesn’t place in the top 3, he’s still riding his heart out to share what he does with the audience, and he’s still running out to cheer colleagues who do a great job.)
This year’s presentation of A Reason for Falling, is, as the synopsis on the Forward Shift platform states, not yet a finished work. There’s a hope and plan to continue developing and building the work, to see where it goes from here. I’m very grateful to Esplanade: Theatres on the Bay and the dance team there, for throwing their support behind me in commissioning this work, and I’m stoked to be sharing the stage with Taiwanese artist Liu I-Ling.
There are many other people to thank too. The team at Dance Nucleus (SG) and the great folks at Rimbun Dahan (MY), institutions which have both been supporting this work since I started exploring falling as a form of choreography in 2018. Seoul Dance Center (S. Korea), where I had the chance to roll around and work on ideas in 2019, while hanging out with the guys from the Dab Dance Project - Ho-yeon and JungHa - and working on a different project. Campbelltown Arts Centre (NSW, Australia), where I began putting various ideas together into this long-form work that is now taking shape, and where I had the chance to be mentored by Nick Power. KongsiKL (MY), where I’m rehearsing now; open rehearsal this coming Sunday, the 14th! There’s also Kent Lee, who made some music for me last year, and will continue to work on the music for the piece. Ren Xin, who is helping me out as a movement coach, to dig into all those details that I often overlook. aRco Renz, who is dramaturging the work. And Tang Fu Kuen, who has provided valuable input at various stages of the work.
There’re also friends and family who’ve always been there. A good word in the ear of the right person, a hard nudge in the ribs when I needed one, a friendly beer, a place to crash, a car to use, and many many meals given out of love and generosity. You know who you are. Thank you.
And most of all, I’d like to thank God. For bringing me to where I am, and for all that you’ve given to me, very often through the generosity and kindness of others. I don’t understand how I got from being a fidgety kid to where I am now, and I have no idea where I’m going to end up. The future is, truth be told, more often than not daunting. But whatever happens in this life, I know that there’s better beyond, and I can look forward to that far kingdom that I’ll get to one day. (Thanks, Gray Havens, for the song!)
A Reason for Falling will be performed on the 15th and 16th of October 2022 as part of Forward Shift in this year’s da:ns festival in Singapore. Be sure to check out the other works that being presented as part of the festival, which boasts a truly excellent line-up.
A Reason for Falling is commissioned by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. The development of the work received support from Dance Nucleus (Singapore), Rimbun Dahan (Malaysia), KongsiKL (Malaysia), Seoul Dance Center (S. Korea), and Campbelltown Arts Centre (NSW, Australia).
Project Consultant: Dance Nucleus (Singapore)