ARISI : Rice

A cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary performance inspired by the grains of life that link humanity across Asia. In a shift away from epic storytelling, award-winning artistic director Aravinth Kumarasamy has imagined the dance production as episodic vignettes that intersect stages of rice cultivation with gestural rites and rituals in life stages where rice is the principal ingredient in these ceremonies. Dramaturged by Lim How Ngean, a performance-maker, dramaturg and dance researcher, ARISI : Rice takes the audience though a kaleidoscope of dynamic images brought to life through bharatanatyam dance.

Apsaras Arts shares the stage with their traditional Balinese peers choreographed by Professor I Wayan Dibia collaborating with the company’s resident choreographer, Mohanapriyan Thavarajah. For the first time ever, Apsaras Arts collaborates with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra to melodically enhance the music score composed by Rajkumar Bharathi, and produced and directed by Sai Sharavanam.

Featuring an immersive soundscape created through live Indian and Chinese instruments performed and sung by leading award-winning artists such as Bombay Jayashri Ramnath, D Sathyaprakash, Naveen Iyer, Pratik Srivatsava and other eminent Singapore Chinese Orchestra musicians, Balinese Gamelan and kecak choric singing to echo and accent certain scenes. The production also incorporates critically-acclaimed film director K. Rajagopal’s powerful filmic layer of stories from former farmer migrants who eke an existence in developing foreign lands.

Following the success of earlier co-productions with Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay of dance-theatre works—ANGKOR – An Untold Story at Kalaa Utsavam 2012 and ANJANEYAM – Hanuman’s Ramayana at Kalaa Utsavam 2017—Apsaras Arts Dance Company is excited to present another epic dance-theatre production for this annual festival.

Credits

Concept and Artistic Direction: Aravinth Kumarasamy

Choreography: Mohanapriyan Thavarajah & Dr (Prof) I Wayan Dibia

Music Composition: Dr Rajkumar Bharathi

Music Direction and Produced by: Sai Shravanam

Costume Design: Mohanapriyan Thavarajah

Film Directed and Produced by: K Rajagopal

Lighting Design: Gyandev Singh

Dramaturgy: Lim How Ngean

Research Advisor: Dr Nandita Krishna

Music performed by leading Indian musicians from India and Singapore, Singapore Chinese Orchestra and leading Balinese musicians

Dance performed by Apsaras Arts Company Dancers, Singapore and Balinese classical dancers from GEOK Ensemble, Bali, Indonesia.