Saturday, August 06, 2016

Sarawak Rainforest World Music Festival 2016: Abinayaa, the art of expression in Indian dance theatre


KUCHING: Festival-goers got a taste of classical acting during an interactive workshop at Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF), as they got a one-on-one lesson on the art of ‘abinayaa’.

From expressions of happiness, love, disgust to anger, Savrithri Vellaithan from Unique Arts Academy (Malaysia) who conducted the workshop along with some dancers said that it was important to source the feeling from within so that their facial expressions would be natural and authentic.

Throughout the whole session, those taking part in the workshop learnt the art of acting in the tradition of Indian dance theatre by relying solely on their facial expressions and body movement without using words, music or even making any noise to make their characters come alive.

A fun and expressive workshop, towards the end it was mentioned that no matter what expression or emotion one was feeling, it was important that one found inner peace towards the end.

Meanwhile Dewan Lagenda was once again turned into a dance floor as Leanne Barbo from Auli taught Latvian dance moves to some 50 participants.

Accompanied by bagpipes and drums played by Auli, the crowd had a blast dancing around changing partners.

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