26th Arts Festival explores diversity of the performing arts

Ung Vai Meng (center) presents the MAF yesterday during a press conference

The annual Macau Arts Festival (MAF) is returning to stages city-wide on May 1, now in its 26th year. Through the month of May, it will host 30 shows and visual art exhibitions, and over one hundred activities, with an emphasis on “transcending the boundaries of art.”
“The theme of this year’s edition is ‘Encounter,’ representing an attempt to explore the diversity of the performing arts, and to break through language barriers, with the objective of revealing artistic diversity through dialogue between different artistic media,” said Ung Vai Meng, president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), at a press conference held yesterday.
Headlining the festival’s grand opening is “Lied Ballet,” a physical interpretation show presented by French group Centre Chorégraphique National de Tours, which will stage its Asian premiere at the Macau Cultural Center (CCM). Through the dancers’ body movements, audiences can expect a journey through various artistic styles, from Baroque to Modernism.
Another Asian premiere, titled “Trust,” will be performed by German company Schaubühne am LehninerPlatz, bringing the festival to a close at the same venue. Written in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crash, the dance and theatre production questions the contemporary world we live in. It discusses the collapse of values and trust in political and economic institutions, as well as the emotional aftermath.
More world-class innovative works are highlighted in this year’s arts festival. Ung explained that, “apart from meeting the needs of conventional art lovers, the MAF hopes to bring out a more diverse and intense set of messages so that the audience can explore in different directions.”
“The Macau Arts Festival has already become one of the city’s most important annual cultural events,” he stressed. “We believe that only by constantly trying, learning and feeling, can we grow and really perceive culture’s various features and nuances.”
A dance production titled “Out of Context – for Pina” will be brought to life by Belgium’s Les Ballets C de la B, paying tribute to contemporary dance master Pina Bausch. From France, “The Suit,” presented by Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord and directed by legendary theatre director Peter Brook, will showcase an extraordinary denotation of theatrical space. Moreover, Portugal’s Teatro Praga will aim to probe in its play the age-old issue: “What is old age all about?”
Following these acclaimed productions, local talent from the region will showcase various performances that explore issues facing people in modern times, in the form of dance, theatre, music, visual arts and multimedia. According to the bureau, local shows comprise half of the event’s programs, since the bureau is committed to “providing opportunities for local artists to showcase their talent.”
Meanwhile, intangible heritage performances such as Kun Opera, Cantonese Opera and Patuá Theatre promise to add to the festival’s artistic diversity with their unique art forms.
Audiences can expect a perfect demonstration of the inheritance of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in Kun Opera play, “1699 The Peach Blossom Fan,” performed by the Jiangsu Kun Opera Theatre Performing Arts Group. Local Cantonese Opera troupes will also take to the stage in two plays.
Beside concerts, dance, theatre, and Chinese opera, the MAF will also showcase a series of exhibitions aiming to “broaden audiences’ horizons.” The exhibition “At the Risk of Colour – Claude Viallat and Franck Chalendard” will open a path for visual arts experiences with text and colour, whereas the Macau Museum’s exhibition “From L’orient to the Orient” will explore the port cities of China and France on the 18th Century Maritime Silk Route.
Moreover, the Iao Hon Garden, located in the city’s North District, will be converted into an outdoor cinema, screening a number of outstanding films from all over the world. The festival’s annual “Outdoor Performing Arts Showcase” will be moved to Barra Square this year.
The Macau Arts Festival will also roll out an outreach program comprised of content ranging from lectures to post-show talks and workshops, aiming to facilitate the audience’s understanding of the shows’ conceptual ideas, and interacting with the creative groups.
According to IC vice president, Leung Hio Ming, the festival has increased its budget to MOP29 million, mainly to cope with inflation. Tickets will be available on March 22, with various discounts on offer.

19,000 tickets sold in 2014

According to IC vice president, Leung Hio Ming, the festival sold around 19,000 tickets last year, but only attracted 2,000 participants in the outreach activities. “This year we’ve tried to strengthen our work on this part, hoping to attract more participants,” he said.

New Patuá show to take on Macau’s talent issues

As one of the highlights of the 26th Macao Arts Festival this May, local theater group Dóci Papiaçám di Macao will tackle more hot-button social issues by staging its new play in Patuá dialect, titled “Macao’s Got Talent.”
The group’s plays have become one of the most anticipated features of the annual festival. This year’s play is written and directed by Miguel de Senna Fernandes, and focuses on discovering the story behind the city’s “lack of talent.”
“Macau is a land of talented people, but where are the talents and who decides their geniality? The plot unfolds in today’s Macau, a city in which the production of talents is a priority, in order to contribute to the intellectual and technical development of our city,” said the organizer.
As a vanishing creole language spoken at home and informally by the city’s Macanese community, the Patuá dialect has been identified as a critically endangered language by UNESCO.