A bold approach is being adopted in this year’s Malta International Arts Festival that will see every single dance performance feature newly-commissioned work. Francesca Abela Tranter tells Veronica Stivala why dance is playing such an important role in the festival.
All dance performances at this year’s Malta International Arts Festival (MIAF) will feature newly-commissioned local and international works, a reflection of the ‘creative and brave, no boundaries approach’ being adopted for the entire repertoire.
One might say there is a stronger presence of dance in comparison to previous years, notes dance practitioner and choreographer Francesca Abela Tranter, who is on the MIAF board. The genres in this year’s repertoire are all diverse and will be performed by local and international artists alike offering a wide range of interpretations.
Indeed, international collaboration is another key highlight of the festival. “We constantly aim to foster cross cultural performances while encouraging the emergence of collaboration and urge audiences to take a leap with us where a wide range of artistic collaborations will be experienced,” she comments.
Opening with a bang on July 8, the MIAF is offering “a gravitational experience” as Vertical Waves – an aerial dance company from Italy – will challenge the public library building in Valletta, playing with a perceived lack of gravity. And a week later, BalletBoyz, a popular UK-based company of 10 male dancers will grace the festival stages, featuring two new commissions by internationally-acclaimed choreographers Pontus Lidberg and Javier de Frutos, which will reflect the 10-strong male dancers. The brainchild of Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt, the company was founded in 2001 and has toured the world over, winning the National Dance Award for Best Independent Company in 2013.
Enticing in the local portfolio is TLIETA (3), being premiered by Malta’s national dance company, ŻfinMalta. Featuring three works by female choreographers and composers, the local portfolio is enticing as two Maltese dance companies have been commissioned to devise performances for the MIAF – Moveo, the new young Maltese dance company, and ŻfinMalta.
ŻfinMalta will be premiering TLIETA (3), an evening of three works by female choreographers and composers. The evening takes its theme from ‘identity’, whereby the works collectively engage with notions of reflection, communication, construction, destruction, congestion and resistance.
“A topic that has, in some ways, become a matter of urgency within the global dance industry, it highlights the ironically disproportionate visibility of women in dance when it comes to choreography,” says Francesca.
In contrast, another local dance group – Moveo Dance company – will create an interdisciplinary experience, where the expressions of dance, voice, music will merge and come to life. Moveo’s artistic director and choreographer Dorian Mallia was inspired by the music of composer Charles Camilleri and joins an eclectic group of performers, namely soprano Miriam Cauchi and musicians Simon Abdilla Joslin and Albert Garzia.
All dance performances at this year’s Malta International Arts Festival will feature newly-commissioned local and international works
The contemporary aspect present in the dance performances, but also the MIAF as a whole, is an important one that deserves due attention. In Malta, contemporary dance has existed in some form since the 1980s, although it is definitely attracting more popularity today.
While admitting that contemporary dance receives mixed reactions and “might seem weird, uncomfortable, unaesthetic or beautiful to some”, Francesca underlines how she has faith that Maltese audiences will continue to grow in numbers, “as we are an evolving nation of thought”. Evolution is key to the progression of contemporary dance as well as its audiences and this happens by exposing dancers and audiences alike to all forms of art that are “current, relevant and inspirational”.
Audience participation is another important aspect of the festival and a number of masterclasses and workshops are being held during the festival’s duration. The aim is to enrich the global experiences further “on an intimate level of learning” with an exchange through artists from Italy, UK, Holland, Slovakia, Germany, Portugal, Brazil, France and Malta.
In addition to this, there is a six-day intensive course Dance Hybrid Malta focusing on contemporary technique and culminating to choreographic creative informal performance at M Space on July 16. “This platform continues to support the growing modern dance community in Malta by creating an opportunity for dancers to learn and explore new techniques, while drawing from diverse styles and current trends from around the world,” says Francesca.
There will also be the return of the Fringe Festival, which will see Tabula Rasa, a night of short solo pieces celebrating the music of Arvo Pärt by various choreographers curated by two dance artists Lucìa Piquero and Diane Portelli.
Francesca underlines how dance, which has always been present at the festival, is “a powerful, gripping art form that creates links between all performing arts, artists and audiences”. She says: “By hosting international acts we expose how ideas are expressed in cross culture forms and current trends. Now we must move on.”
Looking to the future she contemplates on how she believes MIAF organisers are “at a stage where we need to stop questioning the local scene and doubts that we might carry as it is a growing community with talented emerging dance artists and choreographers.
“There is space where we can all co-exist and create valid dance pieces that contribute and enrich our society,” Francesca says.
The Malta International Arts Festival runs from July 8 to 18.