Nearly 1,000 people went to watch Malta’s national dance company, ŻfinMalta, in action as it toured theatres across the UK during its debut that ended at London’s Sadler’s Wells; the world’s top venue dedicated to international dance.
Artistic director Mavin Khoo and his dancers have just returned from the UK energised with the experience and happy to see ŻfinMalta develop into a professional company after three years of commitment, dedication and hard work from the entire team.
“I am thrilled with the success of ŻfinMalta’s first national tour in the UK. When I refer to success, I mean the visibility the company has developed through this tour,” Khoo said.
“As a young company just branching out into the international sector, our main aim was to be seen, not with a self-alluded presumption that we are the best, but that through consistent work, we have the potential to become something special on the world stage.”
Overall, the company’s contemporary and unique choreography was well received and The Reviews Hub described ŻfinMalta’s dance quality as “certainly high and the dancers are skilled acrobats”.
The dancers, a cast of Maltese and international dancers, were also described by Exeunt Magazine as “strong, particularly in a series of martial-arts inspired duets of smooth, grappling choreography”.
Khoo said the company’s goals were based on developing new audiences in the UK, gaining the interest of important producers, theatres and festivals, embracing reviews that would push dancers further by being “critical in the real world”, and developing a specific stamina, which the kind of touring required.
“Personally, I was touched by the amount of support and goodwill given to the company by such important international creatives,” Khoo added.
Set up in 2014 as Malta’s first national dance company to showcase the island’s thriving culture and Mediterranean identity, ŻfinMalta performed four works in the UK — Home, Selah, Kick the Bucket, and Stabat Mater.
These works, designed to take the audience on a journey of discovery, were brought together by Khoo; Iván Pérez, former Nederlands Dans Theater dancer and ŻfinMalta associate choreographer; and Jose Agudo, ŻfinMalta associate artist.
On Kick the Bucket, a British reviewer wrote: “Both dancers are absorbed in their task but Khoo’s exposing performance is compelling. The double-edged sword of director and dancer seems one he is perfectly at home with.”
The UK tour was supported by the 2017 Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Malta, and Arts Council Malta; and sponsored by Intercontinental Malta, Korzo Theater and Sadler’s Wells.