On the weekend of February 10-12, RIS welcomed over 120 fine and performing arts students from across Southeast Asia for the 2012 SEASAC Arts Festival. Attending schools included: GIS, Garden International School from Malaysia; ISY, International School of Yangon from Myanmar; CDNIS, Canadian International School of Hong Kong; SIS, Surabaya International School from Indonesia; NIST, New International School of Thailand; BPS, Bangkok Patana School; and our own RIS, Ruamrudee International School.
We began to plan around a theme some time ago. We knew we wanted the work of the festival to culminate in a performance that would be dynamic, integrative and innovative. We fleshed out the concept with the following statement we included in the festival program:
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Waves are always around us. So is change. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by waves and sometimes by change. We think, on the whole, change is good. And we see change in terms of waves. Which is why the festival process and final performance/event all reflect this dynamism. All workshops and MasterClasses are designed to move towards the final showing on the Sunday. But we don’t want you to think it’s all predetermined. This will be a structured improvisation, a one-off, unique opportunity to harness your creative energies to the same collective enterprise. |
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The weekend was chock full of workshops, ranging from Improv Theatre to Striking Sculpture working with metal and welding, Claymation and Stopmotion to Arkaos Digital Video software, the program that would ultimately drive the performance, 3D Plaster Casting to Print-Making, Orchestra and Vocal ensembles to Canon-style Dance. There were also several Master Classes offered, such as: ‘Can Cams’ (pin-hole camera work), led by Cindy Hopkins; Soundsonic Rap, led by Peter Baer; Funk the Junk, led by Robert Russell; Intro to Improv, led by Artist-in-Residence Kevin Gillese and Miss Blythe; Hands On Choreography, led by Darren Scully; and even an art of Thai Cooking class, led by Ms. Shirley’s chef at the Blue Monkey restaurant, close to RIS.
We had several in-house experts from our visual and performing arts departments who led workshops/ensembles all weekend, in addition to outside experts who were brought in to share their talents with us and our visiting students. These workshops and master classes culminated into a final, 45-minute public performance on Sunday morning in the PAC.
The Waves of Change theme was, as expected, interpreted in many different ways. The weekend kicked off on Friday morning with Gaz Mellen showing a video he made using the Arkaos software, which focused on the flooding in Bangkok from late 2011. The visual arts group took a boat trip down the Chao Phraya River during the day, where they took photographs and videos that became the inspiration for their work in their ensembles, such as printmaking, 3D sculpture, and plaster casting on Saturday and Sunday. Robert Russell used different cut-lengths of pipe, basketballs, and other such objects to create a rhythm, or wave, of sounds in his ‘Funk the Junk’ master class. Miss Blythe’s dance ensemble used a ‘canon style’ of urban ballet/creative movement to show the waves of movement from one row of dancers to the next. The final performance on Sunday was structured with the theme of ‘Waves of Change’, showcasing the work of the different ensembles in various combinations together, using a loose but cohesive narrative rather than showing individual ensembles’ work separately.
Head of School, Peter Toscano, opened the festival with a few words containing a challenge: “Students may want to contemplate the nature of change and how it impacts people and take into account other social ‘waves’ that have transformed the world recently. I'm sure that they will come up with some outstanding work to reflect their feelings on these issues.”
HS Principal Eric Monson noted in the festival program: “When we creatively and positively manage the changes we experience in life, we become stronger and more independent thinkers.”
We think we rose to the challenge. In brief, the weekend was a great success as students, staff, and workshop leaders alike all commented on what a fun learning and creative experience it was. Our unique approach for the final performance will be a lasting memory for the participating schools and our own RIS students. RIS was proud to host such a fabulous international event, focused solely on the fine and performing arts.
Blythe Rennie
Head of Performing Arts
Darren Scully
Festival Coordinator and Artistic Director
SEASAC ARTS FESTIVAL 2012 - Waves of Change Workshop Info.
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