{"id":2938,"date":"2021-12-20T02:13:23","date_gmt":"2021-12-19T18:13:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brack.sg\/?p=2938"},"modified":"2021-12-20T02:39:25","modified_gmt":"2021-12-19T18:39:25","slug":"disability-dance-practice-through-digital-media-during-the-covid-19-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brack.sg\/index.php\/2021\/12\/20\/disability-dance-practice-through-digital-media-during-the-covid-19-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Disability Dance Practice through Digital Media During the COVID-19 Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A conversation with Singapore International Foundation (SIF) Arts for Good Fellows Yoana Kristiawati (Nalitari) and Kavitha Krishnan (Maya Dance Theatre & Diverse Abilities Dance Collective)[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

By Wong Yunjie<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

The Arts for Good Fellowship (A4G)<\/a><\/strong>, organised by the Singapore International Foundation<\/a><\/strong>, is an annual programme dedicated to growing the Arts for Good ecosystem by fostering a community of practice that harnesses the power of arts and culture to create positive social change. The A4G Fellowship brings together artists, arts administrators, creatives, and programmers from the social sector from around the world to take part in an exchange of ideas and best practices across a five month period.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2021 edition of the Fellowship was offered digitally, with 32 Fellows from 12 countries joining the SIF team and speakers from Singapore in late September. They spent one week learning together, sharing their skills and experiences through a series of virtual presentations, workshops, panel discussions and working groups. Since then, Fellows reconnect through monthly webinars to build their capacity in arts innovation, such as in cultural mapping and creative facilitation models. In February 2022, the Fellows will reconvene for the second phase of the Fellowship, this time hosted by SIF\u2019s partners in India. The India Programme will also see the implementation of four digital community projects that the Fellows have collaborated on over the past months for vulnerable children in various Indian cities. This fourth iteration of the Fellowship focused on the theme of Arts and Well-being for Children and Youth in a Digital Future, exploring the intersections between the arts and technology in enhancing access and achieving social impact, and how the arts contribute to the mental, social and emotional wellness of young people in a digital age. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Umbrella\/Introduction<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

“I imagine it like we are in a desert. And then there’s a big umbrella where you can rest. The desert is the comfort zone that we had before COVID-19. But because of COVID-19, it is now very hot so we have to be under the umbrella. Under the umbrella, you can meet many other people. For example, I can be in Indonesia and connect with you in Singapore; or with others in the USA and other parts of the world. But then it becomes too tight under the umbrella. We cannot really communicate deeply because we are squeezed together too tightly, like \u2018UUHH!\u2019 There\u2019s a longing to leave the shelter of the umbrella and go back into the desert.\u201d <\/em><\/p>– Yoana Kristiawati<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This year, Yoana Kristiawati and other overseas fellows were unable to travel to Singapore for the SIF Arts for Good Fellowship. As daily COVID-19 case numbers continued to rise at the time of the interview, travel remained complicated if not impossible. Faced with the impossibility of face-to-face interactions \u2014 SIF, Yoana, Kavitha and myself have, along with much of the rest of the world, turned to internet-based digital communication platforms such as Zoom to connect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zoom and other digital communication media\nemerged as necessary technology during the pandemic. These platforms could be\nseen as a much needed tools \u2014 for Yoana, an \u2018umbrella\u2019 \u2014 we use to connect with\npeople when thrust into the desert of lockdown isolation. Yet, for many, using\nthese digital media as alternatives to face-to-face interactions constitutes an\nuneasy compromise. For some, digital media even causes unease and distress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My virtual conversation with Yoana and Kavitha took place after the end of the first phase of the Arts for Good Fellowship. I chose to interview Kavitha and Yoana because I was intrigued by their respective practices; both work with the disabled community through dance. Kavitha Krishnan is the artistic director of Singapore\u2019s Maya Dance Theatre (MDT), a company which comprises a disabled dance practice arm named the Diverse Abilities Dance Collective (DADC). Yoana Kristiawati, based in Jogjakarta, Indonesia, helms an inclusive dance company called Nalitari. I was interested to learn of the challenges that Kavitha and Yoana \u2014 as well as the disabled communities with whom they work \u2014 faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in relation to their use of digital platforms like Zoom, given that their practices rely on embodiment and live interactions. What emerged from our conversation was a narrative of breakthroughs in use of digital media borne of their communities\u2019 passion and commitment to connect through dance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Desert: \u201cDon\u2019t forget me\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Irvantoro (left) and Salmaa (right) performing in Nalitari\u2019s production, Kaksa, in October, 2019<\/em>
(Photo courtesy of Banyubara Productions)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am very confident that I will continue to learn from this Fellowship and make new connections that will benefit DADC\/MDT,\u201d says Kavitha. \u201cBeyond all the possibilities of the different projects and exchanges, as well as the opportunity to understand different perspectives on \u2018arts for good\u2019, I am simply glad to be sharing the space with like-minded people.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite her glowing review of the Arts for Good\nFellowship, Kavitha shared honestly about her initial reservations regarding\nthe programme being held virtually:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought connecting with different people via an online medium would be challenging and maybe even \u2018cold\u2019! But the exchange actually felt warm. We did not feel the distance and were not disturbed by the \u2018fourth wall\u2019, as it were. Everyone was generous, warm and friendly, and I was so amazed to just feel how well all of us got on with each other, despite the virtual medium!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the artistic director of a dance company,\nKavitha was staring at the prospect of losing vital income streams when a COVID-19\nlockdown was mandated in April 2020. Theatres and physical classes were ordered\nto stop. Kavitha and Maya Dance Theatre were forced to reassess how they could\nkeep their various community engagements alive. Help was offered by the\nSingapore government in the form of the Digital Presentation Grant.\n\u201cI’m not very tech savvy\u201d said Kavitha. \u201d I got things done because I\nhave younger members in my team who assisted me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kavitha also employs six disabled members of her\nDADC team as part-time staff at MDT. She encountered first-hand the challenges\nher disabled employees faced when they were asked to \u201cwork from home\u201d using\nZoom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey couldn’t comprehend why they cannot come to the studio […] We used to ask them to come to the studio and there would be a main trainer who would set up the space for their teaching work using Zoom. They would do their activities and work together, with social distancing. But we had to reduce that for their own safety, considering the risks of commuting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne thing that inspired me during the\nFellowship was learning about Kavitha\u2019s work with elderly communities,\u201d shared\nYoana. \u201cIt\u2019s a group that I have never worked with before […] I have already\nshared her work with my friends in Nalitari and they are really excited to start\ninvolving elderly in our work, and explore working with other less familiar\ncommunities in our society as well.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nalitari, the inclusive dance company that Yoana\nhelps to manage, started as a community-based, volunteer-run organization. Its\nsustainability depended in part on its management team earning an income from\nother jobs. Yoana herself was working in the education and tourism industries\nwhen the COVID-19 pandemic reached Indonesia in March 2020, and the government imposed strict movement\norders<\/a> akin\nto a lockdown. Yoana lost her job. The work of Nalitari and its plans to\ntransition into a social enterprise were thrown into question. Nalitari did not\nreceive any financial assistance from the Indonesian government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 2019 we realised that we have to\ndevelop from being community-based into something related to a social\nenterprise, because we wanted to be able to compensate our dancers. So we\ncreated a business model, developed marketing, gathered all the tools, and\ndecided on the organisational structure […] When the pandemic hit, we didn’t\nknow what to do. I lost my job, and two other management team members also lost\ntheir jobs, so it was quite hard to navigate. We actually didn’t do\nanything from March to June. We didn’t have any practice. We just let\neveryone try to navigate the situation themselves first.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a small cry for help was heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn my organisation we have around 30 dancers,\nit is community-based so we don’t give them any payment unless\nthere’s a performance, and they don’t pay any membership fee. 60% of our\ndancers are people with various disabilities: Down\u2019s syndrome, hearing-impaired,\nwheelchair-users, cerebral palsy […] One of the parents of a dancer\nwith Down\u2019s syndrome texted us, saying \u2018Please do something, anything is\nOK. It doesn’t have to be a big performance, just please connect with my\ndaughter.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kavitha too identified similar requests for\nconnection among her DADC dancers in a way that challenged her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Because the DADC dancers didn\u2019t get enough\ninteraction, they started to text through WhatsApp a lot: \u2018Hey, I’m here, you\nknow?\u2019 \u2019Don’t forget I’m here.\u2019 Small, small things\nlike:  \u2018I\u2019m going to the toilet now.\u2019 \u2018I\u2019m going to go out to buy\nsomething now.\u2019 \u2018Oh I’m not feeling well.\u2019 It did bring a\nlot of frustration because we were working, and people were constantly texting\nus. But we also took a step back and asked ourselves: why is this\nhappening? We realised that it was happening because they needed to\nestablish a physical presence in absence. They wanted to be present in our\nspace and this was their way to say: \u2018I\u2019m still around. Don’t forget me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a time of upheaval, Kavitha and Yoana were responsible for heeding this call constructively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hands Reaching Out<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yoana Kristiawati: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe tried to have a Zoom call, but it didn’t work because not everyone had the gadgets; not everyone knew how to connect. Even when we tried to give step-by-step guidance, the parents said they were unable to make it work.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we shifted our approach. We gave them a concept and asked them to make a video. The first concept was \u201cHand\u201d: explore something with your hand, make a 3-minute video then send it to us and we will compile it. We started with only one video, but in the end we created five because after one day, someone would ask for another concept. They were very happy to make videos for us. People with disabilities in Indonesia are quite marginalised. The government does not give any attention to them. So a simple act like that is big enough for them. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon afterwards we connected with Dancesequences Inc. in the United States. We created a new concept together, wherein we each asked our respective dancers to create videos and then combined them together.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that we realised that we could indeed make works online! Our work didn\u2019t have to be live, nor involve everyone getting physically together. We created more and more videos […] When the dancers saw their videos uploaded, they were so happy. The simple act of uploading the videos made them feel like: \u2018oh! I’m performing already!\u2019\u201d[2]<\/sup><\/strong><\/sup><\/a><\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Kavitha Krishnan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaya has two divisions: one is a main division of professional dancers and the other is the second division, which has dancers with diverse abilities. So I connected with my main division dancers first, and we began conducting online classes for them. Then suddenly, we realised: \u2018eh, my goodness! We have to connect with the diverse abilities group because they are texting us.\u2019 So we started a \u2018Friday Social Gathering Time\u2019.  Every Friday we would meet on Zoom for a social gathering. The first time they gathered together, the energy was just so exuberant. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then at one of those Friday gatherings, one of our diverse abilities group members, Judith Teo, played a game and said, \u2018OK, today I want to tell you the story of Sang Nila Utama.\u2019 I think she must have read it from somewhere. She then nominated each person to be a character, and she became the storyteller […] It was so cute how she went to read about it, brought it to the gathering and then gave characters to each person and said, \u2018OK now you know Subas, you are going to be Sang Nila. Arassi you are so and so. I am so and so.\u2019 So everybody had to move as she told the story. She would shout out for the character to do the movement as well. We later decided to take this particular activity and turn it into a production. We brought in a young storyteller, Jeremy Leong, and a few children performers, and made it a dance storytelling production. It’s opening in December this year![3]<\/sup><\/strong><\/sup><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, it was just a purely social gathering that gave life to a production with the support of the National Arts Council\u2019s Digital Presentation Grant.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Rehearsal for Sang Nila has Arrived! (Photo courtesy of Maya Dance Theatre)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Aware of Kavitha\u2019s unease with Zoom, I invited her to expand on her relationship with technology by asking her if she felt like she was being coerced by the extenuating circumstances of the pandemic into presenting and devising works using digital media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sending Virtual Flowers <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kavitha Krishnan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHonestly speaking, I don’t like the digital space. I’m a people-space person. You can say I was resisting; I just didn’t want to go there. But the company\u2019s producer and director Imran Manaf gave us space to explore and discover this new tool, Zoom. When he presented it as a playground then I felt okay because I felt I was allowed to make mistakes. He said \u2018just go into Zoom, play, see what you guys get out of it.\u2019 So when it became play, Zoom became easier. I love learning new things, but I have an apprehension about the technical part. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had to figure out how to maintain engagement with the different communities. So we created a programme called Creative Movement, for seniors by seniors, with dancers with disability. This idea came about because in one of our Zoom social gatherings we asked the DADC dancers: Okay, so we have connected, but who do you think is feeling left out? One of them who works as a housekeeper in a nursing home said, \u2018Oh, the grandma and grandpa in my nursing home are very sad. I’m sad I cannot visit and say hello to them.\u2019 she said. So we created a set of movements using themes of nature, and daily living like brushing, washing hair and so on, and made it into <\/em>six different videos<\/em><\/a>. These videos were translated into Mandarin, then circulated to different nursing homes and disability homes. The staff who were so overwhelmed could have a few moments of respite while the videos were being played and the seniors watched and moved with the video. We also wanted to give the seniors the sense that someone was visiting them through a virtual space because, at the time, no visitors were allowed. I\u2019d say I wasn’t forced into the digital space, because I think all of the areas that we explored were still coming from a creative space. So I didn’t see the need to be pulled into it because I voluntarily walked in.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Having been away from the practice of theatre for years now, it is easy for me to lose sight of how simple yet powerful connecting through acts of reciprocity can be. An unforgettable moment occurred for me when Kavitha stretched out her hands and demonstrated the flower gesture \u2014 a classical Indian gesture or Mudra \u2014 that the DADC members were initially taught in the making of the Creative Movement video: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kavitha\u2019s flower during our Zoom interview (photo courtesy of Wong Yunjie)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I saw Kavitha\u2019s mudra I was inexplicably moved. The Zoom window, broadly focused on Kavitha\u2019s body from the chest up, was perfectly placed to accentuate the mudra \u2013 Kavitha was able to use the camera to light up the screen with it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was brought back to my Wayang Wong training in\nthe Intercultural Theatre Institute, when I first learnt this mudra from my\nlate teacher, Bambang Besur. I felt a strong urge to mimic Kavitha\u2019s gesture.\nSo I took Kavitha\u2019s action as an offer, repeated the gesture while she repeated\nit with me. Seeing the flower that we both made on the Zoom mosaic, my heart\nwas lit up. There was the sparkle of a flower blooming in that shared moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion: Art-making as Gestures of Generosity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLast week, we opened our first on-site, live performance since 2019. Two seniors were performing: one 74, the other 81. The COVID-19 numbers were spiking, and then there was this announcement: all the older ones please stay at home […] We were thinking: \u2018What do we do?\u2019 The seniors came to us and said: \u2018This is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement for me. Don\u2019t you dare stop it,\u2019 They were dead against me cancelling the show because, \u2018at 74 and at 81 I worked eight months to get myself onto the stage to be seen. Please just let one person clap for me.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>Kavitha Krishnan<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There is certainly nothing like being seen by an\naudience on stage, nothing like the rain of applause at the end of a\nperformance. Digital media simply does not allow the replication of such\nexperiences. Those that know that passion for performing live rightfully stand\nup and fight for it to be preserved when it is being challenged. But at a time\nwhen physical interactions are impossible, we can discriminately settle on\nusing digital media, embracing the possibility that it offers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through this conversation with Yoana and\nKavitha, I came to see that these two artists demonstrated a common quality in\nthe face of government-mandated lockdowns that challenged their work and\norganisations. They each found within themselves the resources to return to a\nplace of generosity: the impulse to share a part of themselves in order to help\npeople feel connected, accepted, and loved through dance, regardless of\ndifferences. Now that they have found amicable ways of incorporating digital\ntechnology into their work, I think they would both agree with me that their\npassion for working with dance and disabled communities will persist,\nregardless of the technology they employ. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When COVID-19 ends \u2014 hopefully soon, fingers crossed \u2014 I will still return to this umbrella, this Zoom platform, to meet the people that I have met, and to meet other people. But for deeper connection I will use the offline platforms […] The good thing about digital space is that we can connect without borders.  But for depth: I don’t think we can replace the in-person.” <\/em><\/p>Yoana Kristiawati<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a> Direct quotes have been edited for clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a> Later, Kavitha was to learn that Judith learnt about Sang Nila Utama\u2019s place in Singapore\u2019s history by visiting Singapore\u2019s Bicentennial Experience presentation a few years ago.
Judith\u2019s initiative has since been made into a digitally-recorded stage production titled \u201cSang Nila Utama has Arrived\u201d. It will be streamed for ticket holders on Sistic<\/a> from 6-19 December 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/sup><\/a> Nalitari\u2019s \u201cHand\u201d videos were uploaded onto the organisation\u2019s Instagram page<\/a>. Their collaboration with Dancequences Inc can be accessed here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A conversation with Singapore International Foundation (SIF) Arts for Good Fellows Yoana Kristiawati (Nalitari) and Kavitha Krishnan (Maya Dance Theatre & Diverse Abilities Dance Collective)[1] By Wong Yunjie The Arts for Good Fellowship (A4G), organised by the Singapore International Foundation, is an annual programme dedicated to growing the Arts for Good ecosystem by fostering a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":2939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[450,2],"tags":[481,253,479,482,586,478],"class_list":["post-2938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brackchats","category-conversations","tag-a4g","tag-artanddisability","tag-artsforgood","tag-artsforgoodfellowship","tag-dance","tag-sifartsforgood"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brack.sg\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brack.sg\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brack.sg\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brack.sg\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brack.sg\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2938"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.brack.sg\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2956,"href":"https:\/\/www.brack.sg\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2938\/revisions\/2956"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brack.sg\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brack.sg\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brack.sg\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brack.sg\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}