Surprise fireworks of the play, 《小戲節》 from UniPlay Space (單細胞小劇團), on 2017 New Year’s Eve at Seng Cheong Society Youth Section Malacca (晨钟励志社)

Recommended by a good friend, I dropped by and enjoyed a wonderful play, 《小戲節》 from UniPlay Space (單細胞小劇團), on the new year eve at Seng Cheong Society Youth Section Malacca (晨钟励志社) a historical building in Melaka. Three little stories related to our social issues with three different setup on sites of the building, which encouraged us to walk from scene to scene for each play. And at the end of the play, there was a surprise fireworks to celebrate 2017 New Year.

Feel free please to visit UniPlay Space’s Facebook page for their next performance. Thank you again for bringing such amazing performance in Melaka.

Happy New YEEar! May all be happy, be peace, be harmony

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One of the dance performances by the students at the school hall during Pay Fong High School 103th Anniversary Evening Performance

After a lovely prewedding portrait with a couple from KL, I managed to drop by Pay Fong High School Melaka for its 103th Anniversary Celebration in the evening. There were performances going on at its school hall, celebrating the school’s 103th birthday.

Although I was not a Pay Fong’s student and I visited the school’s functions and event especially the cultural ones. There were singing, choir, band, dancing, orchestra, poetry, diabolo (扯铃), Chinese cross talk (相声), martial art performance and 24 Festival Drums performances during the evening.

I came straight after a shoot so had my gears with me. While enjoying the show, I walked around in the hall and took some shots of the performance. Please enjoy the photos taken below, and also the videos of the evening performance too created by our videography friend, Benny Liu from BL Imaging.

103 is a great age to be! Congratulation to Pay Fong High School and best wishes for the school’s continuing success and producing the finest students.

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One of the float from Seck Kia Eenh Buddhist Temple passing by the iconic Clock Tower outside Stadthuys of Melaka

Wishing all Buddhists a very happy and blessed Wesak Celebration. May Wesak Day brings all peacEE and harmony.

Some photos taken during my visit to the Wesak Day Procession in Melaka yesterday with Kenn Wai.

Kenn and I visiting Wesak’s procession this year.

One of the symphonic band, from SMJK Yok Bin

Lion dance team from Sam Tiong Keng Temple, Semabok Melaka

Trishaws providing rides to senior citizens.

Float from Centre Of Humanistic Buddhism Malacca

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Nyonya Memoirs – first live environmental Peranakan show in Melaka (iPhonegraphy)

It caught my attention when the ad in the mall stated it to be the first 360° musical show, not only in Melaka but Malaysia’s. The show is the product by the familiar Malaysian film director, James Lee whom I admire of the short films he directed (read about his introduction of this play in his Facebook too). 

Last week I got an entry ticket from my friend and invited to see, I would say ‘participate’ in this show happening in Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall. The musical show is about the love story of the young couple, a poor Baba and tailor ‘Zhang Min’ and a pretty Nyonya ‘Bao Zhu’ from a wealthy family, set scene to the 20s of Melaka, yet something different than the usual musical show or play I had been.

When I entered the show, I realized everyone was standing. There was no seating arranged for the guests. It was a garden-like open area with a narrator in the center doing the talk while the other actors and actresses wearing of the 20s Baba and Nyonya, and some Chinese costumes and danced around us.

The stage was in fact around us. Shops like photo shop, tailor, sundry shop, street food stalls, fortune teller booth from the 20s of previous century were setup as of the street of Melaka. After the introduction, we could visit each stall or shop and interact with the actors and actresses, behaved and talked like they were in the 20s.

The play then continued. The use of lighting, actors and actresses would directly or indirectly guide us to the spot where the play progressed. There were spots decorated like the interior of a Baba and Nyonya house, including a main hall, backyard, dining area, kitchen and bedroom (what is showing on the picture above was a feast setup, called Tok Panjang in dining hall).

The story took place in all area of the theater, so-called 360° setup, and involved the participation of the audiences. Such as in a scene when the main actor ‘Zhang Min’ was in dilemma of proposing to ‘Bao Zhu’ whom he admired, he seek the help from the audience for advise. A guest from Klang was sporting and was invited to the front and taught ‘Zhang Min’ how to propose. In addition to that, the guest’s wife was too invited to the front and the guest demonstrated proposal to his wife by kneeing and said the magic words. Everyone laughed.

There was also a scene when a kid from the audience was requested by a messenger of ‘Bao Zhu’ to pass a letter to ‘Zhang Min’. The kid was requested to walk and deliver the letter to the tailor’s shop of ‘Zhang Min’. He did so and ‘Zhang Min’ then replied the letter by passing it to another elderly from the audience and requested the elderly to deliver a letter back to ‘Bao Zhu’. Of course, the elderly was intercepted by the evil family members of ‘Bao Zhu’ before he could decide what to do with the letter in his hands.

It was a happy ending for sure, and the final scene was a traditional Baba and Nyonya wedding ceremony of ‘Zhang Min’ & ‘Bao Zhu’. It took place outside the theater. A lovers’ bridge was setup in the shopping mall for the scene, which drew the attention of many shoppers too, and joined in the play. They missed the front part in the theater anyway

The dances and songs during the play were definitely outstanding. I enjoyed very much. The actors, actresses and the back-end people were putting a lot of effort for the show and doing a splendid job. The show itself is a fresh experience to me and beyond my expectation. I would recommend to all friends whether you are from Melaka or visitors here, to enjoy such a wonderful play, at the same time, understand more about the Baba and Nyonya culture of Melaka.

A few things to note about this show. It is conducted in Mandarin and some Bahasa language. English translation however, is displayed on the many TVs hanging at the walls of the theater.

It’s good to have your camera with you because you are alright to snap photos with the actors, actresses and the setup. However, please do not fire the flash during the play

The show is on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the 3rd floor Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall (of the GSC cinema’s block), and it’s only until mid of July. So don’t miss it, grab your ticket and join the fun!

May all bEE happy

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KLCC Sky Bridge (iPadgraphy)

A see-through window on the top of the bridge (iPadgraphy)

During an event photography coverage at the Grand Hyatt Hotel KL, the guests were invited to the Malaysian Petroleum Club Restaurant of KLCC for dinner. Most of guests were from overseas and thus they were too invited to to tour the Sky Bridge linked the two towers for the evening KL’s view before meal.

Guests were divided in few groups to access to the Sky Bridge, and we as the event photographers had to stand by at the bridge for each group’s visit. We were glad that we could stay longer at the bridge and enjoy the magnificent view of KL’s evening from the 42nd floor. Our lovely first experience!

May all bEE happy!

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Having some free time on Sunday noon, I made a trip to the venue. Arriving at the landing site of St. Paul’s Hill, the second GAIP (General Assembly of Interested Parties) performance with the collaboration of the artists was going on. After the performance was going on, I continued to explore the notion of ascent around the sites and discovered another performance at the site of A’ Farmosa, which the artists seemed like dreamers obsessed with love and desire, being hynotized then moving their way up to the top of the hill and continued under the big tree next to the old church.

Straight after that, there was a last GAIP performance at the same site. GAIP performances are collaboration of artists in a so-called broader social performance, it’s very interesting, as stated in the program booklet, “...each participant is ready, willing, able and stimulated, by bringing an attitude and practice of generosity in the facilitation of an individual or collective catharsis/libration/moment of transcendence……there is no expectation of formality within performers relationships, just mutual respect and responsibility”.

It is wet season in Malaysia at this time of the year. The evening was heavy down pour and fortunately it stopped before the grand finale, a large scale performance ‘Eulogy for the Living’ by most artists. Yet the ground was wet, the artists continued the performance on the wet gravel path, even sitting and dancing on it. The last performance was directed by Malaysian born artist, Tony Yap, also founding creative director of MAPFest. We eulogized that evening.

I enjoyed the visual and sound on the three-day festival. Thanks again to the organising committees, helpers, artists and sponsors for the great event held here and continue the effort every year. It was not only attracting visitors to Melaka for its heritage, but making our town a creative hub for innovative arts, and giving us an opportunity to meeting new friends. So let’s wait for the next MAPFest in 2015!

Some snaps during the last day. May all bEE happy.

6th MAPFest 2014 – day 3

the second GAIP (General Assembly of Interested Parties) performance

from left Elnaz Sheshgelani and Gita Kinanthi at MAPFest 2014

an installation art at the landing site of St. Paul’s Hill

third GAIP performance near A’ Farmosa Fort

Felix Ho at MAPFest 2014

local artist Lee Kien Fei at MAPFest 2014

grand finale of MAPFest 2014, ‘Eulogy for the Living’

AñA Wojak at the MAPFest 2014

projection on the wall next to the open grave of Xavier’s burial

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I was one of the groomsmen for a good friend’s wedding this morning. After his wedding at about noon, immediately I headed to one of the station of the MAPFest, St. Paul’s Hill. Yeay! This time the battery of my camera was fully charged.

It’s school holiday this month so it wasn’t surprise to see so many people up the hill. The St. Paul’s Church was packed with locals and tourists admiring this historic church and enjoying themselves with the special programs of the festival. So did I.

When I arrived at the venue, an improvised sound and voice performance called ‘Towards A New Moon’ by Domenico De Clario and various artists was about to start. A number of items were ready at the site and artists used those items to create sound, songs of stories.

During the play of ‘Pontianak’ the crowd didn’t expect a sudden down pour from a hot sunny weather. Even though it rained for a short time, it couldn’t kill the spirit of the ‘pontianak’. They kept going with their professional performance expressing the mean of sexual norms and sensibilities especially for woman in different culture, through the stories of how and why each of the turned into pontianak.

There were other stunning performances going on however I had to leave to get ready for an appointment and covering a wedding reception in the evening. As I walked to where I parked my car near Stadthuys, then I noticed there were other installation including one near the Cendol place at the Melaka River side and performances going on at the other sites. It is best to spend a half day walking from site to site and try to cover and explore as many performances as possible. It will keep you surprised, that’s what I will do for tomorrow, the last day of the 6th MAPFest.

So the Cerita Pendek 2 will begin shortly as I writing this. As soon this evening. It’s raining heavily now and hope that the weather turn well so that the show can carry on.

Here are some shots taken today. Please join and support the MAPFest tomorrow, or else it will be another year of wait.

May all bEE happy!

6th MAPFest 2014 – day 2

‘Towards A New Moon’ by Domenico De Clario and various artists

the ‘Pontianak’

umbrellas for the ‘Pontianak’ show

Meredith Elton

installation at the riverside of Melaka River

#MelakaArtandPerformanceFestival #MAPFest #MAPFest2014 #MAPFest6

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I wouldn’t want to miss this one of the greatest events held in Melaka in which many international artists from over ten countries are here to perform in this little world heritage town. So after a portrait session in the afternoon, I managed to rush to the venue for the evening’s program, Cerita Pendek and captured some shots before the battery of camera ran dead 15 minutes after the show began.

Without having to shoot, I relaxed and enjoyed the whole evening of two hours of great dances, song and sound, performing arts and choreography. A big thanks to the wonderful evening to the organizing committees, helpers and artists from over the world for making it happen this evening.

Tomorrow will be the another session of Cerita Pendek in evening by the other artists, and do not miss the other programs in the morning and afternoon. A full program booklet can be obtained here. Fellow Malaccans and guests to Melaka, hope to see you tomorrow and Sunday.

Here are some flashback of 2012’s MAPFest. May all bEE happy.

6th MAPFest 2014 – Cerita Pendek 1

first performance of the evening by Meredith Elton

‘dead body’ of Alan Schacher on his performance, I could still remember his fantastic performance with Wei-Zen Ho on MAPFest 2012

the artists of the evening’s performing arts saying good night to the audiences

#MelakaArtandPerformanceFestival #MAPFest #MAPFest2014 #MAPFest6

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周金亮与林文荪的《听梦飞翔》音乐分享会

小时候，有个很熟悉的名字–周金亮。在90年代，cafe不多，其中是海螺民歌餐厅。而喜欢泡在海螺，听听吉他演奏的自创歌曲的朋友，相信都很熟悉周金亮这位音乐人的名字。

上个月，看见了一位朋友，Jasond在面书分享一个音乐分享会–周金亮与林文荪的《听梦飞翔》，就在马六甲沂水阁沉香书艺廊。 刚好那一天得空，便出席了。

当到了沂水阁，看见了Jasond和几位朋友在大厅聊天，其中一位就是周金亮前辈。当时没认出，因为印象中他是长发披肩的，象rocker一样。直到音乐会开始了，才认出他。这时，他已经是梳理整齐的短发，满头银发，经历了多少岁月，人也爽朗成熟了。

开场，他独自一人，和大家近距离的聊天，分享自己的经历和音乐心得，再用歌曲自弹自唱和大家以音乐对话。唱了一些老歌如罗大佑的《东方之珠》，John Denver的《Today》，大家也朗朗的跟着哼，很是享受。

到了中场，周前辈介绍另外一位歌手–林文荪。对这个名字，这位年轻的女生，还是比较陌生。但从她从观众席走了出来，再清唱一段民族歌谣《青藏高原》，大家才被她的嗓子给震撼了。

她接着唱了大家都会，也跟着哼唱的《我是一只小小鸟》，周前辈在傍伴弹。然后唱了由傅承得前辈的诗，周前辈作曲的《一颗种籽》，一首意义非凡的歌曲，让我们要爱惜自己的母语，也要记得曾经为华教奋斗人士的精神，明白前人种树后人乘凉，所以更要珍惜华教和将华文发扬光大。

重头戏当然是周前辈创作的林文荪首张EP《农夫》。林文荪遇到了伯乐，EP里边的歌曲都是周前辈为林文荪的音色和唱风所量身定作的。当晚他们呈献了EP里边的歌曲，包括主打歌《农夫》，曲风有点古典很是独特。

唱到了尾声，大家都很享受怀念的歌曲，和林文荪的歌声和他们来了的新创作。听到了这么好听的EP专辑，当然也支持了！听听这支在适耕庄由导演Dick Chua（一位很欣赏的大马导演）拍摄的《农夫》MV：

http://www.listentosuen.com/nongfu/

谢谢Jasond和沂水阁所举办这次的音乐分享会，和周金亮与林文荪这对亦师亦友带来的好听歌曲和音乐的心路历程。希望大家喜欢这张EP专辑，有兴趣购买的朋友，可以到位于马六甲荷兰街12号的沂水阁购买。

愿一切众生心有喜乐，分享一些当晚拍摄的照片：

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<简单玩 。玩简单 Just Play> in Melaka at Voyage Travellers Lounge

Went to a very nice music concert ＜简单玩 。玩简单 Just Play＞ featuring Ika & Aki Huang, Platform 11, Tangerine Wong and Anna Chong, happened to be in Melaka at Voyage Travellers Lounge early this month.

Simple setup in the lounge which closed for business. Instead of sitting on chairs or standing, tables and chairs were removed from the lounge and guests were encouraged to wear casually, especially with shorts, any kind of shorts as theme, and sitting on the floor.

So before the show started, 988’s DJ, PM shared his story with the guests to get everyone warmed up. Then things got started with Aki’s voice cheering up the night, followed by the rest of the vocals and bands.

It all ended at about 1:00am in the morning. The artists put on a great show and really connected with the guests, songs were sung with a load of feeling and passion.

They will keep going and tour around Malaysia and Singapore for performance. Just an update, the ticket for their next stop in KL on 30th August are sold out. Only two stops available now which are Kluang, Johor on our Merdeka Day and Singapore on the 1st of September.

Support our local artists and please drop by the tour’s facebook page for more information.
https://www.facebook.com/jiandanwan/

May all beings bEE happy. Have lovely week ahead

988 DJ, PM (彪民) sharing his story of life

Night cheering up by our Malaccan artist, Aki (in the middle)

lovely voice from Tangerine Wong (王蓝茵)

just love Keith’s voice and the band Platform Eleven (十一号月台)’s play

Anna Chong (莊启馨) singing with deep emotion

the artists having so much fun

from left: Keith, Chow-Gui, Aki, Anna, Tangerine

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培风百年校庆-百年鹏飞诗歌舞剧 Pay Fong 100 years anniversary performance

Pay Fong High School, founded in 1913 and being the only Chinese Independent School in my hometown Melaka was celebrating celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. I was invited by my friend Chow-Gui, the teacher of Pay Fong String Orchestra to observe the night celebration at its hall.

It was great to be there and photographed the performance. Congratulation to Pay Fong High School.

May all bEEings be happy.

覆杯水于坳堂之上，则芥为之舟，置杯焉则胶，水浅而舟大也。风之积也不厚，则其负大翼也无力。故九万里，则风斯在下矣，而后乃今培风；背负青天，而莫之夭阏者，而后乃今将图南。

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