Local art organisation Comuna de Pedra (“Stone Community”) said in a statement last week that it will launch the third Todos Fest! – an inclusive arts festival featuring performances, documentaries screening and outreach workshops – from February 6 to 12.
The festival comprises local and Hong Kong artists as well as local volunteers comprising the elderly and individuals with physical and mental disabilities, the statement said, adding that the festival will also tour in Hong Kong.
Comuna de Pedra, which was founded in 1996, continues to be focused on physical and dance theatre productions, on stage and site-specific, as well as promoting art education in Macau. The organisation also curates and produces art projects such as exhibitions, festivals and cross-cultural collaborative programmes.
The statement said that Comuna de Pedra curator Jenny Mok Sin Teng is committed to increasing the influence of inclusive arts, since the organisation believes that art – a form of freedom of expression – should not be exclusive to the majority.
‘Calming Storms and Waves’ – Dance across borders
The statement said that Hong Kong artist “yuenjie MARU” and two dancers from Guangzhou’s Mistakable Symbiotic Dance Troupe will perform together with local dancer Ku Man Ian and Lee Pui I who is a member of Caritas Macau Sunshine Centre.
The four dancers, with distinctive bodycharacteristics, will interpret disabled features such as brittle bone disease and vision impairment. During their performance, they will perform and improvise with Chinese poet Su Shi’s “Calming Storms and Waves” and “Afternoon Sunshine”, the statement said.
Su Shi (蘇軾),who lived from 1037 to 1101, was a calligrapher, essayist, gastronomer, pharmacologist, poet, politician, and travel writer during the Song Dynasty.
Dance – a wonderful chapter of life
According to the statement, Soda City Experimental Workshop Arts Association and Caritas Macau Elderly Centre users will be showing the beauty of the afternoon sun with the performers’ bodies, aiming to break age discrimination in art through creation and energetic performances.
Screening of the documentary ‘On The Road’
The statement also said that the documentary “On The Road”, directed by local filmmaker Kinkuan Chao, follows two members of the Macau Association of Parents of People with Intellectual Disabilities, Ngai Tong Loi and Tang Kuai Lan. “On The Road” features their life experiences, performances and interviews with their respective work trainers and reveals their heartfelt connection with Comuna de Pedra.
Todos at School: Symbiotic Dance Workshop
Led by two dancers with physical disabilities, Su Hui Heng and Gene Zhai, the workshop is designed for students to learn about symbiotic dance skills and to forge meaningful connections with all walks of life, the statement said, adding that “The Never-ending Task of Lust for Failure” will be shown during the performance at the HK Arts Festival.
Tickets can be bought at http://hk.mikecrm.com/s9k1DbL, while anyone interested in the school workshops can email their names, number of participants, the date of participation and contact details to comunadepedra@gmail.com. For more information about Todos Fest!, visit: www.facebook.com/TodosComuna
“Todos” is Portuguese for “all”.
This undated photo shows Comuna de Pedra curator Jenny Mok Sin Teng posing. – All photos provided by Comuna de Pedra
This undated photo shows Hong Kong artist “yuenjie MARU” (right) and an unidentified dancer from Guangzhou’s Mistakable Symbiotic Dance Troupe performing.
This undated photo shows senior citizens dancing in “Afternoon Sunshine” in Macau.
This screenshot of a video posted on the Facebook page of Comuna de Pedra shows a scene of the documentary “On The Road” taken at the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) Plaza.
