Catch the cultural vibes at WOMAD 2002

Catch the cultural vibes at WOMAD 2002

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Singapore

It was damp and a bit hot sitting on the hill in Fort Canning
Park, which is located at Cox Terrace, some two kilometers to the
south of the oh-so-famous Orchard Road.

Tall big trees lined the perimeters of the area and the
botanical garden somehow compensated for the hot weather.

"Nice park, isn't it? Kuala Lumpur doesn't have this, neither
does Jakarta, does it?" asked a fellow journalist from Malaysia.

"Of course not. A park in Jakarta! Are you kidding?" I mumbled
while recalling the questions about haze, forest fires and stuff
some people had asked about earlier that day.

The visit to the park was on an invitation from the organizers
of the World of Music, Arts, and Dance (WOMAD) Singapore 2002
held from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1.

Throughout the weekend, the usually quiet park was
exceptionally crowded as thousands of people gathered to take
part in the annual three-day festival.

WOMAD originally started in England as it was established by
rock icon Peter Gabriel in 1982, and was aimed at incorporating
music from all over the world.

Today, the festival has grown to become the world's biggest
international music festival, which is officially recognized by
the Guinness Book of Records.

Over 138 WOMAD festivals are presented in 21 different
countries today, with an estimated 2,000 international artists
from all over the continents playing to over one million people.

WOMAD Singapore started in 1998 as a curtain raiser for the
Singapore Arts Festival. Over the last five years, the event has
presented 64 groups from 38 different countries.

This year's festival presented 14 groups from a range of
musical genres from 14 countries including the United Kingdom,
Chile, Australia, Singapore and Zimbabwe.

WOMAD Singapore Project Director Sarah Martin said there had
been a growing sophistication among local audiences as they
expect a higher standard of entertainment and more diverse
"niche" acts.

"So, we've programmed a completely eclectic and fresh festival
line-up. All the artists have never performed here," Martin told
The Jakarta Post.

"There were a number of factors involved in picking the
artists. There's an educational focus as well so we chose artists
that came from as many different parts of the world."

Martin added that any artist could also make a proposal to the
organizers if they want to perform at the festival.

Within five years, the audience has grown bigger and bigger
with last year's reaching its set capacity with a record 16,000
turning out for the performances.

Last weekend brought a similar figure as the first two days
had some 12,000 people passing through the turnstiles.

The main attraction, of course, was a chance to get immersed
in the cross-cultural experience, and to especially see music
from all over the world that is underexposed and overshadowed by
manufactured pop.

On the two stages, artists took turns in performing
continuously from 7 p.m. until midnight. We got to catch the
groovy Samba Jazz/Rock from Brazil's Trio Mocoto, the percussive
funk/ragga/breakbeats from UK club outfit Badmarsh and Shri, and
the dreamy, spirited sound of Chilean Inti-Illimani.

It was also an opportunity to see collaborations between the
artists as well.

Singapore's Indian dance troupe Apsaras Arts performed a
unique collaboration with UK-based dance group Dreamcatcher,
which has a trance-like, free-flowing sound.

"We were offered by the organizers to collaborate with the
group. The process of this collaboration is frightening! The
classical dancers have rhythm and emotions as an integral part of
the dance tradition while the music of Dreamcatcher is completely
away from the norm for us. But we are up for the challenge," said
Sathyalingam, the founder and choreographer of Apsaras Arts.

Other collaborations included Pakistan's Rizwan-Muazzam
Qawwali and UK DJ outfit Temple of Sound where centuries old
Qawwali music was fused with cutting edge dance technology.

Beside performing on stage, the artists also held a workshop
at the Gallery located in the Fort Canning Center building in the
middle of the park. The center is a 65-year-old restored military
barracks that is now used as a major cultural venue and host for
Singapore's modern performing arts companies.

At the workshops, audiences got a closer look at the music of
the performers and many traditional instruments the artists
played.

For many audiences, it was not merely the music that attracted
them.

Families saw it as a great way to spend their free time by
going for a picnic in the park, shopping and eating at the global
village where goods and food made locally or from India or even
Latin America and Africa were sold.

There was something special also for the children, with a
workshop held earlier in the afternoon to let them learn how to
create jewelry, handicrafts or paint their own T-shirts.

Teenagers saw more of the social side to it and hung out with
their friends.

Wilfred, 15, said he came because his friends were watching
the event.

"Do I like the music? Hmm ... sort of," he said, adding that
the ticket price (S$30 a day for an adult or $22 for a student)
was reasonable.

As for me, apart from the free beer and shopping spree, it was
also a chance to see an organized event that would rarely happen
back home.

Seeing the foreign artists perform their traditional music
gave me also a hope inside that local artists could come perform
at the festival, as it is just so close to home.