The Poetry of Dance: Roger Sinha’s `Apricot Trees Exist’
Maisonneuve Magazine
October 05, 2004
by Kena Herod
While we tend to think of poetry and dance as separate art forms,
throughout human history the two have been intimately linked. Even in
today’s highly specialized world, choreographers occasionally use
poetry (and other forms of the written word) as inspiration for
movement, or even within a performance as a complement to the
dance. Montreal choreographer Roger Sinha, however, intertwines poetry
and dance more than usual in `Apricot Trees Exist.’ Sinha’s newest
piece is based on Inger Christensen’s book-length poem, Alphabet.
Roger Sinha, born in England to Indian and Armenian parents, began his
dance studies at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre. In 1986, he made
his professional debut in Quebec City; he continued his performing
career in Montreal, where in 1992 he choreographed his first work, the
acclaimed solo Burning Skin. Since then, Sinha has looked back to his
Indian roots for choreographic material. Drawing inspiration from
classical Indian dance and Asian music, Sinha has become renowned for
his East-meets-West contemporary choreography. With his latest work,
Sinha decided to challenge himself anew, feeling that he has explored
his personal history enough for the time being. `I wanted to get out
of myself, my preoccupations,’ he says of the autobiographical
material that infused his earlier choreography.
Interpreting the formal constraints of Christensen’s poem was Sinha’s
first challenge. The Danish poet used the alphabet (as the title
implies) in addition to Fibonacci’s number system as a basis for the
structure of the poem. Taking up this structure, Sinha substitutes
body parts that begin with eachletter of the alphabet and puts them in
motion for the amount of time it takes to read the corresponding lines
of the poem, creating an `anatomy of the alphabet’ that moves through
time.
Benoit Leduc and Magdalena Nowecka, above, performing in “Apricot
Trees Exist.” Sinha coreographed his dancers to create an “anatomy of
the alphabet.”
PHOTO BY ROLLINE LAPORTE
To facilitate the Montreal audience’s understanding of the poem, Sinha
is using a new French translation in voice-overs and projections on a
screen. But he is less concerned about the audience `getting’ the
poem=80=99s meaning (that’s just icing on the cake) than that they
appreciate the movement on stage. Non-dance elements are kept as
simple and economical as possible, he says, in order not to detract
attention from the choreography.
In the past, Sinha says, `I’ve always avoided anything hi-tech; it
puts me off. It’s so time and money consuming.’ And yet, in order to
push himself in a new direction and take full advantage of a
three-week residency at L=80=99Agora de la Danse, Sinha wanted to use
more theatrical bells and whistles in tandem with choreography for
`Apricot Trees Exist.’ `Even if it doesn’t work out,’ he says, at
least `I will have tried it.’
A first, too, for him was the high level of involvement of his dancers
in the creative process of the work. It was born partly out of
necessity-an ankle operation left Sinha temporarily immobile. He
appreciatively acknowledges not only the inventiveness of his dancers,
but also their ability to work within his guidelines and understand
his style. He notes that their efforts `took a lot of pressure off me
to always be the center’ of creation.
Coreographer and dancer Roger Sinha, pictured above in another
production, invited his dancers to play a part in the creative
process, in part becausean ankle operation left him temporarily
immobile.
In another bid to stretch himself as an artist, Sinha decided to
eschew the highly rhythmic Asian music he has favoured in previous
work and hired Bertrand Chénier, who composes mainly for film, to
write the score. Sinha callsChenier ‘s score `ambient’ (perhaps as a
consequence of thecomposer’s experience in film, the music seems to be
more in the background), allowing `other things to come out’ of the
dance. With a pulse-driven composition, Sinha notes, it is all too
easy to `become a slave’ to the rhythm.
The same week as the premiere of `Apricot Trees Exist,’ Sinha will
unveil another new work, a meditation on globalization commissioned by
the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation for its Public Policy
Conference. Regarding boththese pieces and his work in general, Sinha
says his motive for choreography is not just self-expression. He
admits, `There is always that ego-aspect of the artist that wants
=80=98my stuff’ to be shown.’ But, artists, he argues, should also
take the public `away from their familiarities,’ in ways that `will
allow them to grow.’ Like Christensen in Alphabet, Sinha hopes to
clarify our vision, helping us see the world and its wonders of nature
afresh. For him, choreography is `an opportunity you have as an
artist, part of our responsibility that we don ‘t see in commercial
art.’
`Apricot Trees Exist’ runs October 13-16 and 20=80`23 at Le Studio de
L’Agora de la Danse.
Kena Herod is the dance critic for Maisonneuve Magazine. The Dance
Scene appears every other Tuesday. Posted at 00:00:00 on 10/05/04
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE HOLE FOR THE NEW TERMINAL OF AIRPORT IS DUG
A1Plus
05-10-2004
Construction for the new terminal of ‘Armenia International Airlines’
Company was launched on June 4. Now the main pit of it is already dug
and the builders are going to lay the foundation. The hole is 8 meters
deep, 135 meters long and 40 meters wide.
A modern three-storied airport will be built on that ground. The first
part of the project will finish in 3 years. About $ 50 million will be
necessaryto invest.
The new owner of `Zvartnots’ has already spent 1% of the sum to
asphalt the highway from the airport to Argavand village.
According to Gevorg Abrahamyan, Press Secretary of `Armenia
International Airlines’, road planning is out of the investment
obligations of the company and it was implemented for charitable
purposes.

AZERI DELEGATES INTEND TO PORTRAY ARMENIANS AS TERRORISTS
A1Plus
04-10-2004
Two Armenian lawmakers – Shavarsh Kocharyan and Hermine Naghdaryan –
attended Monday PACE Liberal fraction meeting as members of the
fraction.
It became clear at the meeting that Azeri delegates intend to accuse
Armenians of terrorism during Karabakh problem likely discussion at
the PACE winter session, Shavarsh Kocharyan said in an interview with
our correspondent.
`I was concerned about that yet before departure from Yerevan. That’s
why I applied from Yerevan to be put on waiting list for making speech
at the session ‘, Kocharyan said.
In his words, Azeri lawmakers are going to accuse Armenians of
terrorism also on Wednesday, when Terror Challenges topic will be
discussed at the PACE session on Russian delegation initiative.

Armenian, Bulgarian leaders sign Karabakh communique
Mediamax news agency
5 Oct 04
YEREVAN
Armenia and Bulgaria welcome the intensification of talks in 2004 to
settle the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, said a joint communique signed
between Armenian and Bulgarian Presidents Robert Kocharyan and Georgi
Purvanov in Yerevan today.
“Both sides are united on an opinion that the conflict should be
resolved only peacefully,” the document said.
“Armenia and Bulgaria are expressing their support for the efforts of
the OSCE Minsk Group and its co-chairmen aimed at finding a lasting
and comprehensive solution acceptable for the sides,” the joint
communique by Kocharyan and Purvanov said.

Armenian leader, outgoing Israeli envoy discuss bilateral ties
Arminfo
4 Oct 04
Yerevan
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and Israeli ambassador Rivka Cohen
today discussed the possibilities of developing bilateral relations.
At the meeting, Rivka Cohen, who is completing her diplomatic mission
in Armenia, thanked the Armenian president for his support during her
three-year tenure, the presidential press service told our agency
today. According to the source, Cohen informed Kocharyan of the
developments in the Middle East.

Azeri, Armenian football teams draw one-one in European qualifier
Arminfo, Yerevan
4 Oct 04
Skopje
The Under-19 Armenian and Azerbaijani football teams have drawn 1:1 in
their final tournament of the 2005 European cup qualifier in
Macedonia. The only goal for Armenia was scored by Edgar Manucharyan,
who scored all four goals of the Armenian junior team in the
tournament.
Let’s recall that the Armenian and Azerbaijani teams had never met
with each other since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The
encounter drew tremendous interest among specialists and football
fans.
The Armenian players still have good chances to qualify for the next
stage, while their Azerbaijani counterparts have lost theirs after
being beaten by Macedonia and France.
The 1:1 draw showed that both teams were determined not to lose. But
the draw played into the hands of the Armenian team which, together
with France, had qualified for the next stage of the
tournament. Azerbaijan has only one point and has therefore reached
the end of its qualification campaign.

IHL INSTRUCTORS’ COURSE FOR ARMENIAN ARMED FORCES
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4. ARMINFO. A five-day training course on
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) for 12 officers of Armenian Armed
Forces has started today in the resort town of Tsakhkadzor (30 km
north of Yerevan). The course for future IHL instructors is organized
by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in cooperation
with the Ministry of Defence of Armenia.
The press-service of ICRC Office in Yerevan told ARMINFO that
conducted by the ICRC regional IHL expert, this course focuses on the
effective use of the “IHL for Commanders” and “IHL for Instructors”
manuals, used as a didactic tool for IHL training in the Armenian
Army. The course also covers topics such as conduct of operations,
commander’s responsibility, behaviour in combat and the ICRC and its
activities.
Similar training courses have been organised in the past. Through such
course. the ICRC seek to ensure that officers from Armenian Armed
Forces know and respect the rules and principles of IHL. The ICRC
stands ready to support the Armenian military authorities in
Integrating IHL into the teaching and combat training of the Armenian
armed forces, the source reports.

PAN-ARMENIAN GAMES MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF ACTIVATION OF
COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF TIES BETWEEN ARMENIA AND DIASPORA:
ARMENIAN PM
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4. ARMINFO. Pan-Armenian Games, which have already
became a tradition, are the most important component of activation of
cooperation and development of ties between Armenia and the Armenian
Diaspora. Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan made this
statement during his meeting with the members the of the World
Committee of Pan-Armenian games today.
The Armenian Governmental press-service told ARMINFO that Vice
Chairman of the Committee Roland Sharoyan presented Andranik Margaryan
the program connected with organization of the games, the agenda of
the discussions on the forthcoming games, including plans for the
coming 3-4 years. In his turn, Premier Margaryan expressed readiness
for contributing to the Committee, pointing out the necessity of
gradual expansion of the geography of the participants and an increase
in the number of the participant-states.

GOVERNMENT UNWILLING TO HELP GIFTED CHILDREN
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 14. ARMINFO. Fifteen winners of international
mathematics, physics, informatics, and chemistry competitions have
received presents of the RA National Academy of Sciences (ANAS). The
ceremony of presenting the gifted children with encyclopedias and
photo cameras was held on the occasion of International Science Day.
Head of republican and international competitions Garnik Tonoyan
compared looking for talents to prospecting gold in the country’s
entrails, pointing out that the Government is rather passive in this
matter. According to him, the pupils’ achievements are their own
service, as ordinary comprehensive schools have not potential for
preparing talented children. Schools have no manuals, and teachers
cannot answer gifted children’s questions. Tonoyan stressed that the
International Scientific-Technical Organization, which allegedly spent
20mln. USD on revealing talented children, has not actually spend a
single dollar to sponsor the participants in international
competitions. “The matter is that the Government has no strategy to
support talented pupils,” Tonoyan said. As a result, Armenian
prodigies do not receive such good prizes as their peers from
Azerbaijan and Georgia. The winners of competitions visited the
country’s scientific centers, where scientists told them about their
achievements in mathematics, physics, medical genetics, etc..

ROBERT SIMONS HOPES FOR JOINT EXERCISES TO BE CONTINUED
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4. ARMINFO. Robert Simons, NATO Secretary General’s
Special Representative to the Caucasus and Central Asia, hopes that
although the “Cooperative Best Effort 2004” exercises in Baku failed,
the practice of joint military exercises will be continued.
In his interview to the “Izvestiya” newspaper Simons stated that the
Euroatlantic Partnership Council has a fundamental principle: all the
member-states have the right to take part in joint activities. “In
this case, the Azerbaijani authorities were not ready to ensure
Armenian representatives’ participation in joint exercises, though so
much had been done to prepare them. We clearly stated our position to
the Azerbaijani Government,” he said.
According to Simons, the problem was in Azerbaijan’s allowing Armenian
servicemen to arrive, but not in its being not ready to take part in
the joint activities. “If the exercises had been held in a third
country, we would receive them gladly there. Other exercises are being
and will be planned,” Simons said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress