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maltatoday SUNDAY 22 APRIL 2018 38 This Week ZfinMalta's dance festival for the masses National dance company to throw a party in Pembroke in July MALTA'S national dance compa- ny will be dipping its toes into new waters this summer when it throws a party, complete with top DJs, as part of its mission to make dance accessible to all. Malta Calls, which forms part of the Valletta 2018 activities, is Zfin- Malta Dance Ensemble's unique 360-degree experience of music, dance and visual interactive pro- jections that will take place at St Clare College, Pembroke, in July. "At the heart of this piece re- mains the story of humanity and the future, the Mediterranean soul a specially created 3D avatar," ZfinMalta artistic director Paolo Mangiola said at a press confer- ence to announce this event. Valletta 2018 Foundation ex- ecutive director Catherine Tabone said Malta Calls was an excellent opportunity for artists and danc- ers to explore interdisciplinary el- ements and to contribute towards building dance audiences in Malta. "The Foundation is proud to col- laborate with ŻfinMalta and to support this event that brings dif- ferent art forms together to create a unique performance," Tabone said. Curated by Mavin Khoo, Malta Calls is a collaboration by differ- ent artists combining dance as well as film, and includes a line-up of DJs – two Maltese and Per QX, a Stockholm native who is at the cut- ting edge of the evolving global un- derground house music scene. This outdoor music experience will be lit up by international de- signer Michael Mannion, while diverse group of guest performers will appear through the night cre- ating visual fantasies to heighten the experience of clubbing track grooves. ŻfinMalta dancers will perform to an originally produced track for the event. The party is a commissioned collaborative experience bringing together music, dance and visual interactive projections. At the heart of the piece is the story of humanity and the future through a specifically created 3D avatar using a wireless motion capture suit, as well as visuals projected on screen to narrate the interconnected sto- ries. The twists and turns of these stories are played and replayed in film and projections, developed by London-based artists Shaun Prickimage and Dan Strutt, who previously worked with the Chem- ical Brothers and the English Na- tional Opera. "Our dancers will be performing with great energy and virtuosity in a circus-like vibe, and the idea is that we will be roping in the audi- ence to unconsciously participate in the choreography as they groove to the music of the DJ," Mangiola said. Malta Calls will be held at St Clare College in Pembroke on July 20 between 20:00 and 02:00 The (met)afourisms project at Spazju Kreattiv WHAT happens when an artist engages with an aphoristic text? What if the artist were paired up with a collaborating writer who has the task of documenting the artist's work which responds to the same aphoristic text? How would such a dynamic collabora- tion evolve? The (met)afourisms project seeks to provide an answer to these questions. The project takes effect at the point of intersection where the allusive and elusive style of apho- ristic prose meets with the under- standing of metaphor as a medium of transference and translation. (met)afourisms constitutes the work of four artists and the writ- ing of their respective collabora- tors. Every artist involved in the project – Klitsa Antoniou (Cy- prus), Trevor Borg (Malta), Vince Briffa (Malta) and Stuart Franklin (England) – responded by pro- ducing an artwork (or series of artworks) associated with their assigned aphoristic text written by Niki Young. The role of each artist was to translate the text in order to extrapolate and generate new meanings from existing ones. Each of the aforementioned art- ists was in turn paired with a col- laborator – Irene Biolchini (Italy), Niki Young (Malta), Clive Zammit (Malta) and Sara Dolfi Agostini (Italy) respectively. The role of the collaborator was to follow the artist through their creative pro- cess, sharing ideas with them and documenting the progress. The richness afforded by the apho- ristic style in turn provided each participant with the possibility of creative reinterpretation in such a way that the meaning of the apho- rism itself could be disrupted and renegotiated in order to create a space which allowed for the emer- gence of new meanings, interpre- tations and approaches. The artistic pieces produced will be exhibited at Spazju Kreattiv (Valletta, Malta) from the 4th to the 27th of May 2018. A mono- graph containing the photographs of the exhibited work (as well as other related images) together with the collaborators' essays and an exclusive essay by renowned philosopher Graham Harman will also be published. The book launch shall be held on the 24th of May at 7.30pm at the Spazju Kre- attiv Cinema Room. This project is supported by Arts Council Malta – Malta Arts Fund Project Support Grant Celebrating Claude Debussy at the Manoel Theatre TO celebrate the 100th year anni- versary of Claude Debussy's death in 1918, Teatru Manoel is present- ing a recital on Wednesday, April 25 at 20:00 at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta. The evening highlights some of the composer's most evocative and iconic piano solo and chamber music. Pianist Gisèle Grima joins three outstanding musicians: Miriam Cauchi (Sopra- no), Akos Kertesz (Cello) and Ne- manja Ljubinkovic (violin) to mark Debussy's musical legacy. Claude Debussy was born into a poor family in France in 1862, but his obvious gift at the piano sent him to the Paris Conservatory at age 11. At age 22, he won the Prix de Rome, which financed two years of further musical study in the Italian capital. After the turn of the century, Debussy established himself as the leading figure of French music. During World War I, while Paris was being bombed by the German air force, he suc- cumbed to colon cancer at the age of 55. Embracing nontraditional scales and tonal structures, Claude De- bussy is one of the most highly regarded composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is seen as the founder of musical impressionism. The music programme on Wednesday 25th April 2018 at 8pm includes Préludes Premier Livre (1909-1910), Mélodies pour soprano et piano (1876-1891), Sonate pour violoncelle et pi- ano (1915), Images Premier Livre (1901-1905), Ariettes Oubliées (1885-1887) and Sonate pour vio- lin et piano (1917). Bookings and more information: www.teatrumanoel.com.mt, book- ings@teatrumanoel.com.mt or 2124 6389 Pianist Gisèle Grima