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Comment by iPLOP on November 10, 2012 at 10:40pm

The Star Online: Outshining the Rest

Gan Chih Pei’s Before 40 was my favourite piece at Jamu 2009. Not because I fit into this age group, but because of Gan’s artistic intelligence in conveying very clearly the difficult task of describing what she feels about turning 40.

If the title and synopsis did not suggest her age, I would have thought that a 20-something in her physical prime was performing on stage. Gan’s technical mastery was head and shoulders above that of most of the other dancers at Jamu 2009.

She walked back and forth across the stage, leaving and re-entering, each time coming back on with a bigger bundle of clothes in her arms. The clothes were those she had worn over the years, and ranged from a pink baby tutu to baggy T-shirts from the rebellious teen years.

As we can identify the age of a tree by counting the rings in its trunk, so could we count the years of Gan’s life as she marked every decade by pulling on a top; by the end of the performance, she had on four layers of clothes.

The circular hand and leg movements that dominated her choreography nicely complemented the idea of those tree rings. A musician on stage with her played the di zhi (Chinese flute) underlining the reflective piece with melancholic notes.

Before 40 was a simple, honest and moving piece.

（Extract from The Star Online, Sunday November 1, 2009, http://ecentral.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/11/1/soundnstage/49994...）

Note: Jamu 2009 is the National Arts, Culture and Heritage Academy’s annual contemporary dance production featuring choreography by the school’s dance lecturers and tutors, organized by Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan, Kuala Lumpur from Oct 22-25

Comment by iPLOP on November 9, 2012 at 6:02pm

GAN CHIH PEI, Bachelor of Arts in Dance Studies (USA). Currently a co-principal of Centrestage Dance Academy Sdn. Bhd. Also a full time lecturer at the Akademi Seni Budaya and Warisan Kebangsaan (ASWARA), Kuala Lumpur.

In 1999, co-started her own dance academy, Centrestage Dance Academy Sdn. Bhd. The overarching goal is to provide the opportunity for an increasing affluent society to pursue, appreciate and most of all enjoy the art of dance. The arts of dance that is in the form of Classical, Contemporary, and Modern.

She was the Vice President from 2002-2006 and now head of Education and Training Network for MyDance Alliance (A Malaysia chapter of World Dance Alliance). With these posts, she is very much focused on promoting dance education in Malaysia.

A few of her latest works:-

“FREEDOM @ BOREDOM”, was showcased in Surabaya, Indonesia; under the invitation of Surabaya Arts Festival 2004. It was restaged and performed again in Kuala Lumpur 2005.

“WHEN THEY CUT OFF THE LIGHT”, a piece about our contemporary society.

“SOCIAL-DANCE”, a piece about relationship and privacy was performed in Kuala Lumpur, 2006.

“BEFORE 40”, a piece dedicate to all women especially those who is after 40.

“NAMA SAYA.....”, a piece about decision and destination.

Aside from performances, Chih Pei is also active in other aspect of the Art of Dance. August 2005, invited by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Korea to attend a workshop and give a presentation on “Searching for Gender-Sensitive Cultural Policy in Korea and Southeast Asia”.