BFM :: The Bigger Picture

Our guests talk about their upcoming ‘untraditional’ performance which combines elements of a music concert with a theatrical structure, to create a dance drama that focuses on Flamenco dancing. The performance explores human relationships and other existential questions. Parallels are drawn between the life of the character(s) and the history of the Flamenco music from its birth until the present. The storyteller and the dance both originate and grow together.  In some ways, it’s the seven ages of (wo)man as expressed through Flamenco with a theatrical bent.

We’re in for a treat. A semi-finalist at the 2010 Thelonious Monk Competition, Ashton Moore is in town and is stopping by to talk to us at BFM. This Detroit-native has just launched his debut album, ‘Downtown’ in which he “pays homage to jazz tradition with innovative versions of standards” and also anticipates the future.

MyPAA recently launched a website for the performing arts community. ARTERI underscores the organization’s objectives to address gaps in the current ecosystem, and lead towards increasing funding and developmental opportunities, nurturing skills and talent growth to contribute to the social, creative and economic sustainability of the sector. How will a website do all of these?

In conjunction with World Asthma Day, which is observed on May 3rd this year, we find out the process of establishing Asthma Malaysia, a non-profit with the aim of educating and empowering individuals with asthma. 

New Delhi-based novelist and journalist Ira Trivedi travelled across India to investigate the growing sexual revolution that is shaping young Indians’ views on love, marriage, and sexuality. She detailed her findings in her first work of non-fiction, India In Love: Marriage and Sexuality in the 21st century.

The BOH Cameronian Arts Awards 2016 was held just a couple of weekends ago. The winners have been announced and the corks popped in the celebrations. What insights do we get into the performing arts industry through this award? How does such recognition engender better and improved performances and related activities? We hear from the organizer and the participants.

The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council is spearheading the Health Ministry’s vision of making Malaysia a hub for medical tourism. With increasing growth in this sector comes the need for better understanding about the specifics of healthcare travel, which is why the MHTC is organising their first medical tourism conference, Insight 2016. Here to tell us more about the event was Sherene Azli, CEO of MHTC.

Masquerading as the biography of a fictional comic book artist, “The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye” is, in fact, an incredibly meta meditation on the meaning of history, the role of biography, and the way our stories - our own personal narratives - shape the world around us. This week, on Invisible Cities, Uma speaks to author and artist Sonny Liew about Charlie Chan's subjunctive Singapore.

Show Notes:

i. You can find yourself a copy of "The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye" here.

ii. For more of Sonny's work, check out the Secreter Robot Spy Factory. 

iii. "The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye" launched in 2015 to some controversy resulting in Singapore's National Arts Council taking back the grant they had awarded towards the publishing of the book. You can read more about why here.

Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. This time he is joined by KRU’s Edry Abdul Halim to share his perspective as a parent of a child with autism and Tunku Mona Riza, the filmmaker behind Redha.

To catch the first part of the show, you can check out Consultant Developmental Paediatrician, Dr Rajini Sarvananthan, who shares her views from a medical perspective.

If you read English-language sources, David Marshall appears naive, weak, and irresponsible as Chief Minister. If you read Chinese-language sources, Marshall appears as courageous, principled hero, fighting on behalf of the downtrodden and oppressed people of Singapore. Why the difference? In this episode, PJ Thum discusses David Marshall’s tenure as Chief Minister from April to December 1955, how he was seen by Singapore’s various peoples, and how perspectives change historical narratives. Please send questions, comments, and feedback to [email protected] or visit thehistoryofsingapore.com. Support the show at patreon.com/pjthum.

Hear more about the Life and Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew in this interview with Dr. Thum Ping Tjin shortly after the passing of the Father of Singapore.