Featured article about the Malaysian team (September 2006)

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Tuesday 19 September 2006
T6 Arts
STARTWO
How far can our artistes go on the world stage? CHIN MUI YOON speaks to two Malaysian musicians whose talent earned them gold medals in Hollywood.
N its half century of existence, the legendary Hollywood Palladium theatre on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles has hosted everything from the Grammys and Oscars to concerts by Frank Sinatra and Glen Miller in the 1960s and the Rolling Stones and the Red Hot Chili Peppers more recently. Sitting crossed-legged on that storied stage recently and calmly making beautiful music on the sitar and tabla were Samuel J. Dass and Prakash Kandasamy, musicians from the Temple of Fine Arts, Kuala Lumpur. The occasion was the recently concluded 10th World Championships of Performing Arts. This annual competition is like the Olympics of the performing arts and draws participants from around the world. This year, it drew 6,000 contestants from 50 countries; hosts United States alone entered 180 competitors. Malaysia sent the smallest team – eight contestants – who vied for medals in the Vocals, Instrumental, Dance and Modelling categories. We might have had the smallest team, but we were among the bigger winners because Dass and Prakash did the country proud by winning 11 gold medals and emerging in overall third place in the Instruments category. Not bad at all when you’re competing against the rest of the world! (See The Malaysian contingent for full list of Malaysian participants and what they won.) While there were many medal winners in each category, only the best went on to participate in the competition to be declared overall champions in each category – which is where Dass and Prakash emerged third. Dass, 38, and Prakash, 33, performed as a duo called Drummers of Tomorrow and mesmerised judges by playing original blues, jazz and even country and western numbers on the sitar and tabla. One judge was so captivated, she approached the pair after their performance to get their demo CD to pass on to some recording companies. She was also curious how Malaysians could play Indian instruments. “We explained that Malaysia comprises different ethnic groups, which includes
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Finding gold in Hollywood
Olympics for the arts
THE World Championships of the Performing Arts is held annually for aspiring performers and entertainers aged between five and 60. Now in its 10th year, the championships were endorsed this year by California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Contestants are selected at the national level by official “directors” in participating countries; in Malaysia, the official rep is Creative Line Promotion (☎ 03-4142 9121). From Aug 5-13, hundreds of singers, dancers, models, musicians and actors converged on the Burbank Hilton Convention Centre where the preliminary rounds were held. Competition was fierce as the event was a golden opportunity to perform for over a hundred influential bigwigs from Hollywood’s entertainment industry. The judges – from Nashville, New York and Hollywood – included agents, managers, casting directors and recording label representatives. Some of the event’s previous winners went on to sign album deals and contracts with top modelling agencies such as New York’s Elite agency.
Malaysian musicians Samuel J. Dass (right) and Prakash Kandasamy did the country proud by winning 11 gold medals and coming out third in the Instruments category of the 10th World Championships of Performing Arts. Indians, and we have a rich variety of arts and music,” said Prakash during an exclusive interview with The Star after returning home. “We fervently hoped for the same judge in our next performance, but they took turns on judging duties and we never saw her again.” Championships founder Griff O’Neill told The Star in an e-mail interview that it was a “major accomplishment” for Dass and Prakash just to qualify for the third and fourth rounds. “Both guys made it into the semi-finals and Dass advanced into the finals. That speaks much about the quality of their talent. The judging was based as much on an artiste’s performance in displaying entertainment value and marketability as technical skill. “A winning performer additionally requires that special charisma and stage presence that all top entertainers have,” he said. out before performing, were not allowed, and neither were performers allowed to familiarise themselves with the stage beforehand. “It was nerve-racking waiting hours for our turn, and then getting to perform for only a single minute!” Prakash said. “Once our names were called, we climbed on stage and took our positions. If the microphones weren’t adjusted or things not in place, we had to sit still and lower our heads as a cue for stage technicians to come forward. The judges wanted to see how we handled unfamiliar, unplanned conditions before an audience.” The results from each round were posted in the lobbies of the participants’ hotels at 5am the next day. To Dass and Prakash’s surprise, their names repeatedly advanced into each succeeding round despite all the talent competing. “Unbelievably, we actually advanced into the finals on the last day. We decided to bring along a haversack to carry the medals we jokingly said we would win. Would you believe it, at the end of the evening, we could hardly stuff all our plaques, medals and certificates inside the bag!” Prakash recalled happily. Indeed, the awards ceremony emcee was so tired of having to repeatedly announce “Sam and Prakash”, he called out, “why don’t you guys just stand right there by the stage!” Drummers of Tomorrow emerged as third place winners behind champions F.E.D. and Friends from Haiti and second placed Estuardo Linde from Guatemala. Though Dass and Prakash came in third, the judges loved their music so much they were invited to perform at the opening and closing
The Malaysian contingent
FARHANA Mohamad (in the 18-24 age group for vocals; gold medal in the Original Works category; silver in Pop; silver in the Open category), Norish Karman (vocal 30+; gold in Pop), Shaliza Bahari (vocal 18-24; bronze in Pop), Sharifah Hadijah (gold in World Music), Wan Mos (silver in Pop; bronze in R&B/Jazz), Zirra Mohd Azim (modelling 18-24; silver in the Runway Casual category).
Haversack full of glory
Unsurprisingly, Dass and Prakash were a bundle of nerves before the competition began, although both are seasoned performers of classical Indian music. In fact, Dass, who has been playing the sitar since he was eight, has performed before kings, presidents and prime ministers – and yet, ”I have never been so tense before!” he said. The reason for that was the unique judging process and the constraints they had to perform under. The judging process is similar to real Hollywood casting auditions, explained O’Neill. Each performer was given just 60 seconds to impress; exceeding the time limit meant losing 25% of his points. Sound tests, which any musician would expect to carry
ceremonies of next year’s championships. “The experience was an eye opener for me into the world of global entertainment,” said Prakash. “I was touched by the importance given to arts and the sort of respect people gave us as artistes,” he said. “We joined the entertainment industry for the love of our respective arts, never for the sake of money,” put in Dass. “So the acknowledgment we received in Hollywood was a welcome pat on the back for us, as it was an endorsement from people who had produced albums for the likes of Will Smith and J. Lo. It feels good to know we’re on the right track. “It also proves that Malaysia can produce competent musicians who can perform well in the international arena. We only need the opportunity and support. We hope this is only the start of better things ahead.”