Donna Miranda, a dancer from Manila, is the spearhead of the collective creativity behind “Extended Periods of Waiting”, a multimedia performance supported by Rimbun Dahan, The Annexe @ Central Market, and Green Papaya Art Projects.

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Tell us about yourself.

A nomad struggling with the lure of domesticated life. Enjoying the last years of my 20s and hopefully finding my ground by the time I reach 30. It’s funny how dancing has brought me to discover new territories and playgrounds, satisfying my lust for wander.

But generally, I am boring person who spends most of my time in the dance studio. The rest of the time I spend playing with my four-year-old son, playing frisbee, zoning out on reality TV shows, and surfing the internet.

I have been dancing since I was ten years old. In 2000, I co-founded Green Papaya Art Projects, an artist-run initiative in Manila, devoted to producing actions and events in varied fields of contemporary art.

Who / what inspires you?

Life experiences: war, peace, betrayal. As Filipino poet Lourd de Veyra puts it: “The gray area between dream and drunkenness.”

As a resident artist for Rimbun Dahan, what was it like, working in Malaysia?

It is a little romantic, this notion of the artist in isolation -- but for the kind of work that doesn’t appeal to mainstream aesthetics, a residency is the only opportunity to produce un-compromised work. It is a gift of time and space, silence, solitude and artistic freedom otherwise unavailable in “normal” reality; a playground to make mistakes, fall down and get up the next day.

I am pleased that my residency at Rimbun Dahan has taken shape this way. A playground for experimentation, with all the necessary support: a spacious dance studio, living space, creative working environment, wireless broadband connection; a 14-acre garden, swimming pool and tennis court.

Working in Malaysia is a bit of challenge. Compared to Manila, where there is so much “freedom of expression” -- mostly because no one cares -- in Malaysia I have learned to create critical and provocative work in a more intelligent and subtle way.

Tell us more about the performance. How did “Extended Periods of Waiting” come to be? Who came up with the idea?

It is a project I have been cooking up for the past six months. I was very much attached to the image of a chess game as a metaphor for waiting and relationships: a game of strategy and survival. I tentatively called it “Extended Periods of Waiting” to capture the tenuous nature of stillness and potentiality.

When I came here, I used this idea of waiting as reflection of an artist’s situation in the studio (or residency programme) where we usually spend hours waiting and contemplating on an idea. I find this “waiting” both comforting and ruthless, at times. Living in a world of instantaneous solutions and gratification, waiting evokes a sense of frustration.

I would like to think of the performance as more of a laboratory, rather than a “show” -- a space where we experiment within a predetermined structure -- and breaking away from this at times. It won’t be the usual dance performance where the dance is spoon-feed to the audience -- here the dance is experienced; both artists and audience locate where the dance is.

Press material mention that “Extended Periods of Waiting” is about “waiting in relentless pursuit of meaning and decision, what happens in this in-between space of inactivity”. What does this mean?

Waiting evokes an expectation of something: a person, event, object or situation. In a society obsessed with output and results, waiting is perceived as non-action, a senseless waste of time -- but it is also an opportunity to be organic: to listen to sounds and impulses that we don’t normal tune into during our busy lives. The act of waiting is a feeling of indecision, the gray area between black and white.

This is what this project is about: to capture the ambivalent and sometimes violent feelings evoked by waiting for something -- something which may or never happen at all.

What kind of “multimedia” is being used? Why?

We are using single channel video projection and live sound production in the show. The lights are also mediated via digital technology. In this project, we are merely using the technologies that confront us in every day lives in our artistic practice.

“Extended Periods of Waiting” is also multimedia because it uses the medium of dance, body, visual art, theatre and sound.

How did the team who worked on “Extend Periods of Waiting” come together?

I tend to be an outsider in the dance world. I have seen myself moving out of pure dancing into more collaborative endeavours the last five years. I find it much more interesting to interact with individuals and artists from varied perspectives and context.

Upon coming here I felt that what would truly make my residency meaningful is if I could interact and communicate with the local art community. So, after conceptualising “Extended Periods of Waiting”, The Annexe helped organise an artist talk to find potential collaborators who resonated the same concerns, or were interested in working along the idea of “waiting.”

Tell us a bit about your team. What’s it like, working with them? Any funny or horror stories?

The team is composed of artists in dance, performance, video, sound and theatre.

In any collaborative endeavour, there is that tricky game of relinquishing control and holding on to your ego. It’s interesting to see how one artist easily jives with another artist’s point of view -- or how there are ones who are a little hesitant about being vulnerable.

I have been working with each of the artists in little groups -- of course, most closely and intensely with the dancers, as we have to develop the movement part earlier than the rest of the other elements in the performance. So far, I have had a great time with them, exploring different physicalities and sharing our experiences as professional dancers.

As for the other artists, we’ve been moving back and forth, between drinking sessions and brainstorming sessions. I enjoy working this way because, while we work in a critical perspective, the ideas borne out of these “meetings” are spontaneous, organic and, most importantly, fun. We like to work hard so we can party hard.

What are rehearsals like? Are there any particular rituals (panicking, inebriation, a bout of catatonia) you have to perform in preparation for a show?

Rehearsals are pretty straightforward. We usually start with a warm-up class, then little improvisations that I develop into set choreographic material. The rehearsals start from lazy -- a too-tired-from-partying-the-night-before atmosphere -- into frenzied, dance-fanatic sessions.

Now that we are working in the space at The Annexe, rehearsals are longer, involving more people and elements. It can be tedious at times because, aside from the dancing bit, the performers need to take into consideration other elements, such as video and live sound installation.

There is panic lurking somewhere, but haven’t seen it surface from the artists yet. Maybe they are still shy.

Will you be bringing this performance beyond Malaysia?

Hopefully, there will be a chance to bring it beyond Malaysia. As of now, though, I haven’t explored the funding possibilities of this. But I am keen on staging the work in Manila around October, maybe with some of the artists participating in the KL run.

Do tell on your next project. Will you return to Malaysia in the future?

I will be performing my solo dance-video installation, “Beneath Polka-dotted Skies” for the 2 WI FI Body Independent Contemporary Dance Festival in Manila in July. This solo won a Jury Prize at 2007 Yokohama Dance Collection R Solo X Duo Competition. If funding pushes through, I may be back here in Malaysia on August to perform at Lost Generation Space’s Notthatbalai Art Festival. I may be back here, in Malaysia, sooner than I think.

What’s irony to you?

Irony is making promises we end up breaking.

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“Extended Periods of Waiting” also features Bilqis Hijjas, Louise Yos Sing-Haw, Low Shee Hoe, Chan Seau Huvi, Saiful Razman, Au Sow Yee, Roman Cruz and the sickl arts collective. Shows are from Fri 8 - Sat 9, Jun 2007 (8.30pm). Admission by RM15 donation. More information here.