CHOREOGRAPHY BY MAVIN KHOO Archives - ŻfinMalta https://www.zfinmalta.org/portfolio_page/portfolio-category/choreography-by-mavin-khoo/ National Dance Company Fri, 10 Oct 2025 10:53:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.zfinmalta.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cropped-ZFIN_FAVICON-32x32.png CHOREOGRAPHY BY MAVIN KHOO Archives - ŻfinMalta https://www.zfinmalta.org/portfolio_page/portfolio-category/choreography-by-mavin-khoo/ 32 32 Bahr https://www.zfinmalta.org/portfolio_page/bahr/ Mon, 21 Apr 2025 12:04:53 +0000 https://www.zfinmalta.org/?post_type=portfolio_page&p=33280 The post Bahr appeared first on ŻfinMalta.

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Bahr

Choreography by Mavin Khoo

Made in collaboration with British Council Malta for the EU Presidency (2017)

 

 

The Official Opening Ceremony of the 2017 Maltese EU Presidency is scheduled for the 11th January and will take place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. ‘BAHR’, a newly commissioned work for the Presidency, explores migration in all its forms, and its dialogue with movement, encounters, challenges and possibilities. It is about the very human experience at the core of this issue, which is so close to the heart of the 2017 Maltese EU Presidency. ‘BAHR’ will be performed by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of its principal conductor Brian Schembri, who will accompany national dance ensemble ŻfinMalta in Mavin Khoo’s interpretation of Albert Garzia’s original music score composed for the occasion.

Times of Malta: Migration at core of ŻfinMalta’s opening performance for EU Presidency. Bahr explores influx, encounters and hope. 

As an immigrant myself, migration has always been a topic of interest, but this time I was forced to dig deeper and uncover different layers; it’s where I encountered the message of hope that determines each migrant’s journey.

Mavin Khoo

Duration: 30 minutes

 

Premiere: 14th January 2017, Mediterranean Conference Centre

Production team
Choreography: Mavin Khoo
NEW COMPOSITION BY ALBERT GARZIA
WRITTEN FOR AND RECORDED BY THE MALTA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
Lighting & Set Design: Fabiana Piccioli
Technical manager: Sander Loonen
Dramaturgy: Denise Mulholland
Programmers and Agents

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]]> Je Tiens La Reine https://www.zfinmalta.org/portfolio_page/je-tiens-la-reine/ Sat, 19 Apr 2025 13:17:38 +0000 https://www.zfinmalta.org/?post_type=portfolio_page&p=33245 The post Je Tiens La Reine appeared first on ŻfinMalta.

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Photographs by Charles Paul Azzopardi

Je Tiens La Reine

Choreography by Mavin Khoo

Premiered as part of Malta International Arts Festival

 

 

WHAT HAPPENS TO A LAND AND ITS CREATURES WHEN THE PRIMAL ENERGIES THAT RUN THROUGH IT ARE SHAKEN AND SHIFTED? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE HORROR OF OUR DREAMS BECOMES REALITY?

 

In Je Tiens La Reine, a band of fauns are seduced by the allure and sensuality of Calypso and her nymph sisters, drawn to the border where the earth meets the sea impulsively giving in to their darkest longings and desires. The fauns behave recklessly and their actions cause chaos and disruption as the nymphs, recognising their destructive nature, resist their hold and courageously attempt to protect their land and rituals of old. Intervening to restore order, the goddess Venus appears. Representing love, creation and prosperity, Venus’s divine power forces everyone, especially Calypso and the protagonist faun, to honour their destiny no matter what price there is to pay. Can the fauns redeem favour with Venus? Can peace be restored to this troubled land? Will Calypso return to the solitude of her cave unsatisfied or will she embrace her divine nature too? What, in the end, will be sacrificed in order to satisfy Venus? Like all tales of this kind, Je Tiens La Reine transports us to a magical place whilst reminding us of the journeys we take in our own lives.

 

In this contemporary adaptation of Mallarmé’s 1876 L’Après-midi d’un Faune and Debussy’s 1894 Prélude a L’Apès-midi d’un Faune, ŻfinMalta Dance Ensemble tells the story of a faun’s encounter with the Ogygia-based Calypso. Like the sources that inspired it, Je Tiens La Reine assimilates the suggestiveness of the poetry and the music and is interwoven with rituals, quests and regressions that are represented through an intricate dance choreography by Mavin Khoo, accompanied by a resonant composition by Renzo Spiteri and a narrative adaptation by Giuliana Fenech.

An extremely engaging display of technical prowess and emotive acting

Ramona Depares, The Sunday Times of Malta

Duration: 1 hour

 

Premiere: 15th & 16th July 2015, Argotti Gardens

Production team

 

Choreography: Mavin Khoo
Commissioned Composition: Renzo Spiteri
Dramaturgy: Giuliana Fenech
Choreographic Assistance & Rehearsal Direction: Athanasia Kanellopoulou, Samuel Guist, Nico Monaco
Production & Light Design: Moritz Zavan Stoeckle
Photography & Videographer: Niels Plotard
Design: Anthony Galea
Seamstress: Simona Mamo

 

 

Programmers and Agents

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]]> Home https://www.zfinmalta.org/portfolio_page/home/ Tue, 01 Apr 2025 13:43:35 +0000 https://www.zfinmalta.org/?post_type=portfolio_page&p=32995 The post Home appeared first on ŻfinMalta.

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Members of ZfinMalta Dance Ensemble, the repertory national dance company of Malta, perform in the dress rehearsal of the production
Members of ZfinMalta Dance Ensemble, the repertory national dance company of Malta, perform in the dress rehearsal of the production
Members of ZfinMalta Dance Ensemble, the repertory national dance company of Malta, perform in the dress rehearsal of the production
Members of ZfinMalta Dance Ensemble, the repertory national dance company of Malta, perform in the dress rehearsal of the production
Members of ZfinMalta Dance Ensemble, the repertory national dance company of Malta, perform in the dress rehearsal of the production
Members of ZfinMalta Dance Ensemble, the repertory national dance company of Malta, perform in the dress rehearsal of the production

Home

It is truly this beauty in simplicity over everything which made Home one of the most moving homegrown performances I have had the pleasure of attending.

Anna Marie Galea, Times of Malta

Choreography by Mavin Khoo

 

In this new work, choreographed by Artistic Director Mavin Khoo, the ŻfinMalta Dance Ensemble dancers weave a cinematic narrative through the protagonist voice seen within the life-journey of a single man. Accompanied by his ‘thoughts’ of previous existences, he follows the cyclic journey of life as he experiences birth, childhood, love, tragedy and death. The work asks us to re-consider the notion of home as a structural location of dwelling. It seems that the construction of identity through life’s constant navigation of social rules determine who we are. But why?

 

Duration: 1 hour

Age: 5+

 

 

Production team

 

Choreography: Mavin Khoo & Dancers
Original composition and sound design: Niels Plotard
Lighting design: Moritz Zavan Stoeckle

 

 

 

Programmers and Agents

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]]> Stabat Mater https://www.zfinmalta.org/portfolio_page/stabat-mater/ Tue, 01 Apr 2025 11:44:33 +0000 https://www.zfinmalta.org/?post_type=portfolio_page&p=33055 The post Stabat Mater appeared first on ŻfinMalta.

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Dancers of ZfinMalta Dance Ensemble, Malta's newly-set up national dance company, perform in a dress rehearsal of the company's premiere
Dancers of ZfinMalta Dance Ensemble, Malta's newly-set up national dance company, perform in a dress rehearsal of the company's premiere

Photographs by Darrin Zammit-Lupi

Stabat Mater

Choreography by Mavin Khoo

Premiered as part of Erbgħa(4) 

 

 

A company ensemble work by Artistic Director Mavin Khoo, performed to ‘Stabat Mater’ by 18th century Maltese-Italian composer Girolamo Abos.

 

A journey in the pursuit of spiritual ecstasy

Anna-Marie Galea, The Sunday Times of Malta

Malta’s national contemporary dance company, ŻfinMalta Dance Ensemble, will launch its first season with ERBGĦA(4) a premiere featuring four dances by four choreographers. The mixed bill will present distinctive works that demonstrate the versatility and diversity of the company within its Euro-Mediterranean context and sensibility. Newly commissioned works include ; ‘Selah’ by UK based Spanish choreographer Jose Agudo (new music by Vincenzo Lamagna), ‘Iż-Żmien’ by Maltese choreographer Francesca Tranter (music by Walter Micallef) and a company ensemble work by artistic director Mavin Khoo (performed to Stabat Mater by 18th century Maltese – Italian composer Girolamo Abos). The premiere concludes with a piece that is re-staged for the company, a duet, ‘Kick the Bucket’ by Dutch based Spanish choreographer Iván Pérez Avilés (music by Aaron Martin).

Duration: 30 minutes

 

Premiere: 11th March 2015, MITP, Valletta

‘Oozing passion, emotion: Malta’s national dance company launches its first season

Read the full article now from Times of Malta.

 

 

 

Production team

 

Choreography: Mavin Khoo
Composer: Girolamo Abos
Costume Design: Elisabeth Kinn Svensson
Lighting Design: Moritz Zavan Stoeckle

 

 

 

 

Programmers and Agents

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