The Festival Performances, Day by Day:
Friday 16th and Saturday 17th
Concert by Turan / Kazakhstan
Biblioteca de Catalunya
9 pm
Limited seats
The band Turan was created in 2008 on the initiative of the Kurmangazy Kazakhstan National Music School. An original event that recreates the sound of ancient instruments in order to find new ways of performing folk music through a contemporary staging.
The group is made up by Maksat Medeubek, Bekmuhanbetov Bauyrzhan, Kartenbaeva Korla, Nurmoldaev Serik and Arykbaev Abzal who play ancient instruments from Kazakhstan, such as the zhetygen lute, sherter and dombra, the kobyz kil (the most ancient bowed instrument on Earth), and the sybyzgy syrnay saz, along with a wide range of percussion instruments, Jew’s harps, the gola and chant.
The ensemble has received awards in several contests and festivals in the country and has participated in memorable concerts in Kazakhstan and abroad, including France, Israel, Turkey, Germany, South Korea and the USA. This is their visit to Catalonia.
The international media, including the well-known Discovery channel, predict a great future for them given the brilliant creative process of their projects.
Links:
http://www.myspace.com/kazakhstansymphony/music/songs/ensemble-turan-no-2-58045646
Gallery:
Sunday 18th
Concert by Sorum / South Korea
Biblioteca de Catalunya
9 pm
Limited seats
Sorum is an independent band, mostly formed by women, which began in 2009. It performs popular songs from Korean music with traditional instruments and modern aesthetics and has achieved great success among audiences and critics.
Six months after its creation, Sorum won the popularity prize presented by the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for their concert “Chunchamanbyul”.
In 2010 they toured nationally, participating in festivals and major cultural events, attracting new audiences because of their genuine and transforming staging of South Korean folk music and folklore.
The ensemble performs with traditional Korean instruments: the gayagum (twelve-stringed zither), the daegum (large-size flute), the ajaeng (seven-stringed zither), the haegum (two-stringed bowed instrument), and the jango (sandglass-shaped drum).
Gallery:
Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd
Concert by Pe’z (The Samurai Jazz Band) / Japan
Wednesday 21st, street performance. La Rambla (in front of "Arts Santa Mònica" Center)
6 pm
Thursday 22nd, La Mercè Festival, plaça Reial
9.30 pm
The original style of Pe’z is the result of combining jazz with the most diverse musical styles (ranging from rock and pop and including funk, ska or Latino music) without losing its cultural identity and Japanese tradition. This original style has earned them the nickname The Samurai Jazz Band.
Pe’z is a instrumental music band formed in 1999 by five musicians: Ohyama "B.M.W." Wataru – trumpet; Kadota "Jaw" Kouske – saxophone; Nirehara Masahiro – double bass; Kou – drums; and HiizumimasayuKI – keyboard.
They started playing in the streets of Tokyo, earning them great popularity in their country. This meant that the release of their first maxi single Pe’z (2001) became a great success in the independent music charts. Ten years later, they have produced more than twenty records, applauded by the public and awarded by critics.
The prestige achieved by the members of Pe’z has resulted in numerous collaborations of the band with national and international musicians, including artists such as Cyndi Lauper, Ben Folds and Anna Tsuchiya. Worth noting is the parallel band they created with the singer and composer Suzumoku, better known as Pezmoku. His incorporation made possible the release of pieces of music that have provided the soundtrack for animation series such as España Bleach, which all fans identify with the piece Gallop by Pezmoku.
The inestimable contribution of the Japan Foundation in Madrid allows us to present this ensemble for the first time in Barcelona. The audience will have the opportunity to get to know one of the most striking groups in Japan and experience an outstanding live performance.
Links:
Pe’z official website, in Japanese
Pe’z profile at MySpace
Pe’z official fan club website portal
Gallery:
In collaboration with: 
Friday 23rd and Sunday 25th
Demonstration by the fighters of the Naadam Festival / Mongolia
La Roca Village
12 noon, 1 pm, 6 pm and 7 pm
La Roca Village provides the setting for the first demonstration in Catalonia of the fighters of the Naadam Festival in Mongolia, within the framework of the 10th Asia Festival. On Sunday 25th, they will play at the Pati de les Dones of the CCCB within the activity “One Day in Asia”.
The tournament is the central piece of the Naadam contest, held in the capital of Mongolia to commemorate the independence of the country. The fighters face each other in pairs until the winner shakes his arms imitating the flight of an eagle. At La Roca or at the CCCB, we can see and participate in the demonstration of four fighters and their referee from Ulan Bator.
For many centuries the nomadic tribes living in Central Asia used the kurultai (meetings) to clarify issues linked to livestock, military campaigns and the leadership of the clans to compete against each other and seek the Olympic champion of the Mongols. The disciplines were based on activities key to the survival of clans such as fighting, archery and horse racing. The tradition remained with the passage of time until 1921 when, to commemorate the independence of Mongolia from its neighbour China, the Naadam Festival was established as an official celebration from 11th to 13th July.
Hundreds of fighters, dressed with the typical Mongol underpants (shuudag), waistcoat (jodag) and hat and forming two equal rows, fight on the grass in pairs until one of them touches the ground with their back, knee or elbow. The winner shakes his arms imitating the beating of an eagle and the loser goes back holding his hat in his hands as a sign of respect. As the rounds advance, they receive the title of lion, elephant or falcon. The fights continue until the final winner emerges. At the Asia Festival we can enjoy the moves of two pairs of fighters from Mongolia and the essential referee.
The original painting that illustrates this new Asia Festival 2011 is exhibited at the Mongolian National Modern Art Gallery and represents the fighters in full action.
Gallery:
Friday 23rd
Wayang Kulit shadow theatre
With Nahuel Bon, the Charaka Laras gamelan / Indonesia
Ateneu Barcelonès
9 pm
Limited seats
The master puppeteer Nahuel Bon, accompanied by gamelan music will present the show "Ramayana" (or Rama’s Journey), one of the most representative Wayang Kulit works, the shadow theatre from Java that uses figures decorated with leather to tell a legendary Eastern story.
Ramayana
Ramayana, or Rama’s Journey, written by Valmiki is the oldest epic poem from the 5th century BC. It tells the story of the prince-god Rama and his wife Sita, abducted by Rawhana, king of the Rakssassa (Devil), and taken to the island of Lanka.
Branca gets help from Hanoman / Sengono (white monkey) who, along with an army of monkeys, constructs a bridge to the island and, after crossing it and enduring long fights, they rescue Sita.
The Charaka Laras gamelan
The gamelan is a traditional instrumental ensemble from Indonesia characteristic of the islands of Java and Bali. Its music, based on percussion, accompanies the temple’s ceremonies, dance theatre performances that tell stories or legends and the Wayang puppetry or shadow theatre.
Charaka means emission and Laras means rhythm. Charaka Laras is a music ensemble which has the support of the Embassy of Indonesia in Madrid whose objective is to disseminate the extensive cultural heritage of the country. It is made up by nine musicians, mostly from the region of Yogyakarta, the cradle of gamelan music in Java. The gamelan features a musical sound with percussion rhythms that differentiates the diverse musical instruments that make it up.
Links:
http://teatrodesombrasbima.blogspot.com/
http://teatrodesombra.blogspot.com/
http://curriculumnahuelbon.blogspot.com/
Gallery:
And also:
Puspo Bodoyo, performance of traditional dances of Indonesia
Saturday 24th, 7 pm - 9 pm
Sala de Música de Cambra Palau de la Música Catalana
Organized by the Embassy of Indonesia
Saturday 24th
Indradeep Gosh and Arup Sen Gupta / India
Ateneu Barcelonès
9 pm
Limited seats
The talent of Indradeep Gosh playing the violin, accompanied by the excellent tabla player Arup Sen Gupta, form an exceptional duet performing classical Indian music. Indradeep is creative, skilled and transmits emotion, and he has participated in many festivals in India and toured all over Europe. He comes to Barcelona to perform with the tabla sounds of Arup Sen Gupta.
Indradeep Ghosh / violin
Indradeep began in the art of playing violin at the age of six, under the skilful guidance of Sri Anamitra Mustafi. Since 1991, he has been under the tutelage of Professor Sisirkana Dhar Chowdhury. He has also had the privilege of having other masters of Indian classical music such as PT. VGJog and Kumar Bose. Along with Indian classical music, Indradeep is a follower of Western classical music.
Throughout the years, Indradeep has participated in several festivals in India and cultural exchange programmes and has also toured in different European countries. He has recorded many classical and fusion music records. The most important of them is "Flames – The Passion of Indian Raga", where he is accompanied at the tabla by Pandit Kumar Bose.
Arup Sen Gupta / tabla
Arup Sen Gupta belongs to the second generation of Indians who settled in Germany. He soon discovered Indian traditional music, especially in Bengalese. He is one of the most sought after musicians to accompany the most prestigious international musicians with the tabla.
Links:
http://www.violinindradeep.com/adver/107052.html
http://www.dorothea-fehse.de
http://http://www.myspace.com/arupsengupta
Gallery:
Sunday 25th
One Day in Asia
La Mercè Festival - Plaça dels Àngels, Plaça de Joan Coromines, CCCB and MACBA
All ages
10 am to 10 pm
On Sunday 25th, the Asia Festival closes with “One Day in Asia”, a day in the heart of the city with a multidisciplinary programme led by the Asian communities living in Catalonia and by international ensembles to discover Asia as a family.
1. Asia Stage
Plaça dels Àngels
Bibak/ traditional Philippine dance
11 am and 5 pm
The Bibak Association from Barcelona will show us the dances and traditions of the region of Cordilleras in the Philippines.
Gallery:
Concert by Mamer / China
12 noon
Mamer is a cult figure in the underground music of Beijing. He is possibly one of the most original and influential young artists in China and the father of “Chinagrass”. He has been influenced by traditional Chinese music and nomadic Kazakh culture, of which he forms part. Accompanied by his group IZ, he has performed all over the world and now for the first time in Spain.
Mamer always has his dombra, the traditional lute from the nomads of Central Asia who are found throughout Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Mamer is also a virtuoso of guitar which he plays like a dombra. He plays the sherter (three-stringed plucked instrument), the Jew’s harp and the dabel drum in his performances.
In 2002, he moved to the music centre of China, Beijing. The lovers and professionals of music suggested that he sing in Mandarin Chinese to increase his popularity. However, Mamer did not want to turn his back on his native language. He formed IZ, a band whose name means “imprints left by tradition”, and began playing the songs in Kazakh. Mamer has become a mainstay on the independent circuit of Beijing, despite living part of the year in Urumqi.
In 2008, the prestigious British producer Robin Haller met Mamer and was struck by the singer’s voice, his passion for music and how he performed early songs in a new way, without losing their original charm. Haller offered Mamer the possibility of recording his first album, "Eagle", at the Real World Records studios in London.
Links:
http://www.myspace.com/mamermusic1
http://realworldrecords.com/catalogue/eagle/
http://site.douban.com/mamer/
Gallery:
Shur Rong/ Bangladesh parade and traditional dance
1.30 pm and 6 pm
Shur Rong Cultural Academy will bring us closer to the music, culture and traditional dance of Bangladesh and Southern Asia.
Link:
Gallery:
Concert by Humera Arshad
Pakistan
Plaça dels Àngels
7 pm
Humera Arshad is one of the best known pop singers in her country, Pakistan, where she has received many awards during her professional career. Her mentor was Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, mythical singer of Sufi music. Her performance is a wink to the numerous Pakistan community in Catalonia and an invitation for everyone to dance.
The singer had a classical training inspired by Urdu Ghazal culture and poetry, and also the influence of her mother who, from a very young age, often accompanied her in cultural and musical events where she began to note her musical talent, which has led her to an extensive professional career.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humera_Arshad
http://wn.com/Humaira_Arshad
Gallery:
In collaboration with:
Tirthok: Bengali rock and folklore
8.30 pm
The band Tirthok fuses the purest rock with the most traditional folklore, with the aim of bringing fresh breathing young air into Bengali music.
Gallery:
2. Activities in the Yurts Area
11 am to 3 pm and 4.30 pm to 8 pm
The plaça dels Àngels and plaça Joan Coromines will recreate a nomadic campsite in Mongolia through an area of yurts, the tents used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. Inside we will discover stories, music, traditions, practices and demonstrations of Asian cultures.
Stories and life in Mongolia
The Mongolia Cultural Association will show us life in a yurt in the steppes of Mongolia.
Yurts are the preferred habitats of nomads. Traditionally they are composed of a wooden circular structure covered by felt made of sheep’s wool. The structure, which stands by itself and does not have a single nail, is made of lattice wood, a frame for the door, poles for the ceiling and a special crowning, which has a cross form as can be seen in the country’s flag. The inside is decorated with bright coloured cloths, and the floor with coloured carpets. The interior decoration always depends on the social level of the owners. The yurt is designed to be dismantled and carried on a camel, a yak or a horse, to be transported from one place to another, where it will be erected again.
Gallery:
Asian stories
Storytelling is universal heritage. Every culture, however, has its own tools to tell stories which can be discovered in the yurt of stories:
Silk Route stories / Central Asia
With Susana Tornero (narrator) and Tanzilya Faizullaeva (komuz player)
Legends of the Rising Sun / Japan
With Yoshi Hioki (narrator) with musical accompaniment.
Gallery:
Asia Babies
Every culture has its lullabies, gestures and little games to make babies sleep and rest or to stimulate them. We will discover some from the East.
India: Shantala massage for babies, led by Ana Maria Frutos.
Japan: Seitai: iuki i katsugen undo, led by Carme Albareda.
China: To bed!, Feng Shui for the nursery, led by Feng Shui Tradicional.
Gallery:
Good practices
A space for discovering Asian activities and skills linked to the world of health and therapies or to the knowledge of tools of the Sufi Asian tradition.
”Tui Na” Self-massage, led by Doctor Cai / China
Tui Na is a massage technique typical of traditional Chinese medicine. It stimulates the meridians and acupuncture points. It helps preserve health, harmonise energy and blood (qui xue), balances the yin and yang and strengthens the five organs. It can be used to improve health or solve everyday problems.
Gallery:
Meditation and Sufi chant, led by Hayy Aballah Tawfiq Velasco / Central Asia
Inspired Sufi chant is considered as a medicine for the heart. Carried out within a group, it has a much more profound effect.
Gallery:
The games of Central Asia
Central Asia has a great wealth of board games. This will be the opportunity to get to know and play games such as toyhyzqumalaq, played in Central Asia by Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, or to be skilled in knucklebones, astragaloi or dibs, typical of these areas.
Led by Viktor Bautista and the Amu Daria Association.
Gallery:
3. The Harmony Corner
Tai Chi Kung Fu workshop
11.30 am, 12.30 pm, 1.30 pm, 5.30 pm, 6.30 pm and 7.30pm
Guided by the master Tung Kuan Yen we will experience the great adventure of getting to know the discipline of Tai Chi Chuan in an entertaining way controlled by positive emotions. The great master will spend a few days in our country to share his knowledge and experience.
Gallery:
In collaboration with la School of Bamboo, Casa Asia.
4. The Fight Courtyard
Pati de les dones del CCCB
The CCCB Pati de les Dones will become an improvised fight ring featuring the most spectacular demonstrations of Kalarippayat led by the CVN Kalari Shangham from Kerala and of the fighters of the Mongolia Naadam Festival, from Ulan Bator.
Demonstration of the fighters of the Naadam Festival / Mongolia
Pati de les dones del CCCB
11.30 am, 1 pm, 5.30 pm and 7 pm
The tournament is the central piece of the Naadam contest, held in the capital of Mongolia to commemorate the independence of the country. The fighters face each other in pairs until the winner shakes his arms imitating the flight of an eagle. At La Roca or at the CCCB, we can see and participate in the demonstration of four fighters and their referee from Ulan Bator.
For many centuries the nomadic tribes living in Central Asia used the kurultai (meetings) to clarify issues linked to livestock, military campaigns and the leadership of the clans to compete against each other and seek the Olympic champion of the Mongols. The disciplines were based on activities key to the survival of clans such as fighting, archery and horse racing. The tradition remained with the passage of time until 1921 when, to commemorate the independence of Mongolia from its neighbour China, the Naadam Festival was established as an official celebration from 11th to 13th July.
Hundreds of fighters, dressed with the typical Mongol underpants (shuudag), waistcoat (jodag) and hat and forming two equal rows, fight on the grass in pairs until one of them touches the ground with their back, knee or elbow. The winner shakes his arms imitating the beating of an eagle and the loser goes back holding his hat in his hands as a sign of respect. As the rounds advance, they receive the title of lion, elephant or falcon. The fights continue until the final winner emerges. At the Asia Festival we can enjoy the moves of two pairs of fighters from Mongolia and the essential referee.
The original painting that illustrates this new Asia Festival 2011 is exhibited at the Mongolian National Modern Art Gallery and represents the fighters in full action.
Gallery:
Demonstration by CVN Kalari Shangham / India
Pati de les Dones del CCCB
11 am, 12.30 pm, 5 pm and 6.30 pm
The kalarippayat is the oldest martial art known, and probably one of the most spectacular. It was first regularly practised nine centuries ago, in Kerala. The fighters are trained by a Gurukkal or master, with whom they perfect patience, elasticity, strength and valour.
The sand ring or kalari is also the fight ring, the altar of the combatants. Kalari is not only a temple of learning but also a temple of religious worship, with its own culture and rituals. The practice of kalarippayat does not use brute force, but is a space of mystical meeting with the gods and other human beings.
The group of CVN Kalari Shangham has performed in India and in diverse international festivals in the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, Japan and Germany. They offer us short demonstrations of this technique.
Link:
Gallery:
5. The crafts people’s corner
Different Asian people living in Catalonia will give us short demonstrations of how they work diverse materials and of craft techniques.
We will see, for example, how the Chinese artist Saho Hu works with flour creating figures or how the Japanese ceramicist Chisato Kuroki performs with “sumie” mud (Japanese painting), combining it with the traditional Nipponese Ikebana floral technique. The Philippine artist Nina Conty also surprises us with creations of wax colour painting and candles using an electric tong as a spatula.
Gallery:
6. Asian stories for the family
MACBA, from 10 am to 2 pm and 4 pm to 8 pm
Workshop for the creation of animation shorts based on Asian stories, which will become short experiences created in the moment. We will discover the leisure and creative possibilities of animation and its possible applications in the cinema, television, advertising, videos, as well as the ability the technique offers us to create our own animations. As a group, individually or as a family, we will recreate stories with Asia as the protagonist.
Led by Animaldia
Gallery:
7. The Asia cinema auditorium
MACBA Auditorium. Limited seats
The Cave of the Yellow Dog
8 pm
Director: Byambasuren Davaa. Mongolia, 2005. 93’
Language and subtitles: Mongolian subtitled in Catalan.
Signis Special mention at the San Sebastián International Film Festival 2005.
Synopsis: the film tells of the adventure of Nansal, the eldest daughter in a family of Mongol nomads who one day finds a puppy. Her father, fearing bad luck, wants to know nothing about the animal. But Nansal keeps the puppy and hides it from her father. Only when Zochor, (as the dog is called) which means “painted” in Mongolian, saves the youngest of the family from a dangerous situation do things change.
The film tells the story of the old link that exists between man and dog, and the special meaning this relationship has in Mongolia for the eternal cycle of reincarnation. According to the beliefs of this country, in this cycle, the soul moves from one body to another, from a plant to an animal, until it becomes a dog and later a human being. The director also wants to reflect the generational conflict between father and shows the impact of the migration of nomad families to the city.
Gallery:
And also:
Adoor Gopalakrisnan, an author’s retrospective
From September 10th to October 1st
Casa Asia: Tagore Auditorium, 19:30 pm
The program offers 5 projections of one of the more well known filmmakers in India.
The highlights at Festival Asia are:
Saturday, September 17th
The Dance of the Enchantress · (2007. 72’. VOSE)
Saturday, September 24th
Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair · (2005. 73’. VOSE)
Free entrance. Limited capacity.
+ info: http://www.casaasia.es/actividad/detalle?id=203171
8. Clavijo’s game
All ages
A game of clues that traces a route through the Asian areas of the MACBA, CCCB, plaça dels Àngels and plaça Joan Coromines, and will give us knowledge of the countries of Central Asia, the centre of interest of the Festival on its tenth anniversary.
Gallery:
