When my friends at Pertubuhan
Kebajikan Cahaya Surya Bakti, the volunteer society which
manages the Rohingya Community School here, told me about the visit planned by Naranjarte,
they also shared some background info to introduce them.
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| Ana and Sergio of Naranjarte with students at the Rohingya Community School |
By
reading this material, I soon learnt that Naranjarte is a Spanish company
formed by a couple, Ana Lorite and Sergio Aguilar, who are passionate about the
art of puppetry and classical circus.
Naranjarte
was formed in 2011 when the two artistes pooled their experiences in theatre
and circus to perform with puppets and marionettes that they designed and
built.
Ana
received an honourable mention for her final degree project in the study
entitled, “Puppetry in English Language Teaching,” and is seeking to broaden
her knowledge by combining her expertise in puppetry and circus with her
husband and artistic partner, Sergio.
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| A section of the audience watching the puppetry and circus show |
Since
September 2017, Naranjarte has embarked on developing an innovative educational
project called, “Puppetry and Circus: A Trip around the World’s Schools.”
From
Spain to Malawi in Africa, Naranjarte passed through Europe, Asia, Australia
and South America to expand its research worldwide with visits to schools in various
countries in order to prove the benefits of using Puppetry and Circus in
Language Teaching.
[Language
Teaching happens to be among my pet projects and several years ago, I even
ventured to undergo a course in Teaching English as a Second Language with
emphasis on English for Specific Purposes, conducted by University
Teknologi Malaysia (Skudai campus) when it was first offered here.]
 |
| Ana performing with Nitunga the marionette while Sergio juggles glass globes |
While travelling
the world, Naranjarte are in Johor and have arranged an experience with the
students in the Rohingya Community School in Kempas – first to observe the
classes and finally, present a Puppetry and Circus show – to which I was
invited.
On that
appointed day, I was delighted to join the students and tutors at the education
centre to watch a 20-minute performance by Naranjarte.
As I
watched the show, I also observed how the students were thrilled and fascinated
by the hand-puppet (named Frankie!) and the skilful way in which Ana and Sergio
juggled glass globes!
Ana and
Sergio ended their show with a Question & Answer session.
The
students’ curious questions were duly answered, and we were hasppy to learn
that the word, Naranjarte simply means Orange in Spanish.
The
youngsters were clearly fascinated by their hand-puppet and marionette, which I
later learnt, was named Nitunga, because Ana carved and created it in
2013 for an African themed show in the UK.
 |
| This is Frankie, the hand-puppet |
After the
performance, I had a few minutes to chat with Ana and Sergio to find out more
about Naranjarte.
They told
me that so far, their research covered 16 different schools in nine different
countries situated across four continents.
Ana
explained that in a city or country, they would pick two schools that are
entirely different.
For
instance, a local school versus an international school, so that their research
would be with a different set of students and their experience with the schools
should yield more comprehensive findings.
Ana and
Sergio shared with me about their research methodology at the schools, which is
designed in three phases.
In Phase
One, Naranjarte would attend the schools’ daily class as observers.
 |
| Frankie was a life-like hand-puppet |
In Phase
Two, Naranjarte would work on a particular language subject with the students
by using the four main types of Puppetry and Circus to develop the four skills
in language learning – Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing – or to work on
different aspects of communication through visual stimuli and using puppets and
circus in the lessons.
At the
end of Phase Two, Naranjarte would distribute a Questionnaire to the students
who have completed the lesson with them. On the final day, they would also
interview the language teachers.
From
these interviews and the students’ anonymous feedback in the Questionnaire,
Naranjarte would analyse the Practice and add the data into their global
research.
At the end
of the Observation and Practice phases, Naranjarte would then present one show,
suitable for all audiences, as a token of appreciation to the school.
While they
were in any country, Ana and Sergio would also take the opportunity to meet and
interview local puppeteers to learn more about their art and culture, and to
date they have interviewed some 44 puppeteers worldwide.
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| The finale in the show by Naranjarte |
When
Sergio mentioned the Wayang Kulit puppeteers they met in Indonesia, I asked if
they have met any Malaysian Wayang Kulit masters, to which they replied, “No.”
This gave
me an opportunity to connect Naranjarte with my friends, the creators of Fusion
Wayang Kulit – Peperangan Bintang (Star Wars) futuristic adventures – which
they will perform in the form of Malay traditional shadow puppeteers!
Ana and
Sergio were thrilled with the prospect of meeting the creators of this fusion
form of Wayang Kulit and will arrange a meeting with them in Kuala Lumpur
before they leave Malaysia for their next destination.
For more
info on Naranjarte, find them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, or view their
videos on YouTube.
Note: While
the school term follows the Malaysian school schedule, the school hours at the Rohingya
Community School are from 8.45am to 1pm, followed by religious classes from 1pm
to 3pm.
Enquiries
for support and partnerships with Pertubuhan
Kebajikan Cahaya Surya Bakti should be sent to email:
cahayasuryabakti@gmail.com
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