Writer: Stephanie Burridge
Publisher: The Flying Inkpot, Theatre and Dance
Date: 18th March 2010
The Narrow Path
All the trademarks of a performance by T.H.E Dance Company were present in this performance by three emerging choreographers. Discipline, attention to detail, skilled performances and artistry came together in a showcase of new work created under the mentorship of company Artistic Director Kuik Swee Boon and danced by T.H.E Second Company. Anna Maria Rouhu’s excellent lighting designs also contributed significantly to the professional look of the triple bill on the University Cultural Centre theatre’s proscenium stage. Each work was completely different as the voices of the choreographers emerged – they were articulate dance pieces that had something to say, with the talented young dancers giving committed performances.
Equilibria by Foo Yun Ying was the most abstract work. Metre-long boxes of clustered lights were manipulated by the dancers into various formations, and this gave the piece a ritualistic feel in parts. The group solidarity was constantly breaking up and reforming in a well-constructed piece that was performed energetically. The solos, duos and small groups highlighted individual performers and the piece was coherent although sombre. The lighting design’s incorporation of distinct shafts of light and shadowy spaces made it visually interesting.
The most complex, eloquent work where the ideas were strongly integrated with the movement was Lee Ren Xin’s Do you miss me? – a powerful and emotional dance about patriarchal, male-dominated societies in Asia and the fact that millions of women simply go “missing”… Avoiding being overtly melodramatic, the choreographer found creative solutions to support the narrative rather than resorting to voice-overs and projections of facts and figures – this was a subtle, mature realization of a highly emotive theme. Movements such as the women being nudged out of the way by the men, images of leotard-clad dancers denoting naked forms struggling to be noticed and more brutal references to rape and abuse were enacted in various parts of the stage. Dresses on coat-hangers at the corners of the stage symbolized the girls and women who had disappeared – a clever and poignant touch.
Lee Mun Wai’s The Problem with Being Asian was certainly the bravest piece because it was both extremely personal and tackled the issue of national identity in the Singapore context: ultimately Lee makes a plea for “existential autonomy”. Unfortunately it was unbalanced as the sound track of the manipulated text of the Singapore Pledge and words of the Chinese Opera song dominated. While this was ironic and funny in parts the choreographer relied too heavily on a literal interpretation of the theme and dance became a secondary component.
Although the season was satisfying in its presentation of three different choreographies that could potentially evolve into longer pieces, I would have liked to see more inventiveness and risk-taking in the movement vocabulary and the development of the concepts. Inevitably there was a lot of overlapping of dance material between pieces due to all the choreographers expressing their ideas through the vocabulary of Western contemporary dance. Some other influences that would change the dynamics and the inevitability of the moves would have seemed more expressive of their age group and the current trend of eclecticism and diversity in contemporary dance. Although concepts and ideas drive new creations, the most challenging task for any choreographer is to make unique personal statements that harmonize form and content.