By Cheah Ui-Hoon

THERE is an interviewing technique based on the nation that people are not comfortable with silence. So, if an interviewer does not pelt and interviewee with continuous questions and allows some ‘awkward’ silence to set in, the interviewee might just go ahead and say more than he should, just to fill in.

That was basically the feeling that one got from Kuik Swee Boon’s Silence, a dance that just had too much happening for the audience to enjoy its intent to the fullest.

The evocation of silence – in between the flow from the dance to another, for instance – could have been stretched and maximized for better effect.

Having said that, the former Singapore Dance Theatre dancer’s re-entry into the Singapore dance scene – after a five year stint with a top European dance company- shows strong choreographic potential with this new work, with a distinctive European flavor, that Singapore hasn’t seen or a long time.

Kuik’s highly commendable hour-long choreographic effort had enough elements in it to pique the contemporary dance fan: a strong visual illustration of the abstract theme under pinning for the dances, fresh and arresting dance moves, dance sequences that flowed smoothly and were well-matched to music, and a nicely rounded structure.

All which indicates that like a wine, his choreography will mature to become more unique and more full-bodied in time to come. Silence didn’t try to portray a storyline, but was more like a sequence of different movements, all crafted to evoke the awareness of various forms of communication between people.

When one is silent. That’s when you can observe all the different forms of communication, hence the title, explains Kuik.

The dance moods swung from sinister to sweet, from contemplative to carefree inn sections that showcased the fluid, Rubik cube- like interlocking duet between Spanish dancers Jonatan de Luis Mazagatos and Cristina Garcia Fonseca, the frenzied acrobatic energy of local dancer Ix Wong , and then Kuik’s own graceful, mesmerizing solo.

Kuik’s solo was one of the highlights of Silence, one which allowed for some breathing space, he performed almost freestyle. It felt like, to a plaintive, broken- voiced singing of a fellow dancer.

That section gave the whole piece a sense of rawness, to counter-balance an otherwise polished piece.

Another thing to note was the sense of uniform and matching energy that the dancers embodied, so they danced well as a whole, without one or two individuals standing out obviously.

Partnering moves were done smoothly, while props like the raincoats and the walls were also cleverly incorporated onto the dance.

Kuik’s piece spoke volumes, most of all, and gave a glimmer of hope for the local choreographic scene.