Review-A Place, Beijing Dance-CCDC
12-12-14
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By: Stephanie Ip
For this touring version of A Place, which had been presented in Beijing twice before, choreographer Liu Bin drew inspiration from memories. The set was simply a stove with a kettle on top, a reminder of Liu’s childhood where, in order to keep warm, his family would huddle by the stove for dinner. Smoke emitted from the kettle, sometimes in little puffs, sometimes in billowing clouds, creating a great atmosphere for what memories are like: hazy, vague and not always crystal clear.
Although the performance was an hour long of non-stop dance, it was divided into several different snippets, combining group dances, duets and solos. The dances flowed from one to the other, but were all distinct - much like our memories and dreams. We remember scenes here and there, but not always the full picture. The different dance sequences each represented a memory (either Liu’s own memories or the memories of his dancers), and dealt with themes of love-hate relationships, fantasies, helplessness and fear.
What I liked most about the performance was the beginning and end sequences. The dance opened with the dancers blowing balls of coal towards the stove, crawling and snaking their way across the stage almost insect-like. The end sequence witnessed hundreds of black balls falling on top of the dancers. One of the girls snatched up a red ball hanging on the curtain and placed it into the kettle. As smoke began to puff up from the kettle, you couldn't help but imagine the girl trying to bury her unhappy memories in the past.
Liu’s style is bold and unique but there were times when it felt slightly repetitive. Same dance moves or techniques were reused for different dance sequences. This might have been a decision to make the dance cohesive, but it made me feel I was watching the same dance again but in a slightly different formation. My favorite parts were then the ones that felt more refreshing: the dances that made use of the coal balls, as well as the solo dance act by the light of the stove casting a huge shadow on the backdrop.
At the end of the show, CCDC arranged a ‘meet the artist’ session, which I was grateful for, because contemporary dance can be quite intimidating for the uninitiated. These question-and-answer sessions really help enhance my appreciation for the dance performance, and it was also a nice opportunity to meet with the choreographer and see where he found his inspiration.
A Place is playing is part of the City Contemporary Dance Festival at Kwai Tsing Theatre. For more information, click here.
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