Guangdong goes beyond 'East meets West' choreography
By Linda Hoemar Abidin
JAKARTA (JP): The most striking aspect that shines through the performance of the Guangdong Modern Dance Company (GMDC) -- China's first and only professional modern dance company, founded in 1992 -- aside from their astounding esthetics, are the artists' discipline.
Only with such discipline, equipped with diverse dance techniques as tool, the creation of modern dance language based on their own traditions and cultures -- instead of imposing Western dance techniques on Chinese bodies -- becomes a reality.
The powerful group of dancers of the GMDC exemplify that only through such a high level of discipline can they be free to explore and express themselves through dancing that goes beyond the mere "East meets West" choreographic impact. Though influenced by Western culture, the Company transcends a distinctly different social and cultural history through a captivating and hypnotizing poetry in motion.
The five dance works presented for the Third Art Summit Indonesia 2001 International Festival on Contemporary Performing Arts at Graha Bakti Budaya Taman Ismail Marzuki -- Sitting Still, I Want to Fly, Heart, Shape, Substance, 180( and Linglei -- are intense, often minimalists, and offer a pristine yet enigmatic beauty.
The dances were typically characterized by a refined level of razor sharp dancing, acrobatics and unreserved expression combined with restrained grace. In Sitting Still, five dancers moved ceremoniously, balancing between contained elegance and precise athletic thrust.
One male dancer performed a muscular yet dramatic solo at I Want to Fly. Whereas Heart, Shape, Substance presented a powerful male duet in which the dancers connect in compelling movements. Four female dancers, each with their own fan, in a piece called 180( gave a courtly, yet grand performance in an expressive choreography that draws upon Chinese symbolism in abstract form.
The final work, which presented the entire company, Linglei, brilliantly juxtaposed tranquil, unhurried sense of time with a vibrant, energetic dance composition. This choreography was further dramatized by the superb concept in lighting and costume, which symbolizes a community and its members, and portrays an equilibrium between pull and resistance.
Since its founding, GMDC has performed at numerous international festivals, including the Edinburgh Festival, the American Dance Festival, the Montpellier Dance Festival, the Singapore International Arts Festival, the Indian International Dance Festival and many more others. In less than 10 years, the company has made worldwide headlines and gained international recognition for its exquisite performances through its regular touring in Europe, the United States and Asia.
Notable not only for its esthetics and skills, GMDC has led the way in the development of Chinese contemporary arts. In 1995, the company produced the First Experimental Theater Modern Arts Festival. It also works to broaden the understanding of modern dance in China.
Every year the company organizes productions of experimental works, presents its own theater seasons, performs in university tours, and introduces programs to the countryside and remote areas.
GMDC's artistic director Gao Chengming, conveyed that earlier this year, the company had completed a successful engagement at one of New York City's most prestigious performance venues, the Joyce Theater, and several other cities in the United States.
The New York Times praised the company for its "intensity and emotional power." Later this month, this exuberant, young, and highly disciplined company will take part in the Asia-Pacific Week 2001 in Berlin and continue to mesmerize its audiences with its innovative balance of technical precision and a resonating Chinese spirit of the dance esthetics.