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Text\/ Professor Lin Ya-Tin
\nAssociate Professor at the School of Dance, Taipei National University of the Arts<\/p>\n
2 February 2025<\/p>\n
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Photo by Carmen SO<\/p>\n
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[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]At the end of 2024, I had the opportunity to visit Hong Kong\u2014a trip since my last visit before the pandemic in 2019. During this visit, I arranged a time to watch Helen Lai and the dancers of CCDC rehearse their new production, Certain Movements and Shadows, scheduled to premiere in February. This production is a collaborative work co-choreographed by Taiwanese dancer Chou Shu-yi and Helen, invited by CCDC\u2019s fourth Artistic Director, Yuri Ng.<\/p>\n
The cross-regional connection between Shu-yi and Helen can be traced back to Winterreise \u00b7 The Rite of Spring, which CCDC presented in the spring of 2019. This was a restaging of Helen\u2019s earlier work, with the new version enriched by Shu-yi\u2019s guest performance as Vaslav Nijinsky (1889\u20131950), the main character in The Rite of Spring. I had the privilege of watching the remarkable performance at Kwai Tsing Theatre in Hong Kong. When the production later toured Taipei Zhongshan Hall, I also conducted a pre-show talk for the Taiwanese audience.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”45315″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
Photo by Carmen SO<\/p>\n
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[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In this new production of\u00a0Certain Movements and Shadows, Chou Shu-yi performs and co-choreographs with Helen Lai. Rather than dividing the choreography into separate segments, the two artists collaboratively developed the piece, drawing inspiration from the words of Chinese Misty poet Bei Dao (Zhao Zhenkai). Their creative process involved close discussions with composer Olivier Cong, stage designer Lee Chi Wai, and designers.<\/p>\n
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The title of the work is derived from the final line of Bei Dao\u2019s poem February: \u201cFebruary in books\/ certain movements certain shadows\u201d. Originally a short dance piece premiered in 2006, it was one of Helen\u2019s works that piqued Shu-yi\u2019s curiosity. Although Helen was not satisfied with the earlier version, she recognised the vast potential within that poetic line. This led to the decision to retain the title while embarking on a new creative journey.<\/p>\n
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In May last year, Shu-yi returned to Hong Kong after five years to conduct a preliminary creative workshop, warming up and cultivating ideas for this production alongside Helen and the others. Within a week, Helen selected a series of Bei Dao\u2019s poems for the team to read and discuss, serving as a foundation for their collaboration. Through recitations in different accents\u2014Mandarin and Cantonese\u2014they realised that, although all shared a Chinese heritage, their distinct urban backgrounds evoked diverse life experiences and emotional responses. Musician Olivier, with his keen sensitivity to sound, transformed the poems\u2019 sentiments into sonic compositions. As for the dance movements, these were reserved for formal rehearsals in October, where the dancers explored how Bei Dao\u2019s poetry inspired them, using these reflections as a starting point for choreographic design.<\/p>\n
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I recall watching the rehearsal in early December last year. The studio floor was scattered with sheets of white paper, some of it was relatively neat rectangular paper, but some of it was crumpled by hand. Stage designer Lee Chi Wai had even brought along a second-hand copy of Bei Dao\u2019s Poetry with a gold cover. Having been soaked in water before, the pages had dried with undulating waves, giving the act of flipping through them an unexpectedly poignant feel. By chance, I flipped the page to February, the poem from which the title of this dance work is drawn. Here is the full text:<\/p>\n
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The night is rushing to perfection
\nI drift inside language
\nthe musical instruments of death
\nare filled with ice<\/p>\n
who sings on the crevice
\nof days, water turns bitter
\nflames hemorrhage
\npouncing like pumas to the stars
\nthere must be form
\nfor there to be dreams<\/p>\n
in the chill of early morning
\na wide-awake bird
\ngets closer to the truth
\nwhile my poems and I
\nsink as one<\/p>\n
February in books:
\ncertain movements certain shadows<\/p>\n
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(Translated by Clayton Eshleman and Lucas Klein)<\/p>\n
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Bei Dao was born in China in 1949. In 1978, he co-founded the literary magazine Today. After leaving China in 1987, he lived abroad in Europe and North America before settling in Hong Kong in 2007, when he was invited to join the Chinese University of Hong Kong. This experience of drifting across places resonates with the themes that Chou Shu-yi and Helen Lai aim to explore through their dance work, delving into the intricate relationship between individuals and the cities they inhabit.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In January this year, I had an online interview with Helen Lai and Chou Shu-yi, where we discussed their creative concepts. Chou Shu-yi shared his journey, having moved from northern Taiwan to Kaohsiung in the south, where he served as the curator of the Taiwan Dance Platform. Through his Bol\u00e9ro project, he travelled extensively across southern Taiwan, forging strong connections with the local dance communities. Toward the end of this project last year, Helen and Olivier flew to Taiwan to attend a performance. It was during this visit that I had the chance to meet Olivier, a talented young musician. Over dinner, he mentioned that his grandmother had once worked in Hong Kong\u2019s film industry and had known Helen\u2019s composer father. Remarkably, they even had an old photograph together as proof. This serendipitous connection, bridging different generations, beautifully illustrates how fate weaves its threads across time and space.<\/p>\n
Last year, Shu-yi brought together a group of dancers from Singapore and Taiwan to present his work Dance a Dance From My Yellow Skin,[1] reflecting his recent focus on the relationship between the body and place. As he mentioned in our interview, \u201cWhen the course of life carries us with the tide, where is home? Where is foreign land?\u201d This contemplation of displacement and diaspora resonates deeply with Chinese communities\u2014particularly the Chinese in Singapore, shaped by British colonial rule, and the Han people in Taiwan, influenced by Japanese colonisation. Coincidently, the lighting designer for Dance a Dance From My Yellow Skin was Lee Chi Wai, who is also responsible for the stage design of Certain Movements and Shadows. His lighting design played a pivotal role in the Weiwuying (National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts) version of Dance a Dance From My Yellow Skin, leaving a lasting impression with its striking stage effects. This group of artists, already attuned to each other’s creative rhythms, has come together again to collaborate on this new production. Through mutual refinement and imaginative exploration, they are sure to ignite sparks of brilliance\u2014an artistic synergy well worth anticipating.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”45318″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
Photo by Carmen SO<\/p>\n
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[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Although the rehearsal I attended last December featured only the ensemble section performed by the younger dancers, without the duet between veteran dancers Qiao Yang and Li De, and with Chou Shu-yi still occupied with the Taiwan Dance Platform in Kaohsiung, it was evident from the dancers\u2019 rehearsal how they generated intriguing dynamics and movements through their interaction with the invisible words on blank sheets of paper.<\/p>\n
Each dancers each explored a solo with sheets of paper. Among them, male dancer Simpsom Yau held a stack of papers close to his face, then let them fall, only to pick them up again from the floor, as if reading invisible words. His mouth opened slightly, as though on the verge of speaking, yet no sound emerged. In an instant, the atmosphere shifted. He seemed to waltz, but his facial expression quickly distorted into an angry, contorted state. He stuffed his foot into his mouth, and in the next moment, lay on his back amidst the scattered white sheets, tracing arcs along the floor with his limbs, resembling the motion of making a snow angel in the snow.<\/p>\n
Another male dancer, An Tzu-huan, an Indigenous performer from Taiwan, presented a solo where he tightly clasped his hands over his eyes. As he slowly opened them, it seemed as if he could feel the gentle descent of snowflakes around him. Female dancer Nini Wang\u2019s solo was equally dramatic\u2014her intricate hand gestures framed her face, and in the quietness of the moment, even the subtle sounds made by her tongue were audible. Meanwhile, Skye Yao walked toward the audience from the centre of the rehearsal space, meeting their gaze directly as she recited an extended passage of poetry.<\/p>\n
Since Olivier\u2019s new composition was not yet complete at the time, Helen brought along tracks from Legend of the Seven Dreams (1988) by Norwegian jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek to experiment with, pairing the evolving choreography with its evocative sounds.<\/p>\n
The following day, over a meal with Helen, we discussed some of her stage imagery concepts for the piece. She mentioned her idea of placing hardcover books from her collection upright on the stage floor, having the book covers facing the audience. It is a symbolic invitation for them to step into the literary world within the pages. Perhaps this image was inspired by a line from Bei Dao\u2019s poem Untitled: \u201c\u2026 the books of mourning stand upright\u201d.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”45324″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
Photo by Carmen SO<\/p>\n
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[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]For Chou Shu-yi, he is fascinated by the interplay of light and shadow within the text. In our interview, he shared a poem from Bei Dao that he deeply resonates with:<\/p>\n
Outsider (translated by David Hinton)<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026the lifetime you\u2019ve known
\nhiding in dark places
\nstarts gaining attention
\ngroping, hence light\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
For Shu-yi, his role in the piece is closely tied to themes of solitude. He described feeling as though he were surrounded by piles of books, in a space that felt somewhat unreal. This sense of dislocation reminded him of a line from Bei Dao\u2019s February: \u201c\u2026 I drift inside language\u201d. He experimented with dancing without a shadow. Out of curiosity, I asked how that was possible. He replied, \u201cEither in complete darkness or in an entirely bright space!\u201d\u2014a metaphor for living in an era where nothing remains hidden. Yet, many things inevitably fade or transform over time. This idea is reflected in the work\u2019s key visual: Shu-yi alone, casting an elongated, distorted shadow against the weathered white walls of Hong Kong\u2019s Cattle Depot Artist Village. Concepts surrounding shadows were explored and refined in the rehearsal space through collaborative experiments with the company\u2019s lighting designer, Law Man Wai. Shu-yi shared that he often drew the curtains during rehearsals to create total darkness. Sometimes, when Helen came in to observe, it was so dark that she could barely see anything![\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”45355″ img_size=”full”][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
Photo by LO Wing<\/p>\n
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[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]As for the third member of the design team with the character \u201cWai (\u5049)\u201d in his name, costume designer Wah Man Wai, what colour palette will he choose to shape the dancers\u2019 stage presence? Will it also lean towards black, white, and grey tones? Helen added that she hopes the performers on stage will be seen as diverse individuals, each with a distinct personality. While their costumes may not rely on bright colours for contrast, the uniqueness of each dancer will shine through in subtler ways.<\/p>\n
Will there be other projected visuals on stage, such as the Hong Kong street scenes featured in the promotional video? The two choreographers revealed that while there might be some, the production will not rely heavily on concrete visual imagery. Instead, projections will focus on books, paper, and text, allowing the audience greater freedom for interpretation. Olivier will perform live on stage with various instruments, adding layers to the performance.<\/p>\n
For this production, Shu-yi co-choreographs and performs on stage, juggling multiple roles\u2014a demanding endeavour. At one point, he even exclaimed in French, \u201cJe suis fatigu\u00e9\u201d (\u201cI\u2019m tired!\u201d), to which Helen playfully added, \u201ctr\u00e8s\u201d (\u201cvery\u201d), turning it into \u201cJe suis tr\u00e8s fatigu\u00e9\u201d (\u201cI\u2019m very tired!\u201d). Shu-yi, respectfully referring to Helen as Professor Lai, was teasing each other, showing that the two of them are very close friends.[2][\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]It\u2019s worth noting that during the performance week, CCDC will host a special talk at the Hong Kong Arts Centre titled Capturing the Essence in Dance Performance: How to Archive and Record. Centred around Helen Lai, the event will feature three guest speakers who will explore approaches to preserving dance through oral history, dance videography, and digital archiving, sharing insights on how different documentation methods help keep works alive for future generations.<\/p>\n
As CCDC welcomes its fifth Artistic Director, Sang Jijia, this year, we look forward to seeing new energy infused into this 45-year-old company as it embarks on its next milestone.[3]<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space][vc_separator][vc_column_text]1. Reference: Chen Pin-hsiu\u2019s dance review, \u201cA Boat Gently Rocks on the Lake of My Heart \u2014 Chou Shu-yi\u2019s Dance a Dance From My Yellow Skin,\u201d * published on ARTalks, Taishin Arts Review Platform. 2024\/5\/9. https:\/\/talks.taishinart.org.tw\/members\/224\/38550<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2. Helen Lai, recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2021. https:\/\/www.hkapa.edu\/tch\/honorary-awardee\/doctorate\/helen-lai-HD<\/a><\/p>\n