Petals in the wind

hen Lin Hwai-min was asked to choreograph a new work for this year's Chekhov International Theatre Festival in Moscow to mark the 150th anniversary of the Russian playwright's birth, the founder of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan accepted immediately - even though he didn't know exactly what he would do. The biennial event, which began in May and ended yesterday, had also commissioned, in 2007, choreographers and directors Josef Nadj of the Centre Choregraphique National d'Orleans in France, Mats Ek of Sweden and Nacho Duato from Spain to create works inspired by Anton Chekhov's classics including The Cherry Orchard. During a tour in Portugal three summers ago, inspiration struck the 63-year-old choreographer. 'I was jogging in a park and I saw this very tall camellia tree, its flowers drifting to the ground,' recalls Lin. 'It was like a red carpet shining on the green lawn. It was very beautiful and all of a sudden I realised that was Chekhov ... that was the ending of The Cherry Orchard. At the end of the play, we hear the sound of the chopping of the tree.' From this poetic image of falling petals came Whisper of Flowers, which was staged in Moscow in June. The work will come to Hong Kong this week at the Cultural Centre Grand Theatre. Cloud Gate will also be performing an older piece, 1994's Songs of the Wanderers, over the weekend. Lin says it was interesting how the Russians reacted to his work, which has no clear narrative and doesn't feature any characters from the original play. 'But at the end, they said it was Chekhov, not only because of the metaphor of youth but because Chekhov speaks between the lines,' says the Taiwanese choreographer. 'And they loved what I did and the way I stretched the work - and the implication of Chekhov.' To elaborate on his understanding and appreciation of The Cherry Orchard, Lin compares it with an 18th-century Chinese literary classic, The Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin. The epic inspired him to choreograph a piece of the same title in 1983. Both The Cherry Orchard and The Dream of the Red Chamber look at the decline of a once-wealthy family and explore the metaphors of waning youth and change. Spring, which symbolises good times, will soon make way for other seasons. He didn't set out to retell The Cherry Orchard, Lin says, but to explore these metaphors using the set, visuals, music and choreography. 'In the first part of Whisper of Flowers, the pink petals are flying all over and the young people are dancing. And because they are young, they don't know that youth is short-lived. They don't know that the end of spring is approaching,' Lin says. The wind has a symbolically essential role in this work. 'In the first part, it's the wind of life; it blows on the petals, colourful, beautiful and charming. In the second half, the wind blows through human hair instead of petals,' he says. 'The dancers keep moving happily until they ... begin to realise things are no longer the same as their hair starts to stick to their bodies. Then night falls and each has to find his or her own shelter, just as the characters have to do in The Dream of the Red Chamber after the family falls. The whole work is very lyrical, especially the first part. But towards the end of the second part it's like hell, almost. Hair is flying all over. It's not gross but it's uncomfortable,' the artist says. To accentuate that lyricism - and the gradually darkening mood - the piece features music from J.S. Bach's Six Suites for Cello Solo. Lin says he is 'addicted' to the work because it is wonderful to dance to. While he chose the slower movements from the same composition for his Moon Water (1998), the ones selected for Whisper of Flowers are in the allegro tempo, especially in the first half. The choreography will be 'Cloud Gate's version of ballet', says Lin. While the dancers don't have definite roles, they represent human relationship and drama: 'In the second part, their bodies become twisted and ... broken, symbolising the destruction of the perfect or well defined body. And the choreography moves from dance movement to basic physical movement that is very watered down, twisted and broken.' Lin says mirrors will be used extensively in the second part of Whisper of Flowers to further distort the images of the twisted human bodies: 'It's ghastly in a way but in a beautiful way.' Lin, who founded Cloud Gate in 1973, is one of the finest and most respected artists in the region. Works such as Nine Songs (1993), the Cursive Trilogy (2005) and Songs of the Wanderers have won critical acclaim around the world. A two-time winner of the National Award for Arts in Taiwan, Lin was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Movimentos Dance Prize, Germany, last year; he also received the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters from the France's Ministry of Culture. After suffering an injury in 2004, the choreographer decided to shelve his earlier works to concentrate on creating new dances. However, there are pieces he is unable to 'let go' including Songs of the Wanderers, which is still touring. 'Next year, it will go to the mainland because it is so popular there ... due to the pirate edition of the DVD ... there is a huge public demand for it in China,' quips Lin. The work, which features Georgian folk songs performed by the Rustavi Choir, is very close to the artist's heart. 'I always say that if there is any work that will outlive me, I think it'll be this one. If any work should be preserved, I'd think it's Songs of the Wanderers because it is the result of my first pilgrimage to Bodhgaya, India,' explains Lin, adding that the village was where the Buddha attained his enlightenment under the bodhi tree. 'I went there, made it under the tree in 1994 and during my meditation I felt something very warm on my forehead and, when I slowly opened my eyes, I saw the sunrise had penetrated through the branches of the bodhi tree. 'I was so touched - I wasn't enlightened - but the moment brought me a sense of peacefulness for the first time in my life. I came home and the work just flowed. I consider it a gift from the Buddha because I am a very nervous person. 'The work brings peacefulness and joy to the audience. People cry over it. The world is so chaotic that if we can offer 90 minutes of peace in the theatre, it's wonderful,' he says. There's no talk of retirement just yet for Lin, who is also a writer. He has the 'tremendous responsibility' to carry on with his 100-member strong company, he says, which includes Cloud Gate and Cloud Gate 2, which nurtures young choreographers. 'I need to keep the company going - with or without inspiration. I have wonderful dancers, I am spoiled by them. I thrive because of their dedication. I cannot quit,' says Lin. 'It's like the way of life, it's like a breeze in the air ... after all these years - Cloud Gate is 37 years old - I don't think I can do anything else. I am too old, it's too late to learn any other things.' Whisper of Flowers, Aug 4-5, 8pm; Songs of the Wanderers, Aug 7-8, 8pm; HK Cultural Centre Grand Theatre, HK$150 to HK$450. Inquiries: 2268 7323