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Natasha Rogai

Feng.Shui

City Contemporary Dance Company

Kwai Tsing Theatre

Reviewed: April 28

The City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) completed  its spring programme with Feng.Shui,  a double bill  of new works by Daniel Yeung Chun-kwong and Mui  Cheuk-yin.  Feng.Shui is a slightly misleading title - the pieces don't deal  with the Chinese study of environmental balance, but  with the separate elements of   feng (wind) and shui (water).

Yeung's Feng portrayed different aspects of wind in a series of cleverly titled scenes  such as Windsurfers, Windflowers, Windmill. The sparse design and simple white costumes created  an impression of space, light and air - a piece in which you could breathe. Video projections were used sparingly, to good effect. A slow, controlled opening solo by Chan  Yi-jing ended abruptly as  he vanished through a trapdoor  in the stage and Xing Liang  soared into the air to begin the superb Windsurfer sequence, in which six male dancers created images of  floating on the wind, like skydivers.

Equally stunning was Wind-mill, in which all the dancers  created spectacular effects  by whirling their arms. Windflowers included some attractive double work - rare at CCDC - with a spectacular lift at the end.

The piece was a little long, and the performance of a prologue while the audience was  arriving seemed redundant, but it was a pleasure to see so much original and beautiful choreography. Yeung's  sculptural approach  was much in evidence in the solos and  striking groupings. The dancing was excellent, and Xing   outstanding.

Mui's Shui was disappointing, however. The piece opened promisingly, with a clever, mirrored set, and Qiao Yang  used her  long hair to create a  vivid impression of being under-water. After that, the piece lost  its way, with too little dance, and too much of what seemed  like experimental theatre. Rather than creating images of water by using movement, Mui relied too much on  splashing water about on stage. That may be wet, but it's not an effective  portrayal of water as an element.



Feng.Shui