It's a question choreographer-dancer Daniel Yeung Chun-kong is often asked when performing overseas: is his work influenced by traditional operatic aesthetics or tai chi and other martial arts? 'That is despite the fact that I haven't had any formal training in any traditional Chinese body art such as Chinese opera or folk dance,' says the self-taught dancer. 'Yet my performance comes across as very Chinese. This led me to wonder whether being Chinese is the result of physical training or is it something more inherent, something I am born with. I think this is a very interesting question.' It's also one that has inspired his latest work Medi.C, a choreographic exploration of the body using theories and principles of traditional Chinese medicine. 'I want to go to the root, to ask what a Chinese body is and how to define a Chinese body,' says Yeung, describing the piece as a 'hyper-visual body art dance performance'. To be staged at the Hong Kong City Hall this weekend, the multimedia and contemporary work is about Chinese medicine today and its relationship with the body, especially in Chinese culture. Since it is a broad topic, Yeung, 41, says he has focused on the concept of body as defined by the discipline, interpreting principles such as yin yang, the five elements and chi (energy through different visual effects, stage props and body movements. 'Chinese medicine talks a lot about the relationship between the body, space and time. When I put all these elements together, it's a body art performance,' says Yeung. To find out how traditional Chinese medicine defines a body, he spent six months researching literature and videos on general principles of Chinese medical theory. 'The concept of traditional Chinese medicine is very different from that of western medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine can analyse the body rationally, but at the same time it can be emotional and very poetic,' he says. 'Through the logic of the body, you can see the logic of the environment, society, the entire world and universe. This poetic approach inspired me to think about Chinese society, the history of the Chinese and China.' Yeung also studied books on acupuncture and the origins of tai chi as well as seeking help from two friends who were Chinese medicine practitioners, observing their clinical practices. 'I seldom consult a Chinese medicine practitioner and didn't really have time to study the subject. But I believe in the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine,' he says. 'Remedial treatment is very much about bringing back harmony to discord within the body. The cause of a problem in the heart, for instance, may not lie within the heart itself but another organ. It could be the liver. So in Chinese medicine it's about keeping a harmonious relationship between our five major organs as well as the five elements. The Chinese have five instead of four cardinal directions and these directions are the extension of the head and our four limbs. These concepts of 'fives', balance and harmony are all explored in my work.' A graduate of the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a degree in painting and music, Yeung always includes strong visuals in his dance productions. Medi.C is no exception, showcasing interactive works by four video artists: Chris Lau, Adrian Yeung, Guy Cheung and Chan Man-chun. They will each highlight the relationship between our bodies and society. Yeung has roped in composer Samson Young, artist associate with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, to write some tracks. Medi.C is a follow-up to 2004's Metalove which deals with life, death and humanity. The work won him a Hong Kong Dance Award in 2005. But his interest in the human body goes back to 2000 when Yeung staged his debut solo piece Dance Exhibitionist - a Paradise for Natural Body. The show won him the Hong Kong Dance Alliance Dance Award that year. In 2003, he was named the choreographer to watch in Germany's Ballet-tanz yearbook. His projects this year will include a collaboration with the Hong Kong Dance Company at the end of August which he describes as an experimental work fusing modern, Chinese and Hong Kong dance. Hong Kong Chun (Spring of Hong Kong), a piece he has choreographed for Taiwanese group Dance Forum later this year, will return to his exploration of the Chinese body - mentally, physically and spiritually. 'To me, Chinese modern dance is a question rather than a definition,' Yeung says. 'One of the most common definitions of Chinese dance is dance performed by a Chinese body - and that goes back to the question of what is a Chinese body.' Medi.C, Fri-Sat, 8pm, Theatre, Hong Kong City Hall, HK$200, HK$140 Urbtix. Inquiries: 2268 7323
