Wonderful Dance E-Side Dance Company Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre Theatre Reviewed: Jan 23
This triple-bill put together by E-Side Dance Company's Jacky Yu is a touching show, especially for those who have been following the careers of dancers/choreographers Abby Chan, Yeung Wai-mei and Daniel Yeung over the past two decades.
The performance opened with Force Fong's Simple Love Dance, a short but moving piece about loss, grief and new beginnings. A man loses a loved one but his story takes an optimistic and comic turn when he meets someone new. The end of one story marks the beginning of another is the work's central message, and ends with a teaser 'to be continued'.
Fong teamed up with Queenie Chick and their duets were fluent, romantic and, at times, fun. It was great to see Fong, an intense dancer, cut loose a bit.
Friend-in-Visible, jointly choreographed by Chan and Yeung Wai-mei, looks at loneliness of another kind. The long-time double act, who formed McMuiMui Dansemble more than a decade ago, don't perform together on stage often these days because Chan is based in New York while Yeung is on the west coast of the US. The start of the piece saw a solitary Chan (right) dancing forlornly; the absence of her partner was acutely felt. Then Yeung appeared in a video - looking heavily pregnant - but danced a solo with grace and surprising lightness. The piece closed with Chan moving to the heartbeat of Yeung's baby; although the duo are physically apart, their sisterly bond remains as strong as ever.
The show concluded with Daniel Yeung's (bottom) self-effacingly titled Poor Dance, a performance characterised by his playful humour. Underneath the humour lies a solemn look at the fragility of the human body. Combining his unique choreographic language with creative lighting by Alice Kwong, the veteran dancer showed his body at its most beautiful, grotesque and vulnerable.
