Review: Zuni Icosahedron’s Rite of Spring - Stravinsky in hoodies

Choreographer and dancer Dick Wong Tai-fai’s work is always thought-provoking and his new production of The Rite of Spring (presented by Zuni Icosahedron) is no exception, offering a powerful, visually striking interpretation of Stravinsky’s music.

The Studio Theatre stage has been transformed into a box with three walls, black and blank on either side while the third is a cinema screen. The piece opens with a video of Wong on the screen in massive close-up, seated at a table with a glass of water and an ashtray. The real Wong stands in the middle of the stage below, dwarfed by his projected self.

The screen Wong directs his live alter ego to perform the same short sequence of steps over and over again, demanding continuous variations (faster, slower, sharper), which the real Wong obediently executes.

A surreal effect gradually develops as the dancer seems more and more like a puppet, controlled by the presence on the screen. There’s an obvious political inference – the sequence may be seen as showing how individuals have no control over their own fate and are manipulated by those more powerful than themselves. On the other hand, it may equally be interpreted as the artist’s constant search for perfection, a goal that can never be achieved. (“I don’t know what’s wrong, but it’s not what I want,” Wong says towards the end.)

Gradually the transmission from the screen begins to break down, finally vanishing completely and leaving the stage in darkness as the real Wong pulls a hoodie over his head and walks off.