ReviewHong Kong Dance Company’s ode to Chinese painter Wu Guanzhong is a head-scratcher

The latest “grand dance poem” from Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC), In Between – Wu Guanzhong’s Ink Odyssey was inspired by the work of Wu Guanzhong (1919-2010), one of China’s greatest modern painters, who brought together Chinese and Western influences in works of transcendent beauty. The production was a collaboration with the Hong Kong Museum of Art, which holds the world’s largest collection of Wu’s work, and the French May Arts Festival, since Wu studied in France from 1947 to 1950. It was choreographed by HKDC artistic director Yang Yuntao and featured music by singer-songwriter Ivana Wong. The French contributions consisted of lighting and visual design, by Dominique Drillot and Sophie Laly, respectively. The decision to present a piece based on Wu was a curious one, given that in 2011, a year after Wu’s death, Yang’s predecessor, Leung Kwok-shing, created the award-winning Two Swallows: Ode to Wu Guanzhong. It was an outstanding production that has sadly never been revived. The decision was all the more curious given that Yang was HKDC’s assistant artistic director in 2011 and must have worked on Two Swallows. Comparisons, as Shakespeare says, are “odorous”, but when viewing two productions by the same company based on the same painter, they cannot be avoided – and the new work does not come out well. Two Swallows followed a conventional format, bringing to life a series of eight paintings that were linked by a figure representing Wu himself. While some scenes worked better than others, the best gave a breathtaking sense not only of the paintings but of the process of creation. It had stunning visuals and a haunting score reflecting the combination of Western and Chinese elements in Wu’s work. In Between took a radically different approach. Although paintings were referenced via Wu’s quotes, the visuals provided only glimpses of sections of a few of his works. The idea seemed to be to deconstruct Wu’s ink paintings down to their lines, dots and planes. These were represented by black-clad dancers silhouetted against a white background swirling swathes of dark grey fabric around like ink flowing from a brush. Yang has used these devices before, such as in the calligraphy-based production Spring Ritual – Eulogy. Unfortunately, while Two Swallows radiated Leung’s love for Wu’s work, In Between begged the question of why Yang decided to tackle the subject. The production was a head-scratcher in so many ways: why create a piece about the work of a great painter without giving any sense of his paintings? Why employ a palette almost entirely in black and white when Wu used colour so superbly? Colour did finally appear three-quarters of the way through the 75-minute show, but it was quickly snuffed out as dancers put their black costumes on again. And while cheerful, a huge shower of multicoloured balls raining down onto the stage at the end – a familiar contemporary dance device – seemed totally unconnected to the rest of the performance, let alone to Wu’s work. The only scenery was a large white screen, which was moved into various positions and onto which images were projected, but the opportunity to create visual effects was missed. For example, in one of the most striking moments of choreography, one female dancer after another was lifted horizontally across the shoulder of a male dancer to walk her black-socked feet across the white screen. Rather than featuring images blossoming in the wake of the footsteps, the screen just stayed blank. In terms of dance, the high point was “Spirit of Trees”, for which the company’s male dancers moved from complex, static poses to spectacular lifts and jumps strongly influenced by martial arts – a major element in Yang’s recent work. A notable feature of the choreography throughout was the use of impressively extended, long-held balances, either individually or in lifts. The liveliest sequence was the performance of “Our City”, which featured disco-style dancing and a projection of the Hong Kong skyline in the background. This was accompanied by an explosion of colour, which came as a welcome relief after so much monochrome. Overall, however, despite the high standard of dancing, too much repetition and a slow pace made much of the show monotonous – visually, choreographically and musically. The strongest parts of Wong’s music were the solos on the erhu and viola. These, along with Wong’s own singing, were performed live on stage; the rest of the score was pre-recorded. Watching Two Swallows in 2011 provided inspiration to go and discover Wu’s work. But this was not the case with In Between. “In Between – Wu Guanzhong’s Ink Odyssey”, Hong Kong Dance Company, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre. Reviewed: May 22.

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘In Between – Wu Guanzhong’s Ink Odyssey’ might celebrate the great Chinese painter but provides little inspiration to discover his works

‘In Between – Wu Guanzhong’s Ink Odyssey’ might celebrate the great Chinese painter but provides little inspiration to discover his works