Y-Space's Improvisation Land 59 is a show of artistic expression
Imagine you are asked to front an audience and move your body, or improvise, to sounds or a piece of music. Most Hongkongers would struggle to express themselves in this way because they haven't been taught how, says dancer-choreographer Ma Choi-wo.
IMPROVISATION LAND 59
Y-Space
Imagine you are askedto front an audience and move your body, or improvise, to sounds or a piece of music. Most Hongkongers would struggle to express themselves in this way because they haven't been taught how, says dancer-choreographer Ma Choi-wo.
"That has to do with our local school education, which doesn't place much emphasis on individual expression," says the veteran performer, who founded Y-Space with partner Mandy Yim Ming-yin 20 years ago.
"It focuses too much on the written word or visual images to communicate rather than the stretching range of the body. This imbalance in our education system means our body has lost its three-dimensionality."
His series — which he and Yim started in 1998 and is now in its 59th edition — sets out to raise people's awareness of the body and what dance is. The pair advocates that the art form is more than just dancing to a piece of choreography; it is part of everyday life.
"We define dance as a medium … whatever we feel, see, smell, we articulate that primarily through our body," says Ma.
"In an improvisation, dancers create a work while interacting with the space, texts and images; and with the lighting and the mood of the venue.
