Jockey Club New Arts Power
JOCKEY CLUB New Arts Power, launched in 2017, is an annual Arts Festival presented by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council with the funding support from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. The Festival brings together established and emerging local artists to produce creative, approachable and engaging arts experiences for all. Over the past three years, 38 arts groups have participated in the Festival. Together they produced 72 live performances and a remarkable number of major exhibitions. Uniting art groups and various organisations from the social welfare, academic and commercial sectors, the festival held over 450 community and school events, reaching some 380,000 participants. JOCKEY CLUB New Arts Power 2020 / 2021 will be held from September 2020, featuring a total of 9 selected programmes that include dance, theatre, music, xiqu, multimedia and visual arts exhibition, as well as presenting more than 100 community and school activities.
Table of Content About La P en V Innovative Dance Platform .................................................................... 2 About Au-delà du Temps .................................................................................................. 2 Keywords: Chinese Dance x Contemporary Dance .......................................................... 3 An interview with La P en V: Building Audience with Contemporary Chinese Dance ... 4 Nine Scenes and One Life: Time and Life in Au-delà du Temps ...................................... 5 Props and Imageries ......................................................................................................... 7 Excerpts of Review ............................................................................................................ 8 (Note: The English version is translated from the Chinese version. In case of discrepancies between the two versions, the Chinese version shall prevail.)
JOCKEY CLUB New Arts Power
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About La P en V Innovative Dance Platform
Established in 2008 by Artistic Director and Choreographer Chong Chan Po, La P en V Innovative Dance Platform has been dedicated to promoting and renovating Chinese dance. The company adopts a contemporary approach to interpret dance works with unique local flavours. It is where traditional Chinese culture encounters modern aesthetics. Original works include Naked Soul, Illusions in the Rain, Imprint of Life and Audelà du Temps. Facebook: La P en V Innovative Dance Platform
Photo Credit: Cheung Chi Wai
About Au-delà du Temps
If eternity seems surreal, is life as transient as merely cycles of illusions? Contemporary Chinese dance Au-delà du Temps, with dancers going through a “Rite of Dust”, is a deep reflection about the passing of time. In life’s episodes of illusions, what has happened, or what never has, flashes before our eyes. Future visions and fond memories are intertwined in a lifetime. What if time could be reversed and the future could be “recollected”? Choreographed by Artistic Director Chong Chan Po of La P en V Innovative Dance Platform, Audelà du Temps was premiered in Hong Kong in 2017 and presented in Meet in Beijing Arts Festival in 2019. In a series of nine mirage-like dance episodes, Au-delà du Temps invites the audience to a journey of life’s reflections on the passing of time.
Photo Credit: Maximillian Cheng
JOCKEY CLUB New Arts Power
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Keywords: Chinese Dance x Contemporary Dance La Pen V was founded with the purpose to merge elements of contemporary dance and classical Chinese dance as well as to integrate innovative performance styles and concepts to the latter. In Au-delà du Temps, one could recognise not only essences of Chinese dance but features of contemporary dance regarding the form, movement, and mood of performance. Chinese Dance Classical Chinese dance has a long history; its appearance was chronicled during the early stage of Zhou’s Dynasty. Chinese dance can be further divided into two categories: classical and folk. The latter refers to traditional dance of the five ethic groups: Manchu, Han Chinese, Mongols, Hui people, and Tibetan. On the other hand, classical dance has established a comprehensive method of expressions, consisting of such fundamentals as as xíng (form), shén (spirit), jìn (strength) and lǜ (rhythm) for movements, as well as the three major elements: body articulation, body movement, and techniques. Body articulation emphasise the unity of one’s form and spirit, body and mind, and inner and the outer states. Contemporary Dance The history of contemporary dance can be traced back to the war-time period in 1940’s. Rather than dance techniques, contemporary dance places a higher importance on the ideas of creator. Through the language of body and dance, the creator or choreographer tends to communicate his/her thoughts, feelings, and questions regarding contemporary issues. He/she may incorporate various techniques and even contemplate on a new vocabulary of dance in a single performance.
JOCKEY CLUB New Arts Power
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An interview with La P en V: Building Audience with Contemporary Chinese Dance La P en V’s founding members – Chong Chan Po and Vivian Tam – both graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts’ Department of Chinese Dance. As veteran professional dancers and dance teachers, the duo believe Chinese dance can develop further by adopting artistic elements of contemporary dance. The blending of the two genres is well epitomised by Au-delà du Temps. The practice of bringing contemporary dance elements into Chinese dance was initially inspired by their teaching experiences. “During our classes, we tend to modernise Chinese dance. Along with traditional techniques, we impart original content as well. Afterwards, certain aspects from our workshops are derided and assimilated into our oeuvre.” Chong, La P en V’s artistic director and choreographer, believes that a refined dance performance nowadays should be moving and thoughtprovoking. “Chinese dance pursues graceful figures and graphic forms. But these performing elements are less tolerant about expression of profound ideas. Contemporary dance, by contrast, allows more room for creativity. One may also utilise different props and media to broaden the imagination and thinking of the audience,” concluded Chong. Chong relished the collaboration with dancers from divergent backgrounds. Apart from Chinese dance practitioners, he enjoys working with ballet and jazz dancers, which allows him to take in sundry styles and forms. “Contemporary dance practitioners may find our project remarkably unusual while our Chinese dance professionals may find it unbefitting. Tam considers such “unbefitting” attribute as a process of retrospection; and their partnership serve as experiments. “We extract favourable prospects from each body and allow them to sparkle something new. We are therefore breaking new ground as well as retaining some of our traditions,” said Tam. La P en V believe art should be accessible by ordinary people and explore issues comprehensible by the public. “Who will come to our shows if they are too highbrow? We bear the responsibility of building our audience base. It is particularly critical for promoting contemporary dance, a relatively abstract form of art. It is therefore essential to draw audience to the theatre; this is what we hold in our mind in our creative endeavour.”
Photo Credit: Maximillian Cheng
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Nine Scenes and One Life: Time and Life in Au-delà du Temps Scene 1: Dust In its opening, Au-delà du Temps unfolds the journey of life with a major liberation dance, during which dancers settle clay sculptures – emblems of their memories - in a Chinese cauldron on the stage. Their action symbolises the burying of memories. Scene 2: Soul-cleansing Ritual A solo that contains classical Chinese dance’s elements. Sand falls down on the cauldron, turning it into an hourglass. “The young man’s coat appearing on the stage represents the history of my Chinese dance learning. The putting on and taking off of the white coat signify the interposition of my former and current selves.” – Chong Chan Po Scene 3: In Memory of… Locating before an abstract projection, an ensemble of dancers evolves as waves on a beach and fine sand brought to the shore. Like our memories, some of them imprint in our heart while others are forgotten over time.
JOCKEY CLUB New Arts Power
Photo Credit: Meet in Beijing Arts Festival
Photo Credit: Cheung Chi Wai
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Scene 4: Parcours de la Vie Projected behind the solo dancer are enormous images of eyes, which personify retrospection as well as struggle among disparate egos. “This truly is my inner journey. While dancers have limited career-life, I still hope Photo Credit: Cheung Chi Wai to pursue dreams.” – Chong Chan Po Scene 5: Origin In this duet, the dancers begin their steps from the same spot, then go through moments of intertwining, dragging, and pulling. Finally, they return to their starting point. Such is our fate and life as well. Scene 6: Introspectiveness Photo Credit: Meet in Beijing Arts Festival From trio to duet, the chasing explores the relationship of life and time. Comparing with the universe, life is indefinably transient. One should therefore courageously move forward without regrets. Scene 7: Déjà vu The bodies of the dancing duo resemble the illusion of life; everything feels déjà vu. “I often experience a feeling of déjà vu when I am travelling. Even in a city I have never visited before, there are things or events that hint at previous tours.” – Chong Chan Po Scene 8: An Endless… end? A comical group dance before the ending. The dancers, accompanied by ceaseless sound of heartbeat, march forward together without fear. Scene 9: “Recollection of the Future” Photo Credit: Meet in Beijing Arts Festival As the white coat and hourglass come to the scene again, the past image and current silhouette of the dancer group interpose with each other. Although time does not revert, we are able to pass our will through generations. JOCKEY CLUB New Arts Power
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Props and Imageries Clay and Modelling Clay Upon entering the theatre, audience could notice the existence of dancers on the stage. They are making clay models, which embody things they value most. Their outputs can be tangible objects or formless ideas. Photo Credit: Cheung Chi Wai Cauldron In the first and second scenes, the cauldron – which stands for the lengthy traditional Chinese history – occupies a portion of the stage. Though made with polystyrene, it is Photo Credit: Cheung Chi Wai deeply ingrained with texture due to its process of crafting. Apart from supporting the clay models that depict the memories of dancers, it functions as essential components of the hourglass and therefore carries the burden of time. Hourglass As the second scene begins, a thread of sand is falling down steadily and gradually from overhead to the cauldron. The nature of sand and the limitation of space caused tremendous challenges for maintaining the trajectory of discharge. To cope with this, devices were installed on the elevated zone of the theatre and operated by the staff with their own hands during each performance. Their manoeuvre required repeated practice.
5 to 6 kg of sand was consumed in each show
Hand-made, polystyrene, and a max capacity of 12 kg
JOCKEY CLUB New Arts Power
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Excerpts of Review Through conversing with time, Au-delà du Temps meditates on life. When we are reminiscing the past or anticipating the future, have we ever pondered on the implication of “remembering the future” if time and space are reversible? Other than delivering a religious sense, the performance inspires logical and philosophical thinking on the relationship between time/space and life. – Jonathan Ho (Docent of La Pen V’s Au-delà du Temps) In the theatre, one could hear the breath of dancers and notice their undershirt slowly soaked with sweat. The power of life, interpreted entirely by their bodies, could not escape our sight. Life is like a dream. We should be the guardian of our own life, intelligence, and aspiration so as to prevent them from falling or being forgotten by ourselves. One can understand what it means “to live” only if one chooses “to die without regrets” over “to live a mundane life”. – Zhan Shun, Master Degree student of the Chinese National Academy of Arts The “eyes” in the background (of scene 4) have captivated me. Featuring closing, drooping, blinking, and moving, the image of eyes doubled in number and eventually fixated on the dancer. What messages does such progression convey? Is it about fatigue or speechless? Let me think, do the two identical pairs of eyes suggest a contradictory dialogue between two parts of the same self? Does the emergence of dancer in the eyes indicate “you are my only one”? – Li Xiaona (“What impressed me the most about Au-delà du Temps”) Participating Art Group: La P en V Innovative Dance Platform Publisher: Hong Kong Arts Development Council Editor: Cultural Connections Design: Fundamental Date: September, 2020 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
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