The Left Cheek
A Calligrapher stands on stage, and is always writing some Chinese archaic letters. These letters abstract slowly from the natural hieroglyph to orchestic visual performance. Dancers stand under the white wall on which there are some black letters, and move in the calligraphic rhythm, especially the their cheeks are so active. Up, down, left and right, just like a brush pen. Dancers always side their cheeks, seem to protect the left cheek. They stand stiffly, and just move ahead their head, seem to waiting for somebody¡¯s touch. They immerse in the narcissistic happiness, sometimes they draw back suddenly just like being hit. They begin to be active in the humiliation, the stiff bodies start to resuscitate, and antagonize drastically with collectivity and with each other. The writing of the calligrapher changes to historical pictures and videos, in which the life situation of archaic monarch appears. People in those pictures are keeping stooping their backs, with their heads ahead. This is always the mystery of the orient. The calligrapher is now writing the famous archaic poetry ¡°Being a cottier in the morning, and then being the Emperor in the sunset¡±. Then the video appears Chairman Mao standing on the TianAn gate, Accepting cheers ¡°Banzai Chairman Mao!¡± from millions Chinese people, and answering ¡°Banzai dumb millions!¡± The dancers¡¯ faces become spasmodic, touch turns to insult, till to abuse, so difficult to distinguish if it¡¯s afflicter or love, the feeling alternates between happiness and abuse, Smiling face freezes to a mask. Their ¡°the left cheek¡± bled, struggle, and become to the popular fashion mask with fresh blood in strong flare, and melt with their white shirt (black letters on it) into the calligrapher¡¯s writing, all change to a quiescent picture, the bloody face is right the seal of this Chinese traditional calligraphy. The dance expresses ¡°shame¡± the core value in oriental culture (including China, Japan and other oriental countries). Occidental is the nation with crime, Oriental is the nation with shame; we don¡¯t have the occidental ¡°crime¡± feeling, but we have our own ¡°shame¡± feeling. We use calligraphy, poetry, historic video, choreography, mask, face expression and singing, to inspire the theme.
Thanks for Prince Claus Fund supporting .
Performance: We will launch in 2007 Shanghai, Beijing
|