Primordial paean: birth and rebirth

By Christine Laskowski (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-16 13:26

"I think when I moved to the States, I started really asking who I was," said Ma Shouze, guest choreographer for Beijing Dance/LDTX Modern Dance Company's upcoming Nov 28 performance titled Walks of Life. "You look in the mirror and see that you're different from other people."

Incorporating Ma's Eastern heritage with more than a decade spent living in the US, Walks of Life mingles the corporal with the spiritual.

"This piece has a very clear structure to it - birth, life, rebirth. It centers around Buddhist philosophy," Ma said.

A scene from Walks of Life

The press was invited to view selected segments of the 80-minute performance that premiered on Nov 5.

Those in attendance at the Beijing Dance/LDTX studio near Shuangjing looking for a strong narrative were not likely to find it.

Opening with an erratic and edgy piece, with dancers darting around like tiny organisms in a primordial pond, it evolved to showcase female dancers gliding along the floor with delicate movements, contrasted by men who followed with an interpretive warrior dance.

The costumes feature earthy tones with Chinese calligraphy on the dancers' backs, and minimalist, haunting music, the work of Japanese composers Touyou Nakamura and Shoji Yamashiro - an obvious choice of Eastern sounds.

"As soon as I heard the music, it suggested some images in my mind," Ma said, explaining his own artistic process. "The piece shows some of my original vocabulary, but it doesn't come all at once."

"I think I have an image first. It starts with a picture and then I find music and combine the two. Then I find the structure. But that is only the first stage. The process is long and a lot of it comes down to the dancers."

Having only arrived in Beijing on Oct 5 to start work, Ma admitted his collaborative approach had to be modified. "There has not been enough input from dancers this time," he said regretfully. "I believe in hudong - a 'back and forth' - but unfortunately time was limited."

Ma's relationship with the company goes back to when he was a student at the Guangdong Modern Dance Company, China's first, established by LDTX Director Willy Tsao in 1992.

"When I come to Beijing, this is my stop," he said. After a chat with deputy artistic director Li Hanzhong several months ago, Ma, who is currently an associate professor of dance at Arizona State University, was given the green light on the project.

"It's been my dream," Ma said.

"I've lived outside China for 13 years, and it feels wonderful to find a platform for this piece that I made to show my thoughts and perspective.

"My vision of modern dance has changed since I moved to the US and I want to share that experience with everybody."