Watching dance performances in ancient temples, allowing marching dance performances to interact with citizens in cultural blocks... On October 11th, the 2023 Environmental Dance Exhibition of the Chinese Dancers Association (Beijing) opened in Shijingshan District. Twelve dance programs with different styles were successively performed in Cheng'en Temple, Mokou Cultural District, and Fahai Temple, breaking through the theater and moving towards the cultural landscape, reaching out to the citizens.
The China Dancers Association Environmental Dance Showcase has been held since 2018. Instead of previous environmental settings, which were mainly industrial buildings and natural landscapes, this year's show choose historic humanistic buildings and cultural neighborhoods. On that morning, a white-clad dancer danced outside the 500-year-old Cheng'en Temple, walking through the courtyard of the ancient temple and weaving around ancient trees, sometimes leaning against the trees, sometimes dancing under the rising sun. Many people were attracted to her, and guided by her footsteps, the audience walked into Cheng'en Temple, and the Environmental Dance Show was officially opened.
In the open space in front of the main hall of Cheng'en Temple, a male dancer "carrying" a round props made of "shells" on the masonry floor interpretation of the "snail". At the end of the program, the crowd went to the main hall, only to see a large platform in front of the hall placed a square table which was commonly seen in Chinese opera stage, and two male dancers dressed in black flopping and jumping around the table. They interpreted the ups and downs of lives in this minimalist Chinese stage.
Tang Chenglong is the choreographer and director of the two works, "Snail" and "View". During the performance, he also observed with interest the sparks that collided between his work and this ancient temple: "These two programs are already well-formed, but performed here, ‘Snail’ is more powerful to show the interaction of dancers and the ground, and "View" is placed in the front of the main hall, with the ancient building behind it, and two tablets to the left and right, giving the impression that the dancers are not in the same place as they are. The table is placed in the center, giving a very different feeling." Tang Chenglong said that the dancers are usually more accustomed to the lights of the theater and their state on the stage, but dancing in the open space of the ancient building could provide them a different state and give the audience a wonderful experience.
The exhibition at Cheng'en Temple contained seven pieces, and after watching different dance performances at different points, your walk around the ancient temple ended as well. After the first chapter of the show, the audience walked out of Cheng'en Temple and headed west along the Moshi Kou cultural neighborhood, where the show opened on the pedestrianized road.
Suddenly, the clip of "Memories" from the classic musical "Cats" rang out, and a group of female dancers dressed in red and pink but with their faces made up to look like mice made an appearance in the middle of the road. Shortly after, male dancers dressed as cats appeared on the steps of the road. In this "Cat and Mouse" dance, male and female dancers will be two by two, or will be divided into two teams to go to both sides of the street to dance by the road and interpret happiness and sadness.
Passing pedestrians including walking elderly, wandering young man and deliver guy, have stopped to have a look of the dancers. Once program ended, the crowd marching in the direction of another upcoming performance. The dancers who participated in the previous program were also transformed into audiences, clapping happily in the crowd. After the Cat and Mouse performance, dancer Fang Zhengyin and her friends posed for a photo in front of a quaint store, "It's so immersive to perform here, so close to the audience that I can see the reactions on their faces." Zhang, whose family lives in the neighborhood near Moshi Kou, also watched with glee, "It's the first time I've seen so many people dancing in front of my house, and I hope they'll come more often, and let more people know about the culture and history of our neighborhood."
As the third chapter of this environmental dance show, the dance "Lotus" was staged at the Fahai Temple not far from the Moshi Kou cultural neighborhood. In front of the main hall in the courtyard, under the ancient white pine tree, the sound of bird chirping gave the dance show gave rich meanings to this dance show. "It's very interesting to see an environmental dance show come out of the theater, where the environment changes and the whole atmosphere changes, and the work creates new connections with the new environment. More importantly, it can bring the beauty of dance closer to the audience." Qing Qing, an associate researcher at the Dance Research Institute of the China Academy of Art, said she looks forward to seeing more environmental dance performances, especially improvisations of dancers.
It is said the show is organized by the China Dancers Association and the government of Shijingshan District, and is also supported by Beijing Opera and Dance Theater, Xi'an Opera and Dance Drama Theater, Hong Kong Dance Company and other organizations, as well as new literary groups such as Beijing Idle Dancers' Workshop and Yen Ho Dance Theater.
Translator: Liu Jin
Reviewer: Bai Jing
