Donald Hutera on Western perceptions of Asian contemporary dance

Donald Hutera on Western perceptions of Asian contemporary dance

‘Does Asian contemporary dance exist from the Western point of view and, if so, what would it be, how might it best be described and what’s expected of it?’

It’s daunting, even for a long-time, professional and international dance-watcher like me, to be asked to speak on behalf of the entire Western world. Setting this burden aside, it’s also hard to escape clichés and cultural stereotypes when addressing the notion of Western perceptions of Asian contemporary dance. Surely the work on view must be exotic, aesthetically refined and essentially inscrutable. And in its highly disciplined, even courtly sense of ritual it will of course refer to ancient customs and ceremonial traditions. Won’t it?

Wait a second. That’s the old stuff. It exemplifies the way things were rather than how they are now in our fast, financially stricken but potentially globe-busting times. In today’s world a Western audience might want or expect something with at least a touch more far-out or avant-garde. Gratuitous nudity? Or maybe a loud, frantic soundtrack with some incessant, hyperactive movement to go with it. Or how about, at the other end of the spectrum, purifying ultra-minimalism? Uh-oh. The last might be misconstrued as too near the comforting but possibly outmoded habits of ceremony and tradition. For that matter, it could be that all of the supposedly daring, envelope-pushing elements I’ve just cited are actually already overly familiar and mainstream.

Well, if Asian dance can’t be radical, crucially it must somehow remain authentic. Maybe, just maybe, Western audiences would settle for work that simultaneously satisfies the demands of its origins – the exotic/refined/inscrutable/disciplined/ritual model – while demonstrating the pervasive influence of Martha Graham-style modernism. Better yet, why not just opt for hip hop? Everybody’s doing it, and isn’t the younger generation especially adept at street dance?

Such a conundrum. Inevitable, even irresistible as such a roster of expectations as this may be, it’s still a trap. Ultimately what counts most is, is a given dance work good enough on its own terms? Can you and I, in what may be fundamentally different ways, connect with it or not?

The Asian contemporary dance I want to see is somehow true to itself. In its pace or design or kinetic vocabulary, its conceptual motive, stylistic manner or its meaning, it should reveal something unique about where it comes from. At the same time it can, ideally, elicit multiple levels of recognition from anyone who’s watching it anywhere. Is that too much to ask of dance, regardless of its origin? I don’t think so. 

In Britain, where my life and my work as a dance writer are based, there’s a further complication. There, given the substantial population that hails from the Subcontinent, Asian dance more often than not refers to South Asia – that is, the panoply of dance disciplines that come from India. There’s a further wrinkle in that the work of major players such as Shobana Jeyasingh, whose background is in bharata natyam, or, from the next generation, Akram Khan (training: kathak and contemporary; influences: Michael Jackson) reflects unequivocally their Anglo-Indian circumstances. Into fusion before it was fashionable, Jeyasingh has been a key figure in the cross-pollination of Eastern and Western dance styles for more than two decades. Embracing what he’s referred to as a ‘confusion’ of dance forms, during the past ten years Khan has swept to the top of the British dance tree thanks to his mesmerising skill as a performer and choreography that’s high on visceral passion, atmosphere and theatricality.

As far as contemporary dance linked to the rest of Asia is concerned, it mainly reaches the UK as imported art by established companies. The most frequent visitors are Sankai Juku, with its trademark brand of large-scale designer butoh, and the high-class blend of disciplines embodied by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre from Taiwan. No other dance companies or independent artists, contemporary or traditional, are seen with any regularity.

This isn’t the place to seriously question why that is, nor is that part of my brief. But if I’m right, and audiences in Britain do expect the aforementioned stereotypes and clichés from Asian dance (and if, that is, they have any expectations at all), it could be because they lack the opportunities or information to know any better.

The thing is, it’s not only Asian dance from outside the UK that’s rare on the ground. Within the past couple of years I was invited to edit a few issues of Animated, a magazine published by an organisation known as the Foundation for Community Dance. One of the articles I commissioned was by Jih-Wen Yeh, the artistic director of Step Out Arts, who wrote about a new showcase for British East Asian Artists. I’d like to quote from this article.

‘The British East Asian Choreographer Development Scheme (BEACDS),’ she writes, ‘is the start of something long overdue - the emergence of a British East Asian dance sector. The scheme was born out of a belief that the under-representation of British East Asian (BEA) artists in UK dance needed to be challenged. There’s a serious lack of encouragement, opportunity and awareness within the BEA dance sector itself, and no significant promotion of choreographic talent. As a result it’s difficult for BEA artists to maintain their visibility and stability outside the East Asian community.

‘To combat the status quo, and with funding provided by Arts Council England, my colleagues and I at Step Out Arts (SOA) developed Stepping Out East and the BEACDS as a project geared towards the development of promising BEA choreographers. The British East Asian dance sector may be under-represented on the national stage, but we’re convinced that it’s hardly under-staffed in terms of potential talent.

‘Following a nationwide selection process in early 2009, the scheme successfully supported four candidates in the development of their art. For me these four choreographers represent the very best in upcoming British talent, East Asian or otherwise. In her performance Half Truth and Allegories Annie Pui Ling Lok explores the processes of translation and mistranslation. In BEATS the deaf dancer Chisato Minamimura confounds preconceptions by focusing on what she calls ‘visual sound/music’. Khamlane Halsackda reflects the universal experiences of love, childhood and memory in ACT 1, while in his work Patient 319 Quang Kien Van portrays the dangers of social exclusion.

‘SOA’s ultimate goal was to present the work of this quartet in front of an audience packed with industry professionals. In autumn 2009 the project culminated in two showcases - at the University of Bedfordshire and Greenwich Dance Agency. The result was a vibrant and eclectic programme of dance. The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive, both about the choreography and the scheme as a whole.

‘Our ambition at SOA is to become an advocacy organisation that supports and develops the careers of British East Asian artists and choreographers through Stepping Out East and the BEACDS. For the next phase of the scheme SOA aims to create a two-day symposium that offers the 2009 artists an opportunity to further develop their work into a completed piece. We hope as well to nurture another set of four BEA choreographers and set up training workshops for these and other artists to attend. Additionally we’re planning to form partnerships with the main dance organisations in the UK, thereby increasing the awareness of BEA artists as a vital sector while also identifying opportunities and sharing existing resources.’

[For further information, including how to book the showcase or the individual artists, please contact Jih-Wen Yeh by e-mail at jw@stepoutarts.co.uk]

Jih-Wen Yeh is eloquent about a lesser-known strand of home-grown Asian dance, and admirably determined to raise its profile. But I’d like to finish by quoting the artists themselves. Each answered a handful of questions I sent to them via email. Their replies accompanied the article.

 

Khamlane Halsackda
Birth date: 22/04/1975. Born in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

Q: How would you describe your artistic practice?
A: My work is personal and drawn from experiences, moments and memories that I feel have had much influence on who I am. By sharing something vulnerable and of myself, and also questioning these experiences, I believe audiences will in turn do the same about what they’ve seen or even, perhaps, about themselves.

Q: Are you comfortable being represented under the umbrella of British East Asian dance, and why - or why not?
A: In the past I was very determined not to be under any umbrella that promoted me as South-East Asian. I believed it detracted from the work I wanted to make. I still feel sensitive about this, but also I realise that I am South-East Asian. So I’m under that umbrella regardless. I’m more accepting of this now as I feel that my work will promote something that is South-East Asian in a new light - without fans, without classical Asian dance, without the old stereotypes.

Q: What were the most valuable aspects of the SOA showcase?
A: It allowed me to make work. This is always the most valuable thing to me - to continue the momentum of my creativity. But to have four very different South-East Asian choreographers removing old stereotypes would also be up there on the list of reasons to get beneath a British East Asian umbrella.

Q: What would be the best thing to happen next in terms of your career? 
A: I think it’s every choreographer’s dream to be able to make a full-time living from choreographing. It’s certainly mine.

Q: Is there a secret about you or your work that you’d be willing to share?
A: When it comes to my work there are no secrets. I think that’s the point – here’s my heart, cut out and thrown onto a stage. But having said that, it’s still up to audiences to pull what they can from what they see. It’s much more interesting that way. And plainly, listening to me rant about myself would only make me seem narcissistic. It’s very different when you rant with the body. It leaves room for things to be found by others.

 

Chisato Minamimura
Birthdate: 26th June. ‘The year is a secret. I was born in Japan and lived in Tokyo with my Japanese family until October 2003. Afterwards I moved to London and live with my British husband here.’

Q: How would you describe your artistic practice? 
A: Regarding my choreography, I create one movement as one note at first and then build and develop it with my visual score. It’s hard but interesting work given my little knowledge about sound/music because of my deafness.

Q: What would be a few of the most important things for audiences to know about you and your work?
A: I’d like to provide the audience with a challenge to see sound/music through dance movements, and consider and share what is visual sound/music from my deaf perspective.

Q: What were the most valuable aspects of the SOA showcase?
A: It’s a great opportunity to show my performance alongside that of other choreographers with different backgrounds and concepts. Through it audiences could see an assimilation between British and East Asian cultures.

Q: What would be the best thing to happen next in terms of your work or career? 
A: At this moment I’m not clear or sure about my new work and my career. I hope to be able to continue choreographing new works, the aim of which is to research the relationship between the visual and sound/music - if this world could accept that. Also, I’d like to encourage an inclusivity between hearing and deaf people through art.
I hope it could open up a new world.

 

Quang Kien Van
Birthdate: May 18th 1976. ‘I was born in Vietnam. My parents were also born in Vietnam but we are of Chinese ethnicity.’

Q: How would you describe your practice and the work that you do?
A: Over the last 15 years I've danced professionally for a wide variety of companies and projects such as Adventures in Motion Pictures, Cirque du Soleil, Michael Clark and Opera North. I like the magic and possibilities of the theatre.

Q: Are you comfortable being represented under the umbrella of British East Asian dance, and why - or why not?
A: It’s a gargantuan umbrella! I'm not sure how helpful the term ‘British East Asian’ is since it describes such a large and disparate diaspora. I guess it's usefully vague in the increasingly ‘globalised’ society we live in.

Q: What were the most valuable aspects of the SOA showcase?
A: Patient 319 was my choreographic debut. I'm over the moon that I got to make it and put it in front of an audience, since opportunities for ‘emerging’ or, in my case, entirely ‘new’ choreographers are very rare in the current financial climate.

Q: What would be the best thing to happen next in terms of your career? 
A: Being in a creative environment is important to me. I wish to continue to do so. The only snag is to make it into a viable business. I'm workin’ on it!

Q: Is there a secret about you or your work that you’d be willing to share?
A: I believe dance as a theatrical performance is truly a bold and beautiful art form. I hope my work can live up to this conviction.

 

Annie Pui Ling Lok
Birthdate: 05/11/76. ‘I was born in the UK. Mum and dad are from China and Hong Kong respectively.’

Q: How would you describe your artistic practice?
A: For me making and presenting work goes beyond the studio and the venue. There’s a lifestyle that goes with it - not in a self-important way, but simply a daily thing being done all the time. Without wanting to sound pompous, I’m thinking about the politics surrounding the opportunity and choice to be in this position even if the content of the work itself doesn't show that explicitly.

Q: Are you comfortable being represented under the umbrella of British East Asian dance, and why - or why not?
A: I’m comfortable with it because that was the premise for the application and selection process. I only wouldn't feel comfortable if it wasn't thought through, and if it that category was irrelevant to the context. Like everything, though, there should be room to shift emphasis and category whenever necessary. After all, we all belong to the many.

Q: What were the most valuable aspects of the SOA showcase?
A: It was valuable meeting Chisato, Kham, Quang and Jih-wen, as well as presenting my work alongside theirs. It was familiar and homey and something I hadn't experienced so directly before. The cultural identity of the work and myself was emphasised in this context, and that’s relatively new for me. Other than that, it was about having the support of producers and very much, as usual, the opportunity to make and show new work at all.

END