An acrobatic, colourful and unnerving journey through life and death to create an incredible visual spectacle
Yang Liping has created a vibrant reinterpretation of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, using choreographed contemporary dance, mixed with Eastern philosophy. Liping’s last presentation of Under Siege at Brisbane’s 2017 Festival was a popular hit. She has won many awards, including the Gold Award for the 20th Century Chinese Classics of Dance, and is a household name throughout China.
The contemporary story of The Rite of Spring portrays a woman who is sacrificed by dancing herself to death. In Liping’s production, the “Chosen One” instead offers herself for sacrifice for the common good, based upon Tibetan Buddhist beliefs of the continuous circle of life.
The Peacock Contemporary Dance Company of 15 performers (13 female and 2 male), presented an acrobatic, colourful and unnerving journey through seven periods of the circle of life: Meditation; Hongmeng (state of time and place); Yin-Yang; Birth of All Creatures; Rite of Spring; Nirvana; and Reincarnation, divided into three parts with Incantation, Sacrifice and Renewal.
As the audience were seated and waiting for the performance to begin, they could feast their eyes on the 12 intricately dressed female performers, who were already meditating on stage with their eyes closed and large painted eyes staring vacantly. Meanwhile, the Tibetan Monk (Feng Xiaofan) slowly collected together the hundreds of piles of Chinese characters, each representing a word and stacked them in a pile. The process lasted at least 20 minutes, with faint Tibetan music, punctuated by throat singing in the background. The music, written by Xuntian He, bookended Stravinsky’s classical piece, which surprisingly seemed to connect seamlessly with the Russian rhythms, merely transitioning like the opening of a lotus to bloom in Spring.
Amongst the tumbles, stretches and yoga, were much more graphic dance movements mimicking strenuous sexual positions, accompanied by graphic intonation, ending with the performer Da Zhu being born from a giant lion! It was an incredible visual spectacle, often with sinister undertones and disturbing scenes which resonate with fear from deep within the psyche. The rhythmic manipulation of hundreds of long green luminous fingernails under black light embracing a naked torso, sent shivers up the spine. Whereas, the use of a golden shower to represent the Chosen One (Dong Maya) reaching Nirvana to become a Buddha, was glorious and inspirational.
The costumes and scenery, which were created by Tim Yip, were like beautiful living artworks. Yip won an Oscar for Best Art Design and a BAFTA in 2001, for his design work on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The audience were also wowed by the talented dancers, often clapping after incredible acrobatic poses and tumbles, reminiscent of a Cirque du Soleil performance. On the opening night the raucous applause lasted ten minutes, with Yang Liping sharing in the limelight.
Yang Liping’s The Rite of Spring, although a wordless contemporary dance performance, tells a fabulous intricate tale of the trials of life and death through the incorporation of Eastern philosophy, and was a spectacle to behold.
Presented by the Peacock Contemporary Dance Company
Brisbane Festival, 2019
25th-28th Sept, 2019
Playhouse, QPAC
Dr Gemma Regan
Photo Credit: Justin Nicholas