Dance

Dancers move to create dynamic tension. A Mongolian singer chants as if she weeps into the void while a modern score generates music that continuously spurs the imagination. In this enthralling performance, the different fates and emotions of wanderers separated from their homeland – zeal, melancholy, loneliness, exuberance – are laid bare. For this reinterpretation of Qu Yuan’s ancient epic poem, Li Sao, written in grief and sorrow after his own banishment 2,000 years ago, Hong Kong’s DanceArt draws together distinguished performers from the Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan who extend Qu’s work into a soul-searching journey for today’s forced and self-imposed exiles.Acclaimed for his originality and characteristic integration of art forms, here Chinese-Australian choreographer Zhang Xiao-xiong blends dance, literature, photography and arts installation to illustrate how contemporary Chinese intellectuals relocate their identity after leaving home, and to explore the cultural ambiguity that arises for those cut adrift in a world of disappearing boundaries. A borderless present is interwoven into the performance through composer-musician John Chen’s experimental fusion of eastern and western sounds while Mongolian singer Narenqimuge’s heavenly voice captures the solitude of those exiled throughout time. Alongside, dancers from Hong Kong and Taiwan fuse their artistry, adding another creative layer to this fascinating work of contemporary dance theatre