words yvonne teh

The exquisite looks of an ancient fighter create innovation in contemporary dance theatre.

The beginning of this month saw the People’s Republic of China celebrate its 58th year. To say the least, Chinese civilization is a lot older than that. And with the common acceptance that China’s history is remarkable for its depth as well as breadth has come the recognition, including by creative types from media as diverse as literature, cinema and dance, that this past is full of intriguing personalities, stories and events than can thrill and even inspire.

In recent decades, a filial female fighter named Mulan has been one of the most celebrated of these historical and legendary figures. First mentioned in a 6th century poem, the story of the young woman who went into battle while disguised as a man was revisited in Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior (1975) and adapted for cinema in the form of a Walt Disney cartoon and various Chinese language ‘live action’ films.

Another colourful warrior, one who was renowned as a great beauty, has also been the inspiration for both ancient and modern storytellers. This formidable individual has sparked the creative spirits of at least one ancient poet and a contemporary dramatist cum filmmaker, and is now the focus of a new and ambitious work by Hong Kong’s pre-eminent dance group: Warrior Lanling has been choreographed for the City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) by its founder and artistic director Willy Tsao, with original music by composer Chan Hing-yan.

When Tsao talked to us about his latest venture, he first described Prince Lanling (yes, this alluring conqueror was male!) of the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577), in simple yet evocative terms: “A young man who was very beautiful, like a woman, and yet he was a warrior by nature. So when he wanted to fight, he had to wear a mask… he won all his battles and was promoted to [become] a great general. And yet, because of his success, the Emperor became jealous and gave him poison – and he died because of it.”

As Tsao observes, the legend of Warrior Lanling is “so simple. Only a few sentences covers the whole story. But within those few words, I see a deeper meaning and I wanted to dig into that to find a more philosophical approach to [the whole story].” And so, he decided to pursue his own creative path rather than follow the lead of any previous presentations of the warrior’s tragic story. But it was not only that “I wanted to get rid of those unnecessary or additional details which were not recorded in the history.” Rather, he decided to dispense with any narrative at all!

Thus, he says, “There’s no story line.” Instead, “I’m trying to express everything through the dance itself.” To that end, he has designed Warrior Lanling as a four-part meditation on the legendary individual’s character and experience; in each part a different dancer takes the role of the title character to emphasize one aspect of the multi-faceted man.

The first episode focuses on the prince’s most famous attribute: his physical attractions described as “more beautiful than a woman”. In what may be a bit of a twist on the traditional tale, Tsao has chosen to interpret this as “the beauty of youth. The freshness of a young person” expressed by dance movements best characterised as “silk-like”. And as he also uses the term to describe CCDC resident artist Xing Liang’s dancing quality, it will come as no surprise that the former principal dancer of the youth division of the Beijing Dance Academy was Tsao’s choice to dance this demanding part.

Warrior Lanling’s second episode is entitled Of Masquerade and takes Lanling’s mask as its focus. Its lead dancer, former ATV actor and presenter turned CCDC regular Dominic Wong, will have to make use of both his dramatic and dance abilities: as Tsao sees it, “The mask is already a symbol – the mask we have to wear during the day. And so, [by] itself, it’s very dramatic. And full of pride…”

The following chapter he has entitled Of Victory. The dance’s creator chose Yang Yuntao, whom he describes as “very well built and heroic and [who] has been working with me for a long time”, to take on a role that is by now both tragic and victorious. “In the fighting, in the war, you win,” muses Tsao, “and yet... are you winning or losing?” Specifically in the Lanling legend, it was the heroic warrior’s very success in battle that caused his premature death, poisoned at the orders of a jealous ruler.

Which leads to the finale – an exploration of death and dying. Tsao says, “When you face death, you have a lot of internal feeling and I want to grasp that.” To express death’s emotional fragility, he chose Chan Yi Jing. Aside from describing the Malaysian, who has been with CCDC for 10 years, as “a very delicate dancer,” Tsao shares that, “He’s got all these small movements and sensitivity I find perfect for this role.”

A chorus made up of the rest of CCDC’s dancers will support the four principals and, for the first time in a CCDC production, musicians will appear on stage. Tsao discloses that the story of Warrior Lanling reminds him of an ancient Greek tragedy and so, “I had the set built like a round wall,” and to add a novel touch but also to show that “they’re part of the production itself and integrated with the whole idea”, he has put the musicians – Mary Wu on amplified toy piano, Australian percussionist Deborah Waugh, local percussionist group Four Gig Heads and the HK Chinese Orchestra’s Guo Yazhi, Loo Sze Wang and Chu Siu Wai – on top of the 4-metre high construction!

Tsao believes not only will the innovation be visually stunning but it makes for an impressive artistic integration. In his mind’s eye, he sees “the dancers are dancing on the floor and they’re, like, driven by and yet responding to the music. And the music – since it is [coming from] high up in the midair, really feels like fate – like [the musicians] are dictating what’s happening.” Small wonder then, when asked what the audience should particularly look out for, he suggests, “How the musicians and dancers work together.”

The City Contemporary Dance Company will present Warrior Lanling on October 5 and 6 at the Kwai Tsing Theatre Auditorium. Showtime is 8pm. Tickets are $1000 to $120 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.