schrit_tmacher justdance!

Ornamental aesthetic

B.Dance shows: Before we say goodbye at the Kerkrade Theatre

Speichern By Thomas Linden

For Rick Takvorian, every performance at this year’s schrit_tmacher festival may be an opportunity to remember the beginnings. After all, it is the 30th and last edition under his direction. In front of a full house in Kerkrade, he recapitulated his first trip to Taiwan in the mid-1990s. ‘It changed my life,’ he confesses, reflecting on the impressive performances of the numerous dance companies in Taipei, which knew how to combine classical ballet with modern dance in a special way. Three years ago, the festival in Aachen demonstrated the grandiose productions that the bridge-builders from Taiwan are able to create between Western and Eastern traditions with the choreography ‘Floating Flowers’. The still young choreographer Po-Cheng Tsai was the director at the time and now presented his latest production, ‘Before we say goodbye’.

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A seemingly unclothed female figure lies on the stage ramp with her leg bent in the light of a spotlight. The stage area is otherwise black at night. The young woman, around whom everything will revolve for the next 75 minutes, lies there as if served. In her look, the ensemble is decked out in two-piece light-coloured suits and wide-brimmed hats that hark back to an indeterminate past. A nostalgic melting pot is prepared, reminiscent of the gangster films of the 1950s, which play a formative role in the popular culture of Taiwan and Japan.

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In this realm of fantasy, you can bathe in bittersweet, languorous emotions. The title announces it: this is where farewells are said at length. In order to celebrate the melodramatic gestures as effectively as possible, Po-Cheng Tsai spurns the depth of the space and organises his ensemble on a diagonal from front left to back right. Like a beam, a corridor of light is created along which the action moves back and forth as if on this track. The pain of separation – and above all what happens in anticipation of it – is danced in pas de deux and solos. The action is fast and precise, and the dancers‘ steadfastness never ceases to amaze. In view of the class of this ensemble, you don’t even realise how energy-sapping these actions are. B.Dance undoubtedly possesses elegance, even if this production does not show the brilliance that ‘Floating Flowers’ possessed. This may also be due to the fact that the more recent work is nowhere near as complex in its design. The constellation of the individual versus the group is found in countless repetitions. The latter is always characterised by a collective wave movement. Everyone holds each other by the forearms, creating an elastic line that glides along like a snake in a smooth up-and-down motion.

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No dance experiments should be expected here. The gender role play is not designed for this either. The draped female body always remains the object of desire in this melodramatic ballad. It cannot be ruled out that the protagonist will be beaten up by the gang with the smart suits with a discreetly sadistic undertone. The step from whore to worshipper of saints is therefore not far away. The very next moment she is carried on her hands and exhibited as heroin. The film simply draws on the relationship patterns of the pulp fiction world. These set pieces of the genre are transfigured with a climatic play of colours that ranges from the cold white of snow to sacharine-sweet pink. Meanwhile, the violins soar to unimagined heights and the harp – unbelievable but true – lets out a pling, pling. This juggling with the components of melodrama may be appealing if it is not served up in photogenic kitsch alone. Po-Cheng Tsai’s model for this choreography is obviously Wong Kar-wai’s classic film ‘In the mood for Love’, but it does not convey the same depth of feeling. A series of grand gestures does not yet create the power of heart-rending love. This time, B-Dance sticks to a more ornamental aesthetic, presenting a fluidly danced version of modern dance in which the connection to contemporary dance has been lost.