Rachel had to think about it. “Well, I find Hong Kong to be a very tolerant place.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. Tolerance and generosity are not really the first things that comes to mind when I think of our bustling metropolis. But then, Hong Kong is home. It can be a bit hard to tell from the inside.
“Well, for example, just now at the restaurant [and we were with Kwok Wah, a wheelchair buddy], they were happy to set a table outdoors for us. In England they might have thought it to be a lot of hassle, made a lot of fuss.”
Much later, when I was struggling over the two lines of reflection I had to hand in for the program notes when things finally clicked into place. The world is our mirror: Rachel finds Hong Kong to be a friendly place because she is a generous person with a wide-open heart. And when I say wide-open, I mean flood-gate wide. It’s a sort of life-force that sweeps aside all jet-lag, embraces the struggle of working in a different language, and says yes, yes, YES!
Looking back, it’s pretty incredible to realise what the group has managed to achieve in a period of twelve days. It makes me realise how if the director is clear about what she is doing, and is backed up by a solid team …. kapow! Anything is possible.
“For this jump to work,” says Rachel to Vinci, “You have to fly past Maru. If you imagine jumping into Maru’s arms, you’re going to be heavy. But if you go past Maru, you’ll be much lighter.” She demonstrates, slamming into 丸仔, who catches her in a spin.
Watching them at work, I realize that this actually can be a much more general principle. If I’d stopped – as I did the first couple of days – to consider how I should be pacing myself: yesterday’s rehearsal, today’s tai chi with my sifu, back to rehearsal, teaching, parent-teacher conferences; rehearsal with my own ensemble for an upcoming performance, a school tour performance, not to mention the ongoing protest against the high-speed rail… I would be exhausted. (Actually, looking at the list, I have every right to be exhausted.)
But the trick is to let all of that go. Prepare well, stay present, and embrace the company of people you are working with. Let that give you energy.
This was particularly easy with this ensemble, because we had people who was so direct with their affections. Wai Yee would grasp my hand and touch it to their cheek; So will clutch at me in his strong hands and not let me go to dinner. May will whisper (at two words a minute), “Can you help me get my bag?”… and then give us souvenirs of pottery and Chinese knots that she has made with her feet…
When I dropped into evening rehearsal with my own ensemble on Friday evening, I brought along the energy from the Blue eyed Soul rehearsals.
“Hey, I learnt this new warm up today. It’s called the pizza warm up!” The cast couldn’t believe how silly the warm-up I learnt from Tidds was, but the excitement was infectious. By the time I taught them the other stretch where you just anchor yourself against your partner, the cast was all rolling on the floor with laughter. It was a wonderful rupture to our usual routine. So when I think about Tidds, I am reminded of her quirkiness, which – when combined with her attentiveness, added a real mix to the project.
I was amazed by how quickly the show came together; and I know that this was due to Arnim’s video and lights. So smart, I thought, to bring along someone to take care of the technical side of things, and really transform the space. The video was really magical (My personal favourite is the “Merry Christmas” circle-dance with the wheel).
What a team. What a fortnight!
I suspect that this visit from Blue Eyed Soul will plant a lot of seeds in all of us, and continue to bear fruit in the days to come.
Hofan is the Artistic Director of Burnt Mango Dance Theatre. She was delighted to be part of this project between Blue Eyed Soul and the Symbiotic Dance Troupe / Center for Community Development. A variant of this post can be found on her own blog here.Photos by Arnim Friess.
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