Day off

Took a day off to visit my brother and his family who have been living in Suzhou for the past 2½ years.

They took me to 'the fourth' most famous rock garden (an illusion of space and perspective) , a silk factory (fascinatingly low tech and so beautiful to the touch), an old canal-side street (very, very hot) and then back to the hotel for a game of 'underwater guess-the-fish charades' with my niece and nephew.

Felt truly spoilt and rested.

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Night Train to Shanghai...

Writing this on the night train to Shanghai: it's packed with people who were herded together through the station system, security check, waiting area and onto the train, which actually makes sense when you arrive at your destination the platforms are empty allowing everyone to alight with ease. A 16 hour journey, I can smell cigarette smoke, beef noodles and hot feet. My travel buddies are Carmen, Irene (both in food sales!) and Tiger (11 years old going on 40) they are all delightful and teach me to play poker through scribbling on notebooks and overseeing my hand!

But to reflect on Guangzhou. I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the people I've met, workshops and performances I've taken in over the past 5 days. It's been very different from anything I have ever experienced in the UK, similar broad range of quality and experience not necessarily equated, but there are huge cultural differences.... of course what did I expect? But what's the mindset of a country emerging from communist control? The government controlled organisations, agencies and activities operating in one world and the underground cultural scene thriving as an alternative.

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Guangzhou Modern Dance Festival

The Guangzhou Modern Dance Festival daily programme was broad and varied: studio performances by young dancers that showed such skill and confidence, endearingly naïve in content and some a bit sickly sweet BUT most with an individuality and confidence that I rarely see in the UK Youth Dance Scene. Afternoon Springboard performances by emerging artists from what I could interpret shared a common thread and explored the relationship each artist has with China. They were somewhat mixed in quality.

At the other end of the scale the BIG professional performances in main house theatres have been disappointing, extremely body beautiful, monotonously technically brilliant and soul-less. What's going on with the choreographers? In the post show discussion a director was asked why he had placed a tea party (complete with table and tea service) in the middle of the piece described as 'a poem about mother nature' (complete with heavy metal tree), his answer was that he just felt like it because one day he had seen the dancers having tea together and thought it was beautiful!

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Meanwhile the inclusive workshop muddled on with energy and enthusiasm from all involved, After three sessions we said our goodbyes and made plans for the teachers and local artists to meet together again soon for some mutual support and ideas sharing. There is a real eagerness to develop the work so I hope this is a beginning for us all.

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Guangzhou

So much for my daily blogging plans...
I'm not sure if it's specific to the Company blog as I can view other blogs or it might be the writing rather than the reading or as someone suggested it could be the 'Blue' in the title is reason enough for the authorities to doubt its suitability!
The past few days have been a fascinating and confusing time, the Symposium has been looking at the position of contemporary dance in China and I've been trying to piece together a picture of how inclusive dance might fit into that...or not.
Disabled people seen so far? One. Context? Begging on the street. I'm told that I will not see disabled people here as they are hidden, only to be wheeled out when deemed appropriate.
I'm hearing about control and restriction but also about support and pride. We met a group of young independent dancers to discuss their perspective which included working on gay rights issues and providing opportunities for disabled people to dance.
Saw two performances yesterday, one an inspiring solo performed by a dancer, well respected in the modern dance community, I thought it a bit clichéd but beautiful and thoughtful. The second performance was at the extraordinary brand spanking new sci-fi opera house performed by the City Contemporary Dance Company and it was dull, really dull, so dull I fell asleep.

BUT I've just come out of a Youth Dance Showcase that was extraordinary, my breath has been taken away... will write more tomorrow.

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Hong kong

24 hours, 2 flights, 4 films, numerous meals and some nice chats later... Feeling disorientated which is probably a good place to begin...

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Setting off in the dark

4 am might be too early to write anything very meaningful. Feeling tired of traveling in advance but confident that it'll be ok. Armed with loads of Blue Eyed Soul dvd's and looking forward to meeting new people and 'connecting through culture'.

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Packing for China (Connections through Culture)

Packing for China and wondering what clothes to take, something suitable for the heat? Ru has offered her red summer dress... so I google 'the colour red and china'... 'Like life-giving flowing blood and the brilliant morning glow, the red of China pulsates endlessly, radiating with a passionate fire-like heat. Red is alive, inspiring, a dream-like passion that affects all aspects of Chinese life. Colour is essential to beauty, and beauty is essential to any culture’s aesthetic'. I'll take the dress.
Very excited at the programme, something every day... a week in Guangzhou https://mail-us.gmx.com/dereferrer/?target=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gdfestival.cn a few days in Shanghai and a reunion in Hong Kong.

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