Review by Yanmei Bowie
I went to see a dance show titled HuXi/Breath at Paradise in Augustines in Edinburgh, created by Glory Global Dance Centre from China. It says on the programme that it is ‘an immersive dance masterpiece blending Chinese Qi and Yin-yang, fusing traditional rhythms with modern dance’. It’s forty-five minutes long, and in my view a contemporary dance piece that incorporates short choreographies of Chinese classical dance. But what is Chinese classical dance?
Chinese classical dance is a subcategory of Chinese dance – a contemporary concert genre that developed during the mid-twentieth century. At the beginning, Chinese classical dance was derived from local theatre forms (known collectively as xiqu) such as Peking opera and kunqu. Later on, it expanded to include the more recently developed styles such as Dunhuang and Hang-Tang.
In the performance, the dancers, dressed in black and white, first sincerely walk around the theatre with incense burners or singing bowls in their hands. They interact with the audience, offering us to smell the burner or hit the bowl. Then for the next ten minutes or so, the dancers perform a contemporary dance routine with Chinese classical dance elements, where they also produce the sound of breathing and sighing while dancing. Although the show is titled Breath, I would rather see or feel breathing, than hear the sound of everybody’s breathing for as long as ten minutes.
After which, young and adult dancers perform short choreographies of Chinese classical dance, such as water sleeves (silk extensions to the cuff of garment sleeves), and Tai chi/martial art-like combinations. This is followed by a female sword dancer who enters the stage and performs the highlight of the show – an amazing three-minute long sword dance routine. Finally, young and adult dancers perform, again, Chinese classical dance routines, including a very feminine and beautiful piece where all the female dancers wear and wave long grey floaty skirts, as well as a more martial like piece accompanied by dynamic drumbeats.
Mr Jiaolong Ma performs an impressive dance in London’s Hyde Park
Overall, most of the dancers demonstrate excellent techniques, which is enjoyable to see. What I find really interesting is the social story behind this dance production. Most of the dancers involved in the show used to study in the UK, mainly at Goldsmiths, University of London. They knew each other because of the Chinese classical dance master Mr Jiaolong Ma. Mr Ma is a teacher of the Beijing Dance Academy, but from 2019 to 2023, he was a visiting scholar based at the Confucius Institute for Dance and Performance at Goldsmiths. They danced and performed together under Mr Ma’s teaching and guidance, and kept in touch even after they returned to different parts of China. In 2022, they reunited and came to perform their dance work at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and they did it again this year.
I was moved by their friendship, and hope to see them again at the Fringe.
*
This review is published by Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland as part of our Traditional Dance Criticism Course, led by dance writer and editor Róisín O’Brien and supported by dance scholar and editor Dr Wendy Timmons.
Yanmei Bowie is one of the six applicants, alongside Yuxi Jiang, Catherine Coutts, Alena Shmakova, Inesa Vėlavičiūtė and Vassia Bouchagiar-Walker who were selected to participate in this pilot edition of the course in 2024.
Huxi/Breath was performed at Paradise in Augustines, Edinburgh 12-16 August 2024 as part of International Festival Fringe. It was one of the shows with trad dance roots across the Edinburgh’s summer festivals we hand-picked to review. Images courtesy of the featured artists and contributors.
Please find further details about our #traddance campaign at Edinburgh summer festivals her
