江东伦敦跨艺旅思07：成果呈现

从观众席上爆发出来的一阵又一阵的热烈掌声，让坐在观众席上的我们颇为“跨艺”这个项目所取得的成果而由衷的感动：刚在The Place剧场结束的2013伦敦“跨艺”的演出，在众编导和舞者们的共同努力下，取得了圆满成功，这让虽然坐席不多但挤得满满的观众席不时地掌声雷动。在会后的演后谈中，有观众表示不敢相信这样的奇迹是一个为期仅三周的结果。

这个成果的确来之不易！特别是看到九支各为时十分钟的舞蹈作品在最终的呈现上各具特色，编导们各用各的奇招深深地打动了现场观众时，这让我非常动容。来自北京、台北、伦敦的九位编导，用他们的诚心拥抱着他们的舞蹈理想，其坚实的主张和别具一格的创编方法，在“跨艺”的舞台上呈现出一台精彩纷呈的舞蹈晚会。

打头炮的是台湾编导董怡芬的《数字的声音》。她从数字入手，将有关数字的意象植入她的舞蹈动作和构图之中，当演员用不同语言交叉着喊出数字的声音时，奇异的舞台效果产生出美学上的化学变化，声音与舞动交融在一起，产生出独特的意象和感觉，一组一组动感十足的编排，让黑匣子小舞台光采顿生。

紧接着是大陆编导曾焕兴的《行走》。阿曾为了表达对于“离乡”概念的沉思，用三组特别的意象分别表达出人始终在旅途上找寻心灵栖居地的意图。红色沙包的象征作用和由此产生出的中国意象，别有深意。当第三段舒伯特的音乐响起时，伴着台湾男舞者梁俭丰（香港人）那极富太极意味的舞动，一股温暖的情怀立刻充满人的所有细胞，让人顿生感怀之情。

代表伦敦出战的意大利编导里卡多的《无法登陆》采用的是五位男舞者。舞蹈中充满象征意味的各种图象，把人在无助中的那份迷失传达得真真切切。让人立刻警醒：人在离开了自己的锚地之后，彼岸在何方？这种切中本届“跨艺”主题的率真表达，让里卡多设计出那些让人难以忘怀的动态和生动的舞台呈现，具有一种非常真实而直捣心房的感染力。

大陆编导郭磊的《面具》另辟蹊径，他独出心裁地采用江西南丰傩戏面具的手法，将傩舞的动态融入到他的表现之中。此举可谓一石激起千层浪，引起了几乎所有国际学者和观众的浓厚兴趣。将如此特异的面具和夸张的动态呈现在一个作品中，而且还将人与面具之间的关系做出深刻的理解和解剖，“中国式”表达的价值获得了西方观众的喜爱和肯定。

台湾编导苏威嘉的《Free Steps（自由舞步）》是由五位女演员表演的。这个作品用很缓慢的自由舞步从下场口一直斜线运动舞至上场口的前台，用了整整一支舞蹈的时间。五位女舞者自由舞动，但却分明有着统一的运动原则和方向，于是，她们在行进中制造出不尽的动态美感，像一朵变幻着的云，又像一颗摇曳的珊瑚……那种令人诧异的美，让人咀嚼不尽。

台湾编导何晓玫的《亲爱的No.8》，虽然不知道为什么取这么个名字，但是她让六位舞者在穿上风衣和脱掉风衣之间而形成的种种景况，把一种虚与实的关系处理得极有意思，充满了一种富有戏剧意味的张力，竟然用这么简单的方式揭示出人在“我”与“非我”、“我”与“他人”之间的角色转换，这种极为耐看、耐品的编排，颇显编导功力和艺术造诣。

代表伦敦的德国编导维拉图辛打造的作品名叫《舞动关系的研究》。在舞蹈中，她始终以研究的视角来安排和处理舞者及其他们之间的关系，特别强调了舞者与观众的交融。在处理舞者之间的关系时，她采用了很多富有实验精神的探索，让六位舞者形成了耐人寻味的有效连接。而不穿特定服装、不采用音乐伴奏的方式，凸显了我们眼中的这种实验性。

同样代表伦敦的越南裔美籍编导黄炜丹也采用了一个跟所编作品关系不大的题目《手套》，他在音乐使用上同样富有实验精神。在排练时，他从不使用任何音乐，而演出时却邀请一位电脑乐手现场操盘，这种舞蹈与音乐的偶然碰撞成为看点。他还特别找到一些生活动态，特别是互换衣物、闻腋下气味的设计让人觉得特别而会心一乐。

最终亮相的是大陆编导赵梁的《无限关系》。他用一根橡皮带将六位舞者紧紧地串联在一起。显然是来自不同社会背景和具有各自不同经历的六位舞者，在这条橡皮带的作用下，彼此间产生出种种纠结不清的状况和形态，也产生出了各种说不尽、理还乱的关系。就在舞蹈结尾时那根始终缠绕着他们的橡皮带突然断裂时，一种莫名的震撼向观众袭来，让人为之一震。

看“跨艺”，九位编导的九支作品，不愧都是用心之作。在伦敦这个具有国际意味的舞台上，它们相映成辉一并绽放出各自的光采，也为2013伦敦“跨艺”项目涂抹上重重的一笔亮色。这些，都是本届“跨艺”项目中最为醒目的艺术财富。

Translation…

Jiang Dong’s London Reflections 07: Seeing results

The huge round of applause which erupted from the audience seats where we were sitting made us feel very moved about the outcomes from the ArtsCross project. The 2013 London ArtsCross performance, which had just come to an end at London’s The Place theatre, had achieved immense success, thanks to the joint efforts of the choreographers and dancers. Although the seats in this venue were relatively few, the sound of the audience, packed into the space, was like thunder. During the post-performance discussion, members of the audience said that they found it hard to believe that this amazing performance was the result of just three weeks of work.

This kind of achievement does not come easily! I was particularly touched when I witnessed the nine 10-minute dance works, each displaying their own distinct characteristics, with the different choreographers using their own special tricks to impress the audience. The nine choreographers from Beijing, Taipei and London pursued their dance dreams with integrity. Their persistence and their innovative approaches were manifested on the ArtsCross stage in a brilliant evening of performance.

Firing the first shot was Tung I-Fen‘s Sound of Numbers. She used numbers as a starting point, implanting number-related imagery into her dance movements and compositions. At the point when the performers began shouting out numbers in different languages, the extraordinary effect produced an aesthetic chemical reaction. Sounds and dance movements combined together, producing a unique imagery and sensation. Sets of incredible moves arrived one after another, immediately transforming the small dark stage into a sea of light and energy.

This was closely followed by Walk, from the mainland choreographer Zeng Huanxing. Seeking to express a sense of deep reflection on the concept of “leaving home”, Zeng made use of three sections of imagery to represent our never-ending search for a place where the soul can take rest. The symbolic use of a red sandbag, and the imagery of China which this produced, were of profound significance. As the third section of Schubert began playing, accompanying the Tai Chi infused dance movements of the Taiwanese male dancer Leung Kim-Fung (originally from Hong Kong), a warm sensation immediately crept into our bodies, and we felt a keen sense of nostalgia.

The work, No Lander, from the Italian choreographer Riccardo Buscarini, representing London, made use of five male dancers. The dance contained various symbolic images, realistically communicating the feeling of disorientation of those in helpless situations. It asked an urgent question: when one casts off and leaves one’s home port, where is one’s final destination? This forthright expression, which tied in closely with the theme of this year’s ArtsCross ensured that the unforgettable movements and lively dance arrangements created by Buscarini possessed an infectiousness that was at the same time extremely genuine and highly touching.

Mask, by mainland choreographer Guo Lei took an alternative approach. In a stroke of originality, he made use of Nuo opera masks from Nanfeng in Jiangxi Province, incorporating Nuo opera arrangements into his performance. This had a powerful effect, and attracted the attention of almost all the international academics and audience members. In incorporating such distinctive masks and such exaggerated movements into a dance work, and through engaging in a profound analysis of the relationship between man and mask, the values expressed by the “Chinese-style” dance won the recognition of the Western audiences.

Free Steps, from the Taiwanese choreographer Su Wei-Chia, featured five female performers. The dancers in this piece used slow free dance steps, progressing diagonally across the stage from the stage exit towards the stage entrance at the front of the stage. This movement lasted for the duration of the dance. The five female dancers danced freely, but nevertheless adhered to the same principles of movement. The resulting creation was extremely beautiful, like a slowly changing cloud, or a swaying coral reef… the resulting creation was astoundingly beautiful.

While the origin of the piece’s name was unclear, My Dear No. 8, from Taiwanese choreographer Ho Hsiao-Mei used six dancers to create a variety of scenes while donning and taking off trench coats. She manipulated the relationship between the empty and the real in a very interesting manner, with a kind of tension rich in dramatic sense. Through this simple approach, she was able to expose the perspective shifts between the “self” and the “non-self”, the “self” and the “other”. This highly watchable, highly enjoyable arrangement demonstrated the abilities and artistic creativity of the choreographer.

German choreographer, Vera Tussing, representing London, created a piece called Moving Relations: Research. During her piece, she used a research perspective to arrange the dancers and manage the relationships between them, particularly emphasizing the communion between the dancers and the audience. In managing the relationships between dancers, she used a lot of experimental approaches, creating an intriguing connection between the six dancers. By avoiding special clothing and not using music to accompany the dance, she emphasized the experimental nature of the work.

The Vietnamese-American choreographer, Dam Van Huynh, also representing London, also used a title for his creation, Gloves, which had little connection to its content. He also exhibited a spirit of experimentalism in his use of music. During rehearsals, he didn’t use any music, but when it came to the performance, he invited an electronic musician to DJ live. The fortuitous connections which arose between dance and music became a highlight of this work. He also made use of some dynamic movements, such as swapping items of clothing and smelling armpits, generating a lot of laughs.

The final work was mainland choreographer Zhao Liang’s Infinite connections. He used a rubber band to tightly link the six dancers together. Linked by this rubber band, the six dancers, who obviously came from different social backgrounds and possessed different sets of experiences, were able to create a variety of entangled forms and many indescribable connections. Just at the point when the dance was coming to an end, that rubber band, which had been connecting them together, broke. An indescribable sense of shock washed over the audience, surprising everybody.

It is no exaggeration to say that the nine pieces which the choreographers created for ArtsCross were works which came from the heart. On the cosmopolitan London stage, they played off one another and each demonstrated their brilliance, at the same time lighting up the 2013 London ArtsCross project. These works constituted the most outstanding pieces from this year’s ArtsCross project.