Like the movie Director Hou Hsiao Hsien, who created an oriental Zen style world of Kung-fu, using poetic cinematography in the movie The Assassin, Yang Liping has created a world class contemporary dance based on powerful body language and an authentic Chinese spirit. With traditional paper-cutting performances, glamorous Peking Opera costumes, haunting operatic voices and bold martial arts, this is a strong work of contemporary dance, thoroughly imbued with the Chinese spirit.
When I saw the world premiere of Under Siegein Yunnan, all my worries about how the dance queen from Peacockcould use Peking opera elements to create a contemporary dance disappeared. After forty years of working almost exclusively in folk dance, Yang Liping has made a comeback with a world class oriental contemporary dance that fully embodies the living spirit of the performing arts.
Yang asks. “Where will Chinese dance go after folk dance? Is Western ballet the only direction for its future?” Nearing sixty, Yang appears rejuvenated when she takes the stage at curtain call, dedicated to using contemporary dance to express the timeless themes of siege and ambush.
If her past works took inspiration from nature, Under Siegeis clearly rooted in human history. The two thousand year old Chu-Han War, a battle between legendary generals Xiang Yu and Liu Bang, is well-known in China. Its themes echo throughout our lives even today.
Strategizing, scheming, laying ambush, crafting a siege … It all happened two thousand years ago, but it continues to this day.
Unraveling the Myth of Under Siegeby Yang Liping
ChenHui, Dance Critic
Yang Liping has become a social symbol, a symbol of originality and uniqueness. Yang Liping began to shift the focus of her work to a search for human nature with the creation of the dance drama Peacock. If Peacockis the beginning of this quest, then Under Siegepaves the way for the greater journey.
Under Siegeis a work of dance theater. This production differs from the usual dance drama or dance show, which exclusively presents song and dance. This is a theater space that encompasses all different types of performance arts in a theaters. It is a challenge to the traditional forms of theatrical performance. It is a combination of performance arts such as installation art, folk music, and Chinese opera combined with a new form of contemporary Chinese modern dance as the center of the show.
Under Siegeis inspired by the historical events of the Chu Han War that took place two thousand years ago. Distinctive characters such as the Chu King Xiang Yu, his ever devoted famous concubine Yu Ji, the loyal minister Xiao He, the courageous and yet two faced field marshal Han Xin and Han Emperor Liu Bang are vividly portrayed in the show.
Under Siegeis essentially a historical story told through a new language of contemporary theater. Each character that appears in the show is not just the historical figure, but also a reflection of its counterpart in today’s world. The show attempts to convey the conflicts between people living today through the bloody fights between these historical figures. These characters are from the past, as well as the present day
The character Han Xin (played by Pan Yu) takes more than one hundred falls throughout the performance. It is this fall that embodies the conflict between temptation and fear. This confusion inherent in human relationships is no less than that between any elements in space. Such conflicts between confusion, fear and temptation in the human spirit carry on for so long that they become indistinguishable from the cuts of scissors. Yang Liping says, “It is very hard to know if it is fear that begets desire, or desire that gives rise to fear … Plotting, ambushes, scheming and strategizing, these are the truths of Under Siegeand yet they are very alive today.” After all, our inner life today is not so different from that of two thousand years ago.
In Under Siege, Yang Liping again demonstrates her very original creations as she further refines the signature Yang Liping body language and stage language.
In body language, Yang Liping’s choreography incorporates Peking Opera, Chinese martial arts, modern dance and even modern street dance.