衛武營國家藝術文化中心 National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)

by PS (dance chronicler)

Seeing LIN Lee-chen's dance is like watching an action film in super slow-mo. 4K resolution at 120 frames per second flows by silently, and each frame is perfectly refined and beautiful.

The unique, slow-movement vocabulary is packed with emotional details, and with the simply sculpted visual imagery, the piece has the feeling of a majestic ceremony, so you are not just seeing a dance performance but also taking part in an immersive ritual of the body and mind alongside the dancers within a sanctuary.

The Eternal Tides–A Myth of Melancholy and Beauty

Frozen beneath a river for a thousand years, the divine White Bird summons all of its soul's strength to break free from its prison to see its beloved once more. On the surface, it is a story of love, but even more so, it is one of the will and perseverance.

An endless array of white cloth crisscrosses the stage, creating a world shrouded in snow and locked in ice, at the bottom of which is trapped the White Bird, who is summoned by a meticulous drumming. Painted white and almost completely naked, she slowly awakens, exerting herself from the waist and gradually accumulating energy as she whips her spine around and around, her long black hair an extension of that. Members of the audience cannot help but feel as if they are being sucked into the rippling, spiraling resonance.

One of the most captivating of the piece, this part is something that the average dancer would not so readily be willing to attempt considering the physical demands. To be able to complete this over-20-minute bodily vortex, the dancer must be determined. This feat is only possible after a grueling training regimen that began with a hundred turns at one go and was gradually worked up to a thousand.

Physical discipline: still, stable, relaxed, immersed, and slow

The ability to spiral constantly like that is not achieved through just willful physical training. To make the cut for Legend Lin Dance Theatre's team, you have to fully concentrate on learning how to be still, stable, relaxed, immersed, and slow. They begin with a focus on breathing and calming the body and mind. Movement originates in the coccyx, and along with the tempo of breathing, the dancer must be extremely relaxed and slow in perceiving the movement of every bit of muscle and each joint, immersing the self in the environment. This daily training in movement and awareness is a veritable form of both physical and mental cultivation.

When the White Bird and her lover meet, each advances toward the other slowly from either side of the stage along the river. Their eyes lowered, they caress the surface of the river with their toes. There is no impassioned dash toward each other or ardent embrace: they move lightly and slowly, each step seeming to explore questions that haunt the soul. And when she finally touches his chest, all the pent-up bits of emotion are finally released and find fulfillment.

Revisiting the past and the rise and fall of fate

LIN is time-consumingly precise in her work, so she has produced less than ten pieces, but if you have seen one, you can easily recognize it as hers: performers painted white; such natural elements as silvergrass and seeds; and simple music consisting of nanguan music, vocals, stone chines, and Buddhist gongs. These elements she commonly uses form her singular style. The Eternal Tides (created in 2017) is a sequel to her piece Song of Pensive Beholding (2009, the final part of a trilogy of hers) and a culmination of all her previous work.

LEE says, "The White Bird and Samo meet one last time and then separate, allowing them to truly be able to let go." Actually, that reunion in The Eternal Tides is not just a reunion for the two roles but an expression of how LEE cherishes all sentient beings, a reflection on the cycles and insights of life, and mindful attention to nature.

The White Bird and Samo seem to respectively be the bride and her lost lover in Miroirs de vie (the first part of the abovementioned trilogy), and the heart-shaking death dance of the White Bird is like a reappearance of what happened in Song of Pensive Beholding. As the White Bird leaves behind 12 seeds and exits, the fate of the audience rises and falls as do the ebb and flow of the tide.

  Program  

9/27(Sat)14:30、9/28(Sun)14:30

►Legend Lin Dance Theatre - The Eternal Tides Résurgences oniriques