Cloud Gate Dance Theatre @ EFT 10 May

Refreshingly different, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre bring their unique fusion of contemporary dance, Tai Chi, martial arts and meditation to the Festival Theatre. Energy. Water. Beauty. Cosmos. These are just some of the abstract elements combined into a complete and harmonious performance by the highly acclaimed Taiwanese dancers. Founded in 1973, the company has become Asia’s leading contemporary dance theatre.

Inspired by Asian myths and aesthetics, the dancers’ hypnotic, ephemeral movements create a breathtaking and meditative interpretation of JS Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello: a meeting between Eastern movement and Western sound. Unlike many Western contemporary dance pieces, Moon Water explores the unworldly spaces of ethereal beauty and timelessness. Here the idea of anthropocentrism becomes irrelevant: we are taken somewhere beyond our egos or emotions. At first, the stage resembles the surface of a celestial body reflected in mirrors hung in the background. While the dancers’ movements slowly change into more fluid sequences, the stage is filled with water. Transforming the stage, the water and the mirrors give an impression of multiple reflections – the dancers reflected in the water reflected in the mirrors. The dancers and their reflections melt together within one space forming strikingly beautiful images.

Like calligraphic characters, the bodies bend in incredibly crooked poses painting poetic landscapes unfamiliar to the Western eye. It is not easy to take in the performance without questioning its seemingly repetitive structure, choreography and music. The way to enjoy it is to give in and let the piece lull you into a mellow dream-like state, and yes, drift off in the closing scene.