Review | Dance at its most original and ground-breaking in Brown, by City Contemporary Dance Company and Korean choreographer Kim Jaeduk
- A work that gives expression to a colour and its association with earth and wood, Brown reunites Hong Kong contemporary dance troupe with Korea’s Kim Jaeduk
- 12 masked dancers fuse into a single entity, their flowing, wave-like movements punctuated by staccato kicks. This is a triumph for Kim and the creative team
The hour-long Brown is a revelation. It starts slowly, then develops into that rare thing: a work which makes you see dance in a whole new way, which is exactly what contemporary dance ideally aims for, but seldom achieves.
The title reflects the choreographer’s objective to create a work expressing a colour and its association with earth and wood, the fundamental elements of nature.
Brown renews the collaboration between Hong Kong’s City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) and leading South Korean choreographer/composer Kim Jaeduk, following the success of Jangdan in 2018.
Designer Yeung Chin’s minimalist set and Lawmanray’s ingenious lighting contrive to make everything brown without being boring.
Yeung’s costumes are disconcerting at first. All the dancers wear identical (brown, of course) costumes, including large masks with long beaks at the front and strange, stick-like appendages on their hands (these remind me of Groot, the tree-like alien in Guardians of the Galaxy, while the lit-up eyes in the masks make me think of the Jawas in Star Wars).
Normally I’m not in favour of hiding dancers’ faces, thus losing their individuality, humanity and expressiveness. Here, however, the intention becomes clear as the piece progresses: the dancers fuse into a single entity, literally moving as one and the focus is entirely on the movement with no distractions.
Indeed, I was almost disappointed when the masks came off towards the end of the piece.
Kim’s choreography employs extraordinary, undulating movement, the whole body and arms flowing like a wave, punctuated by sharp, staccato kicks derived from Korean traditional dance.
In one exceptional passage, the dancers form a line in the middle of the stage and create mesmerising images as they move in unison, like trees bending in the wind.
A long final sequence made up largely of frenzied solos, remarkable for their electrifying speed and power combined with total control, builds relentlessly to a breathless climax (literally - the dancers could be heard panting at the end and I felt out of breath just watching them).
Organic is an overused word, yet here it was the one that came to mind again and again. The relationship between Kim’s music and the dance, so intimately connected that they cannot be separated; the harmony of costumes, sets and lighting with the dance; the way the work flows naturally – despite the technical brilliance in every aspect of the production, nothing feels artificial.
Brown is a triumph for Kim and the whole creative team and was danced with exemplary commitment and skill by the cast of 12, mostly young, dancers, whose passion for the work came through as they reached a new level of performance.
The production may not be as Christmassy as Hong Kong Ballet’s spectacular Nutcracker, but is a true festive treat for anyone who wants to see dance at its most original and ground-breaking.
Brown, City Contemporary Dance Company, Studio Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Shows continue on Dec 23-25. Reviewed: Dec 18.
