[Review] Hung Dance presents Birdy for London’s Taiwan Festival
Matthew Paluch sees Hung Dance’s Birdy: “their talent and commitment are indisputable, even though this piece didn’t work for me.”
| Title | Birdy |
| Company | Hung Dance |
| Venue | The Coronet Theatre, London |
| Date | 19 April 2024 |
| Reviewer | Matthew Paluch |
As part of the inaugural, 16-day Taiwan Festival at The Coronet Theatre, Hung Dance presented their 2018 work, Birdy.
The title is literal in the sense that the piece is a hybrid looking at the “movement of the human body, the flutter of birds and contemporary dance”, and though this sounds divine in theory, the reality is disappointing.
I really wanted this work to be good, as it should be, because many components are in place – the Coronet has tasteful programming, the two dancers of Hung Dance are evidently skilled and committed, and an impressive pheasant feather acts as a linchpin of both aesthetic appreciation and movement development.
Yet somehow I was left cold, even annoyed by the end. Why? The sound design by Hsu Chia-wei doesn’t help, with a background, monotonous vibe you’ll find in any soulless, nameless corporate bar in many a generic, grey cityscape. Though the light design by Tsai Chao-yu is the opposite end of the spectrum – sensitive, diverse, and challenging The Coronet’s team and technical capabilities to the max.
As mentioned, dancers Cheng I-han and Lee Kuan-lin do the absolute most with the material they’re offered, and it would be a pleasure to see them in something with more choreographic range and scope.
And the infamous feather, a Lingzi “often worn on warrior’s helmets in traditional Chinese opera to show the warriors’ strength and skill” is a beauty indeed. When placed centrally on top of a head, the axis elongates the verticality of the human form, and with the introduction of body movement leaves traces of curves behind it and speed of sound ricochets in the space it encounters.
Remove said feather and talented dancers and what’s left? Sadly, very little I’m afraid. Lai Hung-chung’s movement is limited and repetitive, but not enough to be considered a minimal work in its own right.
The majority of the content is articulated, disconnected passages, and every minute or so there’s an empty leg extension chucked in, that gets emptier as the piece progresses.
The two dancers initially portray a captor/captive dynamic, and there is some interesting off-balance partnering, reminiscent of early Kahn. But then the relationship shifts, without enough commitment, so everything ends up feeling without basis.
Two different sections use the notion of dual between the cast members, with the feather acting as a form of weapon, executing slices across the front and back of the neck. And though initially intriguing, it all goes on for too long with no real direction or resolution offered.
When the work finished I was relieved, then hated myself on seeing the thankful, joyous faces of the cast and choreographer, but everyone else seemed satisfied so that’s good news.
However, I’d watch Hung Dance again because their talent and commitment are indisputable, even though this piece didn’t work for me. I’m always hungry to experience the dance of other cultures and I’m sure Taiwan has a lot of alternatives to offer.
Matthew Paluch was awarded a place at The Royal Ballet School in 1990 where he graduated in 1997. His first four years as a professional dancer were spent working with London City Ballet, Scottish Ballet, K-Ballet and English National Ballet, becoming a full-time member of ENB until leaving in 2006.
Matthew graduated from the Royal Academy of Dance, Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma in 2007, and was formerly on faculty at The Royal Ballet School. He completed his Masters in Ballet Studies at Roehampton University in 2011, has been a freelance writer since 2010 and currently works in the Law Sector.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
