The sexy, avant-garde Iceland Dance Company will make its
Shanghai debut Sunday with works about love. The laugh-a-minute
Spanish physical comedy trio Tricicle will perform "Sit," the
history of the chair, from May 5-7.
Probably the furthest European country from China, Iceland is
known to most Chinese as the home of pop star Bjork and a land
where we can see the magnificent Northern lights.
As a matter of fact, the Northern European country has also
cultivated artistic forms with a unique Icelandic flavor.
Tomorrow night, the Iceland Dance Company will make its debut in
Shanghai and perform two of its award-winning modern dance works
under the universal theme of love.
In "Luna" (2004 Icelandic "Dance Award" and "Best Dance Piece"),
a group of young people dance the waltz of life under the moonlight
to cherish their youthful dreams and burning passion. Images of
love, longing, hope and joy are orchestrated into a dreamlike gypsy
serenade. "Happy new Year" fuses theatrical humor and sarcasm into
a choreography tailor-made for the dancers. The performance
delights the senses and challenges the intellect.
The diverse company has been working with Europe's leading
choreographers and nurturing its own Icelandic artists.
The Dance Europe once described the company as "a sexy group,"
which was "plainly adept at theatrical dance with a high kinetic
edge." The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung called it a "superb
world-class company." It will move to Guangzhou and Beijing after
the Shanghai premiere.
Meanwhile, Spain's beloved physical comedy group Tricicle will
return to Shanghai during the May Day holiday, staging its latest
hit "Sit" for audiences who might have missed their extraordinary
performance in 2005.
The Spanish comedy trio is acclaimed for having created a new
performing genre: a mixture based on silent movies, clown
techniques, mime and conventional theater.
Its motto is "to hear the audience laughing every 10
seconds."
The chair has always been an indispensable object in the odyssey
of human beings. It has witnessed peace treaties, mouth-watering
feasts, congenial conversations, sensational shows, tough trials,
long waits as well as passionate love affairs.
In the play, the chair is the focal point, and its history is
told, from the time man, or woman first placed her bottom on a rock
or a tree stump.
"Tricicle's plays are often created based on everyday life and
everyday objects," says Ren Yi from Shanghai Oriental Arts Center
where the play will be staged.
"It aims to make people laugh through a subtle, simple and
surprising type of humor - somewhere between the reality and the
absurd."
The group first visited Shanghai one and a half years ago during
their Asia debut.
Their wacky performance was reported to have made audiences
laugh until it hurt, nonstop, for 90 minutes.
(CRI.cn April 29, 2007)