Li Ke is the inspirational leader behind the Xiao Ke Dancing Studio, the city's only amateur modern dance theater that plans to entice audiences away from the classics. But it isn't going to be easy.
A gym near the dorms of Fudan University rumbles with rhythms. A group of women wearing golden costumes dance. It's a jazz style, but the music is from Broadway and, get this, classic rockers Pink Floyd.
Welcome to the world of modern dance. The women are rehearsing an act from the modern dance drama Being, debuted last night at Fudan University. A new production from Xiao Ke Dancing Studio, the only amateur modern dance studio in Shanghai, the dance drama is ambitious, as the name suggests, trying to record the state of “being” -- from birth to the daily grind of urban existence. “Life is like a dream and everything passes us by gradually,” says 25-year-old Li Ke, founder of the studio and a journalism graduate from Fudan.
For the diminutive Li, however, modern dance is not something “passing by” but a passion that diverted her from a career in marketing to a full-time dancer, choreographer and program organizer. Founded in 1999, the studio was formerly a students' body. However, Li took over after graduating two years ago. Xiao Ke now holds performances at the campus every year. This year, Li leads 11 female dancers -- university students and Fudan graduates -- to perform Being on the campus of Fudan and Shanghai Jiaotong University. Unlike the performances made of short dances in the last two years, Being is an eight-act dance drama that has taken five months to complete.
It has involved so much time and effort that Li even quit her job in August. “There were so many things other than dance to prepare before we could perform,” says Li. “But if I didn't do it, we couldn't pull off the performances. The resignation seemed so natural to me. I don't want to make a fuss about it.” The “other things” Li refers to include finding a sponsor, making costumes, booking performing venues and dull, but essential, tasks such as printing brochures. Unexpected problems also had to be dealt with. One sponsor dropped out to sponsor a pop concert. Fortunately, everything worked out for the best eventually after the Australian office of EduShanghai International stepped in and donated 80,000 yuan (US$9,638). Money wasn't the only complication. Li also had problems in booking venues.
“I spent more time doing these things than practicing the dance,” she says with a wry face. Li, who has more than 10 years of traditional Chinese dance training, didn't expect to make a career in choreography. During her university days, Li entered Fudan's contemporary dance association. It started a love for an art form she knew little about.
Li later became the head of the association and in 1999, opened her own studio named “Xiao Ke” -- her nickname. Since then, the studio has become a campus phenomenon. “Through their performances, I got to know the avant-garde modern dance,” says Wu Yao, a senior student at Fudan. “I prefer it to Latin and other dance forms since it is very creative.”
Li is quick to return the praise. She says the student audience is lenient, even when the occasional glitch occurs. Though she graduated two years ago, and most of her initial dance pals have left to pursue other careers, Li never falters. So does Han Fang, another member of Xiao Ke. The archaeological graduate from Fudan started with the studio three years ago and dances in Being.
“I used to perform jazz and tap dance, but then I fell in love with modern dance,” says Han. “I just can't hold my steps. It's too dominating.” For “Being,” the studio has recruited a number of amateur dancers from both schools and elsewhere, but Li says that most newcomers don't have a passion for modern dance -- not like Han or Li anyways.
Indeed. Although modern dance was introduced in Shanghai in the 1920s, it's never been a crowd favorite. During the last month's Fifth Shanghai International Arts Festival, modern dance programs such as Bone from the Beijing Modern Dance Company, and performances from London-based Rambert Dance Company, didn't sell many tickets. It is in stark contrast to last year's festival in which modern dance programs like Bamboo Dreams by Taiwan's Cloud Gate Dance Theater, and Salome by the Sydney Dance Company were the hottest performances.
“I think many Shanghai audiences can enjoy modern dance in an aesthetic way and the failure of many performances lies in their own quality or mistakes in organizing or promoting,” says dance critic Lan Fan, explaining why local audience still prefer classic ballets such as Swan Lake.
“There are very few good creations in recent years after several modern-dance choreographers left the city in the mid-1990s to pursue careers abroad,” Lan adds. But the situation seems to have rebounded in recent years. Jin Xing, a modern dance pioneer in China, set up a dance company in Shanghai in 1999, and the 15-strong troupe now gives about 10 modern dance performances in the city annually. “I never doubted Shanghai audience's taste in appreciating modern dance, especially that of the intellectuals,” says Jin.
“But some performing agencies just want to play it safe with either classical works or pop concerts. It is no good for the city, because people are kept away from the international mainstream.”
Next january, Jin's company will perform new productions in France as part of the China Culture Year -- a preview will be held in the city early this month. Meanwhile, the dance troupe under the Shanghai Opera House, which currently performs both classical and modern dance, plans to phase out traditional dances. In recent years, it has cooperated with many modern-dance choreographers like Hu Jialu, who returned from the United States last year, and Jin. “As a metropolitan city, Shanghai has too few modern dance companies,” says Xu Senzhong, director of the troupe. “We wish to become an independent modern dance company just like the two pro companies in Beijing and Guangzhou.”
Xu, however, understands the market risks. On November 22, they held a joint performance with well-known local Latin dancers Fang Jun and Chen Zhao, and sold out the 750-seat drama theater in the Shanghai Grand Theater.
“I know many people came to watch Fang's Latin,” says Xu. “But many expressed their appreciation for the modern dance as well.” Soon they will stage a Modern Dance and Music Show with vocalists from the opera house. It's the work of overseas Chinese choreographers such as Ying Erding from Singapore, Huang Wenge from Japan and Zhang Zhenjun from the United States. Both Xu and dance critic Lan also say that promoting modern dance among college students is a good way to build a following. However, Li remains unsure about the future of her dancing studio. “I always feel inadequate as my dancers are too amateurish to fully realize my ideas,” says Li.
“I plan to study choreography in the United States and turn pro in the future.” It is too early to ask about Li's future plans after study, but Shanghai could be an ideal home, if the market warms to modern dance.
Performance Details
Time: 7 pm, December 4
Venue: Jingjing Hall, Shanghai Jiaotong University Minhang Campus
Address: 800 Dongchuan Rd.
Tickets: Free
Download and print it on http://www.cocaart.com/bbs
“Modern Dance and Music Show”
Time: 7:15 pm, December 26
Venue: Majestic Theater, 66 Jiangning Rd.
Tickets: 80-280 yuan
Tel: 6361-7771, 6248-6422
(eastday.com December 2, 2003)
