Tisch
School of the Arts is a renowned and highly acclaimed school which is very well
known amongst the arts community and the rising generation who wish to continue
their journey in the field of arts. The approach of teaching which surpasses
the thinking of Generation Y by the pedagogue has unfolded a new space for them
to continue their battle in the dance field. The space to choreograph is being
incorporated as well in the teaching aspect in this school. On the 30th
and 31st October 2014, I watched a dance performance which is called
Showing 1. It is a showcase series produced by Tisch School of the Arts. This
production is one which provides a platform for the students to choreograph and
to sow and disseminate their ideas to the mass for it to be showcased. A total
of 10 choreographers have exhibited their own ideas through the performance for
the public’s pleasure viewing, yet there is this one particular choreography
which attracted my mind and attention that prompted me to the computer to emit
slight criticism which may not be realized or possibly be improvised by the
choreographer.
After
several performances were over, it was time for this choreography to begin. The
atmosphere became quiet as ever as the audience awaited of what is there to be
seen. The lights on the audience side was being dimmed and the curtain was
drawn. It appeared there were 6 bodies without clothing seen behind faintly
dimmed lights, perhaps the choreographer desired it to be such. All of the 6
dancers did an image which was quite awkward and bizarre whereby their heads on
the floor and both hands widely opened somewhat symbolizing light fragile
wings. The song began to be played with scary and fully dynamic and the lighting is well-planned and
sympathetic. If I did not look at the program book I would have thought that
the choreography seemed to be telling a frightening story accompanied by the
song which was intensely tragic and eerie, yet it was on the contrary. The 6
male dancers on stage appeared to be and gave me the impression that this
choreography is a choreography with high energy. “Chicken Scratch” by Mia
Chong, the title of the choreography seemingly depicting to be explaining that
the choreographer is one nature lover and into elements involving animals.
Perhaps it is related to the background of the choreographer herself who loves
animals. Mia is a 1st year BFA student and has immense talent. The
reason she chose all male dancers is because connected to what she thought
about male energy specifically with this 6 dancers.
All
of the 6 dancers started their dance by crawling while lying on the floor and
followed by positioning themselves as couples in a straight line. Every
movement was in sync with the beat of the music, most captivating and whoever
that watches would undoubtedly be moved by it.
Yet, in all superiority of it there are weaknesses. Every choreographer
is trained to break away from the issues of “common” or literal, by following
the rhythm of music that was being played, all 6 dancers performed with explosive
energy. Attitude turn, Grand jete, Pirouette and sliding on the floor,
naturally requires high skillful technic in this choreography particularly when
one of the dancers emerged out of the group and showcased the pirouette moves. Long
clean lines, especially in attitude position, are evident, interspersed by
sharp staccato drills and a repeated introverted hand-curling motif. A
highlight is a (four-five?) pirouette which drops immediately into a controlled
splat on the ground. The coolness of the dancers presentation, as well as the
prevalence of a lighting side stage and the accompanying powerful and
extraordinary soundscape, distance their character from the audience as well as
from their own space created by the choreographer. It seemed to come out of the
colony and have the desire to rebel with no purpose. To me, that part is
unnecessary as it is meaningless but yet worth it to have. Once again Mia has
to ask herself why the technic has to be there, is it compulsory and have
connection to the narrative? Nonetheless while watching the dance, my mind was
hallucinating for a moment and immediately seeing visions of the competition
SYTYCD which is so ever becoming popular. Had this choreography been showcased
on the SYTYCD stage, surely it will receive thunderous applause and cheers to
every trick that the choreographer has recommended them to do. In producing a
choreography, we need to emphasize carefully the purpose of the choreography
being made, for who, and the reason in making this choreography. Is such
choreography being made solely to entice the audience with excitement and is
this choreography merely desired to exhibit the superiority of the dancers? It
entirely depends on the choreographer herself. However, from what I see this
choreography is enough to evidently show that the choreographer is still
searching for an identity and to where the purpose is heading next. Undeniably
it is highly entertaining but I do not see the context that can leave behind an
impact especially to an artist who attends ready with a pen and paper in hand.
Every
choreography that is being produced needs to have specific criteria which can
be deciphered as abstract, literal, conceptual and various others. Depending on
some individuals as to what kind of approach they are attempting to define in
their choreography. As an observer like me, who is still a young person
obviously would want to watch movements that are extravagant and luxurious yet
not all choreography need to have such movements because if we go back to the
era of Martha Graham, Ruth St. Dennis and many more pioneers in modern dance do
not use movement as the primary motive in delivering a story and message. In
terms of context and observation of this piece, I want to make a comparison
from the angle of energy and space mastery. The piece Sacred Monster by Akram
Khan only being drawn as a duet, yet the energy and space that was capitalized
was adequate to demonstrate overall conquerance. As opposed to the piece
Chicken Scratch which capitalized the 6 male dancers and overall space as a
filler so as not to look empty because the song that was being used was already
immensely enough to fill up the space of the stage.
Mia
Chong is a young person who is naturally very talented, was born in America and
has Asian blood. All of the 6 dancers danced in a group for a while, then broke
up to other formations like duet, trio and solo. As an observer, every piece
which I see that has a clear structure is a choreography of less abstract
thinking and more precisely when I say lack of idea. After looking at its title and trying to
think of the reason why it was named Chicken Scratch, alas it was answered.
Chicken Scratch is usually being related to the dirty and horrible hand writing
of a person like the imagery “chicken scratch”.
The imagery chicken scratch is very similar to the Asian community which
uses many metaphor language for every movement and perhaps it is due to the
background of Mia Chong who has Asian blood that encouraged her to choose such
title. The movements that had been given to the dancers were undeniably
interesting, yet they were overly cliché and commonly seen especially in this
era. The element of hip hop appeared in every movement yet it was sufficient to
show the behavior of most men that are into boisterous and fast activities. The
advantage of the male dancers with powerful energy, superb technic is already
enough for Mia Chong to be able to exploit every movement and this was clearly
seen while I was watching the piece whereby all of the elements were exhibited
with such clarity. What is being said by most of the people that if a good
choreography is being danced by less professional dancers, surely the
shortcomings can be seen and likewise on the contrary if the choreography is
not good and it is being drawn by good dancers certainly it will appear to be
good. There have one solo in the middle of this piece which is cough my attention. The solo is less
technical pizazz and more rough edged, but it makes him seem more human, and he
never loses his emotional focus even in the midst of dense movement sequences
even-thought this piece does not showed emotional value in the dancing.
Nevertheless,
the piece Chicken Scratch both dancers and choreography are in line. Should
there be a percentage in my observation Mia’s choreography is still at the
experimental level and still prematurely to be staged at the conceptual stage,
perhaps in a few more years if Mia continues searching definitely she will be a
greater choreographer than today. It could be seen that Mia had made the choice
for the dancers not to wear any clothing (topless), and other choreography with
clothes on is simply enough to explain the story behind their choreography. I
had the opportunity to ask Mia why she chose the dancers to be topless. She
answered “if the dancers do not wear any clothes, the movement and the theme
that needed to be communicated is more articulated and amply illustrated.” It
is palpable that I see Mia’s choice is explicitly based on time factor that is
inadequate to think about the costume whereby at times costume plays an
important role in every choreography that is being produced.
Overall
the piece Chicken Scratch is sufficient to make the audience see that the
learning at Tisch School of the Arts is of high quality evidently showing very
skillful technic. Mia as an American citizen with Asian blood is enough for her
to be able to stand and produce a choreography that others could possibly not
by instilling the cross cultural element.. Perhaps it is not that apparent but
to me it is enough to reveal the minuscule idea with the ability to produce as
big and as wide as the meadow. The combination of the extreme vocabulary of
movement and the western technic, superior ballet was capable to catch the
attention of the new audience on that night. Nevertheless, Mia needs to be more
heedful in terms of choreography arrangement by ingraining thoughts of
abstracting her choreography. In producing a choreography there has to be a
journey that invites the audience and the choreographer herself to a new
dimension and more accurately if I place the choreographer as the storyteller
and the story should reach out to the audience either directly or indirectly.
By incorporating the element of conceptual may possibly help to elevate the
choreography further to a different platform. Mia’s effort in producing this
choreography is capable of raising her to a level which is distinct and
contrasting from other choreography. In other words, a little bit of sugar or
salt is enough to change the taste of one dish.
Fairul Zahid
