Intimate Encounters: A Meditative Prelude Presented by Legend Lin Dance Theatre
Legend Lin Dance Theatre staged a unique spectacle, Intimate Encounters, as a prelude to its widely acclaimed "Song of Pensive Beholding".
Dancer Wu Ming-jing’s face is dabbed with white paint
Courtesy of Legend Lin Dance Theatre
TAIPEI, Taiwan — At a time when everything keeps changing, it’s hard to sit back and find the time to contemplate this world around us. Yet, Legend Lin Dance Theatre’s slow-motion choreography prompts us to do so.
This July, Legend Lin Dance Theatre staged a unique spectacle, Intimate Encounters (觸身·實境), at the Experimental Theatre in the heart of Taipei city.
As a prelude to the troupe’s widely acclaimed work, Song of Pensive Beholding (觀), Intimate Encounters is not a dance performance, but a sneak peek at how dancers prepare for their characters behind the scenes.
The show begins the moment when one arrives at the theatre. At its entrance, each audience receives the so-called “blessing” bestowed by the troupe; this is done by one of the staff who would apply a red-coloured mark on the forehead using an extremely tiny brush.
The audience then walks into the theatre to find the stage beautifully set with a candle placed in the centre, flanked by two antique dressing tables placed on either side of the stage. Accessories, powder boxes, and all other tools needed to adorn the characters are placed on the table top.
When the lights go dim, the troupe slowly enters the stage, one after another. The extremely slow motion is accentuated by the dancers’ determined footsteps. Finally, the troupe come to form a circle in the centre of the stage, encircling the candlelight in the middle. Lin Li-chen, founder of Legend Lin Dance Theatre, is also found among this circle of dancers.
Chanting of the Heart Sutra, a popular sutra in Mahayana Buddhism, breaks the silence. The rhythmic cycle of this sacred vibration permeates the theatre with solemn air, awaking every single cell in my body.
Wu Ming-jing transforming into White Bird
Courtesy of Legend Lin Dance Theatre
As the troupe dissolves, lead dancers Wu Ming-jing and Li Geng-ang head towards their dressing table placed on either side of the stage, and begins the preparation: combing their hair.
In this highly ritualised demonstration, Wu Ming-jing prepares for the character White Bird, whereas Li Geng-ang prepares for Samo — both are from Song of Pensive Beholding. I’m fortunate to have my seat right in front of where Wu’s dressing table is placed, which adds to my experience (as a spectator) a certain voyeuristic quality.
Once the hair is styled, Wu and Li meet at the centre of the stage, where they remain still as helpers sponge paint their bodies. White Bird’s body is dabbed with white-coloured paint, then with layers of supposedly baby powder to evoke snow white skin; during the process, particles of white powder float in the air like smoke of incense above an altar.
On the other hand, Samo’s body is first painted in bronze tone, after which fine gold powder is carefully blown over his chest and back to give it a beautiful metallic polish. This visual-captivating process can be repetitive, as the audience has to wait until every inch of their skin — especially parts of the body that are exposed — has been taken care of.
From combing the hair to painting the body, from meticulously installing the accessories to getting dressed in multiple layers of clothes, each stage of the preparation is carried out in silence. Before you know it, the two dancers have transformed into their presumed character, both on a physical and mental level, though it’s unclear at which point in time did this metamorphosis take place.
Li Geng-ang (left) and Ｗu Ming-jing (right) getting dressed
Courtesy of Legend Lin Dance Theatre
After White Bird and Samo leave the stage, a dancer dressed in black slowly glides across the stage from right to left, leaving behind a trail of an extremely long piece of white silk, symbolising the river where White Bird and Samo meet. Though simple, this sublime and poetic stage set completely takes my breath away.
Once the river is set, White Bird and Samo reappears on either side of the stage and, despite the audience’s frustration, the show ends when the two finally meet halfway.
During this 2.5-hour performance, the tedious process of Intimate Encounters challenges the patience and attention span of both the dancers and its spectators. To ritualise the mundane act of grooming and getting dressed, the dancers’ bodily comportment needs to be controlled and refined, down to every breath they take.
As for the audience, Intimate Encounters may be exhaustive to watch for those who are not unfamiliar with Legend Lin Dance Theatre. While most people remained until the end, there were some who left the theatre midway, perhaps bored by this slow-paced progress.
Samo (left) and White Bird (right) meet at the river
Courtesy of Legend Lin Dance Theatre
Although Intimate Encounters is not a dance performance, it is no less a proud depiction of the ethereal aesthetic that the troupe is known for.
Surely, witnessing first-hand the transformative process of the dancers into their characters, a sense of intimacy or connection is built between the spectators and the characters on stage.
For some audience, Intimate Encounters is a choreographed prelude that allows them to gain a deeper understanding of the troupe’s production, Song of Pensive Beholding. For others, Intimate Encounters is a guided meditation that reminds them to live in the moment, finding comfort in their surroundings and appreciating whatever it is that they do, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem.
Intimate Encounters was staged at the Experimental Theatre from July 7 to July 9, 2022. Song of Pensive Beholding will be staged at the National Theatre Hall from August 19 to August 21, 2022.