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Jin Xing in Red Wine.
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Jin Xing in Monologue of Memory.
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Freak by Guandong Modern Dance Group.
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Choreographer Jin Xing is famous in
China for more than her professional talents. She was once a he.
When in the early 1990s the star was making waves among Chinese
dance circles, Jin shocked the nation by having a sex change.
Though this was then regarded as unacceptable or even immoral
to most Chinese, Jin undauntedly proceeded with her career. She
founded the Jin Xing Modern Dance Theater, the only private dancing
troupe in China. Last March the controversial but nonetheless
successful artist found herself in the limelight once again when
she hosted Shanghai Dance 2006, the international dance festival
that she describes as a “physical interpretation of culture.”
During the festival, she and her company presented their latest
act, “Shanghai Beauty.”
A Platform for Cultural Exchange
Winner of the Best Choreographer Award in the American Dance
Festival in 1991, Jin Xing has since embraced realm of culture.
She invited the world’s top international dancers to perform
at the Shanghai Festival to maximize cross-cultural exchanges.
All the acts focused on exploring the world’s different cultures
through powerful and graceful dance movements.
Among the galaxy of dance troupes that participated in the 10-day
event were Germany’s Rubato Dance Company, Holland’s
Emio Greco/PC, Brazil’s Quasar Cidade Danca and Senegal’s
Germaine Acogny. Prominent Chinese choregrapher Wen Hui and her
Living Dance Studio presented their “Report on Giving Birth.”
Having conducted a series of interviews with mothers of all ages,
the dancers expressed the moms’ understanding of procreation
through their inspiring body movements. Then Jin Xing’s “Shanghai
Beauty” integrated perceptions of physical beauty in both
the West and the East in a fascinating piece of dance.
Last year Jin Xing’s dance theater staged 70 shows around
Europe, and only 10 at home. She explains the disparity thus:
“It’s difficult to turn a profit in China, where there
are few sponsors and high theater rents.” That contemporary
dance struggles in China is understandable, especially when even
classical ballets like Swan Lake don’t appeal to the masses.
But Jin looks to the future with optimism. “Between March
and July we have tours of Italy, Switzerland, Singapore and Spain.
But I intend to make the Shanghai Dance Festival an annual event.
I am considering improving the festival by staging acts in three
other theaters around the Shanghai Dramatic Art Center (the venue
for this year’s festival) so as to create a better festival
atmosphere.”
The Shanghai-based Jin Xing has plans to stage a multimedia show
titled “Chinese Ink” in the latter half of this year.
She says, “Modern people lead hectic lives. I want to evoke
in them the spirit of peace that is the soul of Chinese calligraphy.”
Modern Dance in China
China had its first experiences of modern dance in the late 1950s,
when Wu Xiaobang set up the Tianma (celestial horse) Dance Art
Studio. It offered students comprehensive courses on modern dance
of the day. But it was shut down during the “cultural revolution”
(1966-1976), and modern dance in China all but disappeared. It
was revived in the late 1970s, and started to thrive again in
the 80s after an experimental modern dance class in Guangdong
Province proved successful. In 1991, the Beijing Dance Academy
launched a modern dance teaching and research department, and
many celebrated Western modern dancers were invited to offer courses.
Thus a new generation of Chinese dancers began to shine on the
world stage. In 1990, Qin Liming and Qiao Yang, both of whom were
trained at the experimental class in Guangdong, took gold in the
Pas de Deux at the Fourth Paris International Modern Dance Contest
with their “Passing Voice” and “Impressions of
Taiji.”
World dance circles were impressed with Chinese modern dancers’
sudden leap to fame, and were astounded at the ways in which they
infused the charm of ancient Oriental culture with this contemporary
art. Now the Chinese capital hosts every May the Beijing Modern
Dance Exhibition and Performance, the most comprehensive event
of its kind in the country, in May of each year.
That Magical Moment
Jin Xing recalls that she felt an “electric current”
surge through her body when she first saw contemporary dance,
and its free and graceful movements. Jin went to learn the art
in the US at the age of 20, where she studied under Murray Louis,
protégé and partner of Alwin Nikolais, exponent
of avant-garde dance. The two co-founded the Nikolais/Louis Legacy
Workshop.
On one occasion Louis brought Jin a cassette of a solo he created
at the age of 57 – Shake, which had not been played since
its premier eight years before. But Jin complained that it was
banal in terms of technique. Louis retorted, “What you need
to focus on is style, not technique.”
It took Jin just one week to come up with her own interpretation
of the piece, which was ultimately shown to New York audiences.
One reviewer in the New York Times applauded Jin for accurately
interpreting the original act’s abstruse meaning while presenting
it in a fresh way. This success proved a milestone in the budding
choreographer’s career. Now experienced and successful, Jin
comments on her achievements, “All my work involves my personal
experiences. And I am only myself when I stand on the stage. You
might say I live for that magical moment!”
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