Asia Dance Channel

On Anxiety

2 July 2010

Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac)

By Geraldine Choong

Photography by Aaronz Cheah

~The keyboard and phone line are extensions of our lust.

Pens and paper give birth to secrets

In this office, everything becomes so extraordinarily empty,

even words fail~

When my Editor asked me to review On Anxiety, a performance by the Kwang Tung Dance Company, truth be told, I was anxious myself. Not a fan of contemporary dances, I was worried that I would not appreciate the true value of the performance.

When I entered Pentas 2, the scene that greeted us was a setup of an office with tables, keyboards and phones.

On the middle table laid a bare-chested man deep in sleep. When all the audiences were settled in their seats, the scene brightens. Not long after, a woman walks in and wakes the man. Apparently, the man had so much work to do that he slept over at the office till the next day. Then, one by one, the other colleagues stream into the office to start their work routine.

What amazed me was how the choreographer creatively inserted the grace of dance into the mundane-ness of the office scene. If I understood it correctly – please forgive my not knowing Mandarin – there is a tinge of scandal in the office with one of the female employees having an affair with the boss. Then there are the usual scenes of colleagues gossiping, laughing over the phone, employee being scolded by the boss and so on.

In one scene all the employees got down to all fours and jumped and ran about the whole office acting like apes and gorillas. This happen simultaneously when the boss was hitting on the female employee. Perhaps that was to show the animal instincts in us?

The lighting was so expertly done that, even under the table, all angles of the dancers and their various expressions could be seen. The music was also well chosen and soothing to the ears. However, these were only the accompaniments. The performers were the stars of the night with their many expressions and elegant dance moves. It was obvious that they have put a lot of their time and effort in making the production a success in their fervour of entertaining the audience.

When the performance came to an end, and it did end nicely, I was surprised to find myself wishing that they have more to perform for the audience. But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Bravo to the Kwang Tung Dance Company for producing such a brilliant performance!