‘Convergence’ combines traditional martial arts and dance
Image: Image supplied.
You might be familiar with traditional Chinese dance and martial arts, but have you ever seen the two artforms fuse together in one show? Hong Kong Dance Company’s Convergence, playing at the Seymour Centre on July 12 and 13, combines these two ancient artforms into a truly stunning study of human movement.
Meggy Cheng, executive director of HKDC, spoke to CityHub about the show’s unique qualities: “As an audience, you’re not going to see just traditional Chinese dance, nor simply martial arts, because Convergence is a rather unconventional fusion of both sides.”
“You get to experience this immersive, yet quite philosophical dialogue between tranquillity and exuberance, stillness and emotion. It’s not just a dance, it’s a direct representation of bodily state.
“Our artistic director Yang Yuntao said, ‘The most intriguing moment of the art of dance happens when body and mind unite. It is a state of being that only takes seconds to describe, but many years to embody.”
Convergence 2024 – Australian Tour Trailer from Sketch Evolution on Vimeo.
The troupe of dancers, led by principal dancers Ho Ho-Fei and Ong Tze Shen, hail from across the world and all flawlessly execute Convergence’s choreography.
This work is supplemented with video and sound as part of the show, with the two elements often influencing one another.
Yet just as often the rhythmic sounds of dance will fade away and form a soundscape where the only noises are those of the dancers’ movements, creating moments that Meggy describes as an “immersive dialogue.”
These moments are what make Convergence a dance show like no other, and has been praised by critics as “downright thrilling” with “dizzying speed and cut-glass specificity.” Winner of the Contemporary Dance Award at the 13th Dance Lotus Awards (the most prestigious national awards ceremony in China), this is a special opportunity to see one of the world’s foremost dance troupes in action.
Convergence in Sydney
Having already toured cities in China, Thailand and Japan, Hong Kong Dance Company are thrilled to be bringing Convergence to Sydney. Meggy says: “Being able to tour Convergence across the world is one of the best parts of working in the arts, because being the cultural ambassador of a city means we of course have to promote Hong Kong’s artistic excellence!”
“We’ve danced before in Sydney back in 2017; that time we brought Mulan and it was so successful. This time we will bring something to our old friends in Sydney; a very special thanks to our partners at the Seymour Centre and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office for supporting us and making this happen.”
Meggy continued: “We love seeing how audiences from different parts of the world respond similarly or differently to the show, and touring is itself a process of self-exploration for us as a dance company.”
In her final recommendation of Convergence, Meggy says that “no matter your interest in dance or martial arts, you’ll be intrigued by the synergy of the movement on stage. We cannot wait to meet our dear friends and audiences in Sydney, and we’ll bring some summer warmth and cheers from Hong Kong!”
Hong Kong Dance Company: Convergence, 12-13 July
Seymour Centre, Cnr City Road &, Cleveland St, Chippendale
https://www.seymourcentre.com/event/convergence-chinese-dance-martial-arts/
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