From the Top, Dancebase, Review

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Rating (out of 5)
4
Show info
Venue
Company
Victor Fung Dance
Production
Victor Fung (Choreographer and Artistic Director) Ruth Chan (Composer) Goh Boon, Ann/Wong Chi Yung (Lighting Designer) Carrol Ho [@KALOSProductionsHK] (Production) Joyce Kwok (Marketing) Cheng Man Wing (Costume Designer) Cynthia Cheung (Technical Coordinator)
Performers
Kenny Leung, Ronny Wong (Dancers)
Running time
30mins

The relationship between choreographer and dancer can be one of perfect rapport and empathy; it can also be tense and fractious. Victor Fung as a choreographer himself explores this dynamic with a humorous and studied eye. The result is a funny 30-minute dance sequence where I laughed out loud more than a dozen times and, together with the audience that day, watched one of the most enjoyable dance shows on the Edinburgh Fringe this year.

Two dancers Kenny Leung and Ronny Wong run the full gamut of emotion: anger, frustration, exasperation, boredom, confusion, resentment, pain and resigned tolerance. This is all due to the off-stage voice of the choreographer droning orders and instructions (and sometimes completely unintelligible advice and guidance), some of which is truly hilarious. The dancers, desperate to respond and interpret the choreographer's ideas, listen with growing disillusionment and exasperation.

What must not be lost in all this hilarity is the excellence of the two dancers who perform this pas de deux with assured technical competence and deliver wonderful vignettes of grace and balance. This combined with their subtle and understated reactions to the unfathomable utterances of the choreographer illustrates a wonderful combination of talents. It must also be mentioned that Victor Fung's comic timing is excellent.

A cruel relationship is exposed within this piece: a dominant player exercising inappropriate and sometimes destructive power over others with no concerns for results or impacts. You cannot help but notice the reflection of this dynamic in so many parts of the world today.

Aug 6-11, 13-18, 20-25 6:30PM