In/Between, a site-adaptive performance and exhibition by the Ieng Chi Dance Association (ICDA), took place over the weekend in Flora Garden and Guia Hill Municipal Park as part of its 25th anniversary series, according to a pre-event statement from the association.
The two-day event featured music and dance performances by local artists, which included an environmental dance guided by performers, and poems, as well as sketches and photos. The different performances were divided into “Green”, which took place in Guia Hill Municipal Park on Saturday, and “Step Excursion At Your Feet” on Sunday.
In/Between’s first site-adaptive performances started in 2021, the statement noted. Director and creator Chloe Lao (劉楚華) said in the statement that the emergence of In/Between that year was inspired by remembering the importance of breathing spaces and the emergence of local excursions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The statement added that that same year was also the 80th death anniversary of acclaimed Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore. This was taken as a sign, the statement said, and a performance then recreated the worlds in Tagore’s poetry collection “The Crescent Moon and Stray Birds”.
According to Wikipedia, Rabindranath Tagore, born on 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941 was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He reshaped Bengali literature and music as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Author of the “profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful” poetry of Gitanjali, he became in 1913 the first non-European and the first lyricist to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Tagore’s poetic songs were viewed as spiritual and mercurial; however, his “elegant prose and magical poetry” remain largely unknown outside Bengal. He was a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society. Referred to as “the Bard of Bengal”, Tagore was known by the sobriquets of Gurudeb, Kobiguru and Biswokobi.
Meanwhile, ICDA Artistic Director Lillian Kuok (郭英姿) said in the statement that in its 25 years, the association has witnessed how Macau’s dance industry has gradually moved towards more professional, diversified and international development.
She added that it was pleasing to see more creative talents returning to Macau and creating local works in Macau’s unique environment.
The association will continue to support and promote local dance development through art education, experimental creation, platform building, and international exchange, the statement said.
According to the statement, In/Between is also among the “pilot platforms” created to invite local artists to collaborate and produce cross-media performances for the “unique cultures of urban-nature sites” in Macau’s communities and neighbourhoods.
More details can be found on the association’s Facebook page at ICDAMacao or on https://www.iengchidance.com.
This undated handout photo provided by the Ieng Chi Dance Association (ICDA) last week shows one of its performances.
