CUHK Lives and Legends

13 c c Lion dance comprises martial arts, acrobatics, puppetry and feng shui ‘Artists must always be playful at heart to come up with new ideas that take people by surprise.’ martial arts, acrobatics, puppetry and feng shui, it’s a gem of Cantonese culture.’ ContempoLion , an original dance composition by Daniel premiered in 2016, amalgamates contemporary dance, live electronic music, Parkour and aerial arts, featuring a transparent lion head to give the audience a better look at the dancer’s moves. Daniel’s remodelling and reinterpretation gave this time- honoured folk custom a new avant- garde look. To make Hong Kong visible to the world through dance, it is also important for local works to be given a chance to ‘go out’. With Daniel at the helm as director, the Hong Kong Dance Exchange Festival organized in early 2018 showcased eight selected works by Hong Kong choreographers and top-notch productions from four international dance festivals held in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The primary aim was to enhance audience appreciation of contemporary dance. But, more importantly, it was an opportunity to promote the works of a new generation of choreographers. ‘It’s a dance exchange platform. Each of the four participating dance festivals from overseas must choose one work by a Hong Kong choreographer to take home to perform. In the end, three of the four dance festivals each chose two. This goes to show that works by Hong Kong choreographers are beyond world-class. It’s a pity that there are few people to pitch them to the world,’ he added. When asked for his advice for aspiring young artists, Daniel brought up the word ‘playful’ again. ‘I envy musicians who can say that they “play music”, but dancers can only say they “practise dancing”, which is so dull and boring. No matter what you do, if the fun element is gone, you will no longer find it attractive. To be able to come up with new ideas that take people by surprise, artists must always be playful at heart. Overemphasizing practicality and function will make you lose sight of the poetry of art. But what makes art attractive is its very poetry.’ c c ContempoLion features a transparent lion head to give the audience a better look at the dancer’s moves