Dance Critique: Tigers in the Tea House

This dance was the latter of two performances at Théâtre de l'Aquarium. This theatre was located in the middle of a forest on the outskirts of Paris. The performance was part of a festival, “June Events”, which takes place over ten days. The dance was choreographed by Carolyn Carlson, an American choreographer who has worked in Paris for twenty-five years.

Tigers in the Tea House was a modern dance, performed by three men. The dance occurred in series of skits. In some of the skits the dancers moved together, while other skits featured solos by the dancers. The men changed their outfits frequently, and wore flowing skirts and tunics. The flowing fabrics worked well to accentuate the movements of each dancer. Keeping with the overall Asian theme of the dance, the colors worn by the dancers were red, white and black. The stage and props also kept with this theme; the decorations were very minimal.

The purpose of this performance was to present three different characters, who embodied the three main asian identities: Japanese, Chinese and Korean. The Japanese character appeared the most brash and confident of the trio. On the other hand, the Chinese dancer played the more secluded and calm character and the Korean dancer was silly and playful. These identities were made evident by how the characters interacted with the props differently, and also by the solo dances each of them performed.

 

The technical quality of the dance was very high- their abilities were made most obvious by how well they stayed in sync with one another. The physically strength of each dancer was especially impressive. The music also added to the tension the dancers created. Songs would slow down when there was little movement on stage and the speed up during the more intricate sections. Music was used well to set the mood for the dances. Although the choreography provided visual cues about the different identities being portrayed, it was difficult to interpret the implications of these identities during the performance. This was not aided by the fact that one of the dancers was not asian. While the dance was overall enjoyable, the intent and direction of it was not always clear.

Given the theme of this performance was asian culture, the dance reminded me of the references that had been made to asian influences in art throughout the week. I noticed this especially while visiting Claude Monet’s house in Giverny. Monet had many asian prints hanging in his house, and his garden was full of plants reminiscent of Asia. The asian prints had a large influence on the modernist painters, and the asian culture continues to influence art in Paris.