Review | Certain Movements and Shadows is rich in ideas, but it is not pure dance

Production by Hong Kong’s City Contemporary Dance Company seemed less spectacular than the 2006 work that inspired it

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A scene from Certain Movements and Shadows, by Helen Lai and Chou Shu-yi, performed by Hong Kong’s City Contemporary Dance Company. Photo: Carmen So

Published: 5:15pm, 24 Feb 2025

Certain Movements and Shadows, the new production from City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC), brings together two choreographers: Hong Kong’s legendary Helen Lai and Taiwan’s Chou Shu-yi.

While the work is described as “co-choreographed” by Lai and Chou, it seems that each created different scenes rather than choreographing the same scenes together.

After a slow start, the 90-minute work comes into its own in the last half-hour or so – the choreography for these final sections suggests that they are by Lai, while the style of movement in earlier sections is more typical of Chou.

The work draws inspiration from Lai’s 2006 Movements and Shadows and, like that piece, from the poems of Bei Dao, arguably China’s most celebrated modern poet. It comprises nine scenes, each headed by a line from Bei Dao’s poetry.

The original 2006 piece was very different in nature, consisting of seven scenes, including four solos, two duets and a finale bringing six dancers together.

Half of a double bill entitled “Iron and Silk”, there was a strong emphasis on the “shadows” of the title, with numerous stunning lighting effects by Jo Phoa as performers danced with their own shadows or with video images by the late and much missed Ringo Chan.