An Encounter of Symphony Music and Modern Dance

In Guangzhou, symphony music is taken as traditional and serious while modern dance is taken as rebellious and difficult to comprehend. In a late summer Saturday evening, more than a thousand Guangzhou audiences stuck out their heads to see how these two arts meet. On 30th October, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Guangdong Modern Dance Company and Xinghai Concert Hall jointly produced an un － precedent concert, Phoenix - When Classical Music Meets Modern Dance. The concert hall was turned into multi-per － forming localities. On the main stage was the Symphony Or － chestra, like the way it always was. Behind them was a long and narrow raised stage. On the sides in front were two tiny square stages stretched right into the audience space. On the edge of the balcony were two other tiny stages. In addition, the aisles in the auditorium, the passage ways among the muscians on stage were all utilized by the dancers. Dance took place here and there, in turns or simultaneously. The power of live symphony music, the actions of dance, the dy － namics of lighting effects, exposed the audiences to the chal － and serious while modern dance is taken as rebellious and difficult to comprehend. In a late summer Saturday evening, more than a thousand Guangzhou audiences stuck out their heads to see how these two arts meet. On 30th October, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Guangdong Modern Dance Company and Xinghai Concert Hall jointly produced an un － precedent concert, Phoenix - When Classical Music Meets Modern Dance. The concert hall was turned into multi-per － forming localities. On the main stage was the Symphony Or － chestra, like the way it always was. Behind them was a long and narrow raised stage. On the sides in front were two tiny square stages stretched right into the audience space. On the edge of the balcony were two other tiny stages. In addition, the aisles in the auditorium, the passage ways among the muscians on stage were all utilized by the dancers. Dance took place here and there, in turns or simultaneously. The power of live symphony music, the actions of dance, the dy － namics of lighting effects, exposed the audiences to the chal － lenge of simultaneous sensual experience : that of audio and visual, to the yet harmouious and yet combating stimulations and enjoyment.

What is so special about the encounter of symphony mu － sic and modern dance? In fact, symphony music remained symphony music and modern dance was still modern dance, as it was already put forth in the programme text. The rela － tionship between music and dance has always been a close and yet controversial one. Some says dance is dependent of music and very often music is naturally associated with dances. Is it not the best idea to put them together on stage? To let them share the podium, equally and indepedently; but still, at certain instances, they met and resonated.

Putting the two art forms so starkly together gave the show a bit of postmodern mood. Postmodernism breaks away from the logic of modernmism, especially its linear deter － ministic way of thinking. It likes juxtaposing different histori － cal times and characteristics and sometimes even intention － ally make the discord obvious so as to illustrate the multi-di － rectional logic of the postmodern era. Although modern dance frequently uses classical music, co-performance as e － qual and independent artforms is rare, if not the first. “ Mu － sic is not background music and dance is not decoration to the music ” as said in the programme text. As such, tradi － tionally graceful and harmonious symphony music juxtaposed with evoking, unorthodoxical contemporary dance. Whereas the traditional remained traditional and contemporary re － mained contemporary, the result appeared natural and simul － taneously unnatural. Inside the auditorium, dance happened in front, at the back and even among the audiences. The dis － tance between the performers and the audiences was dimin － ished. The latter was actually put inside the performance and became part of the show. At the end, the audience might like the dance and/or the music; or they might not like them at all. What important was to open up from the routine frame of mind, to listen to, to look at, to feel, and to appreciate the world of unlimited possibilities.