Wildgeese
"What is this thing called love..."
YUAN hoawEn (1190-1257)
YUAN hoawEn (1190-1257)
Wild Geese is an epic and unique multi-media production of dance, theatre, music and immersive, integrated animation. Commissioned by the Taiyuan Dance Troupe of Taiyuan, Shanxi Province in the People’s Republic of China, it was the first commission of it’s kind made to a non-China based artist and fully funded by the Chinese government. This evening length production, based on a classic Chinese poem by Yuan Hoawen, tells a tale of commitment, sacrifice and the power of love enduring throughout the ages. The international touring version of Wild Geese premiered at the Tianqiao Theatre (the National Ballet of China’s home theatre) in Beijing in July, 2015 to great acclaim. A revised domestic touring version of Wild Geese premiered in 2016, touring nationally since that time. International tours are currently in the planning stages.
Wild geese, in traditional Chinese culture, are the messengers of lovers. Innately monogamous and faithful, wild geese are seen as a metaphor for a true and faithful heart. A heart that, once broken through the death of one of the pair, is willing to make the greatest of all possible sacrifices for the sake of love. Life becomes unsustainable after the passing of the beloved. This production tracks the fate of a pair of geese and their human doppelgangers as they are challenged by fate amidst the upheaval of the Jin-Song wars of the 12th and 13th century in China. The work is monumental in scale while sustaining an intimacy in the portrayal of the human condition of the protagonists throughout it’s 90 minutes.
The collaborative team involved in the production brought their many strengths to the making of this work in order to create a seamless whole that unfurls very much like a classic children’s story told in an integrated contemporary manner. The constantly evolving landscapes of the animation are more than a backdrop to the proceedings but a vital part of the storytelling, in as much as the dance, the music, the costumes, the sets and the theatre… making a work of operatic scale .