International collaborations have been a driving force in Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s career, and 2013 saw him clock up quite a few air miles. In addition to sampling tango in Buenos Aires for M¡longa , he returned to China, where he memorably created Sutra with Shaolin monks seven years ago. His latest work, 生長genesis, was born between Beijing and Antwerp, where it had its European premiere last week.
This time, a Chinese dancer initiated contact: Wang Yabin, better known in China as a film and soap opera star. In Zhang Yimou’s 2003 film House of Flying Daggers, she was the dance double for Zhang Ziyi, wielding her long, flowing sleeves like intricate weapons. She has a background in Chinese classical dance but has also worked to bring more contemporary dance to China, and headlines an annual programme of creations, Yabin and her Friends.
Cherkaoui was the guest of honour for the fifth edition. True to the name of his company, Eastman, the Belgian choreographer has met his hosts halfway with 生長genesis: the creation pits three of his own dancers against four Chinese performers. The music is another hodgepodge of influences, with a piano, an Indian mridangam (drum) and other instruments on stage to complete Olga Wojciechowska’s electronic score. The result is a work of gentle beauty, ambitious in scope but more subdued in dance terms.