Giannandrea Poesio

Back in time

Beijing Modern Dance Company<br /> <em>Linbury Studio</em>

issue 23 February 2008

Beijing Modern Dance Company
Linbury Studio

When it comes to new dance, nothing sells as quickly as a multi- or inter-cultural performance. It matters little that the intercultural approach to art first came to light in the late Sixties; Western modern and postmodern dance-makers, dance-practitioners and dance-goers seem to have discovered this only recently and are having a whale of a time. Do not get me wrong; I like it too, for it is thanks to this interaction of different choreographic styles, genres and cultures, that ageing Western dance idioms have been totally rejuvenated. And, at the same time, the fusion between different vocabularies and syntaxes has broadened considerably the average notion of what dance is and can be, confronting viewers with choreography that, if taken on its own, might be impenetrable. That is why I went to see the Beijing Modern Dance Company with great curiosity and trepidation.

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