Drawing directly from his homeland, Choreographer and founder of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre Lin Hwai-min presents a rather modest subject for his critically-acclaimed work. Titled after its source of inspiration, Rice specifically looks at the life cycle of rice fields in Chihshang, Taiwan. While it doesn’t have the most dramatic or riveting basis for a show, Lin and his company of dancers embrace this challenge and present the world of the rice fields as an elemental and ever-changing thing, reflecting a far greater universal struggle, as well as that of the workers toiling away.

Each section of the performance and video corresponds to the life cycle of rice (Soil, Wind, Pollen, Sunlight, Grain, Fire, Water) that lends itself to a clear and straightforward structure. [More] 

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A hybrid, abstract movement vocabulary drawn from rice field labouring, Hakka cultural forms, Chinese martial arts and Western modern dance has been developed for this work by choreographer Lin Hwai-Min.Angular and it is at times almost calligraphic.

In simple jewel-coloured dresses, jeans and T-shirts, the company’s 22dancers are farmers whose lives are ruled by the demands of rice production, and their dancing shares with us aspects of their lives throughout the farming year, and the different stages of rice development.

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An elemental work that portrays the forces of nature temporarily harnessed in the service of mankind, Rice, created by Lin Hwai-min for his company Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan is a revelation on many levels.

Most striking, is the innovation on a choreographic level: Lin has distilled a distinctive dance form that has its roots in classical Graham technique (as developed by early American modern dance pioneer Martha Graham) which is combined with training in Qi Gong (to balance qi or life energy), ballet and “internal martial arts” (neijing).  Lin has developed a company of dancers who have exceptional articulation of their bodies and the ability to portray highly complex emotions through their dance movements and bodily contortions, rather than relying on emotive facial projections.

Secondly, is the impression of the work on an aesthetic level:  Lin’s stated inspiration is “the life style of a rice paddy in Chihshang”.  To illustrate the disparate elements at play and the cyclic cultivation of the rice crop, Lin has harnessed the videographic skills of Howell Hao-Jan Chang who spent two years on location filming the different stages of the organic crop production.  The resultant mesmeric imagery has a significant impact and co-exists alongside the dance as homage to the beauty and occasional savagery of the landscape and nature herself.

Thirdly, at a more profound level ,is Lin’s reverential approach to the land, with natural forces that are often inexplicable but nevertheless nurturing to mankind.  His warning of destruction to the environment is a powerful message to be gleaned from the work, even as it is portrayed with subtlety through his choreography.

Perhaps the most intriguing section of the work is described as Pollen II, where two dancers, Huang Pei-hua and Tsai Ming-yuan, are framed by a green rectangle of light and a miniscule projected  backdrop of swaying rice stalks, while enacting an entangled and complex duet of procreation to operatic accompaniment.  Their limbs are intertwined into impossible shapes while the movements develop at a gentle pace – unhurried and unsullied – to a climactic conclusion.

Lin uses highly flexible bamboo staffs throughout the work: to thwack on the ground, to undulate like smoke or water, to clash in combative strikes or merely to elongate the arms and legs, as an intrinsic component of the choreographed sequences.  A single pole pointed towards the heavens at the conclusion of the work would appear to signify hope and an unbroken connection between the physical and metaphysical.

The dance is at its most powerful as the ravages of fire burn off the residual chaff once the rice crop has been harvested.  Here the dancers contort their bodies into butoh-like agonies reflecting the red-hot embers of the destructive force.  It could perhaps also allude to the horror induced by mankind’s wanton destruction of the planet.

The dancers who perform non-stop for 70 minutes are a magnificent ensemble.  The ethos of mutual support and cohesion while maintaining individual focus is one of the strengths of the Company.  The dancers are wholly committed in every section of the work and the powerful curved contractions and spiralling movements that define Graham technique are faultlessly executed.  The deep martial art lunges, and the visceral stamping create a sense of connection to the ground, while the impossibly light leaps and turning jumps evoke a sense of flight.

Rice is a work that will resonate for some time after viewing, on both emotional and intellectual levels.  The life-cycle of rice can indeed serve as a metaphor for life itself: with its rituals, its creative and destructive aspects, and its moments of pure unadulterated joy.

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