Legend Lin Dance Theatre’s founder and choreographer Lin Lee-chen (林麗珍) says Intimate Encounters (觸身·實境) is not a dance performance. Then again, Lin doesn’t view any of her work as “performance.”
For Lin, the viewer is secondary.
“We aren’t performing due to the presence of an audience,” she says.
Photo courtesy of Legend Lin Dance Theatre
The troupe approaches every single practice with the same mindset, the same intensity: authenticity — to themselves and their craft.
In 2014, Lin created Intimate Encounters as a companion piece to her renowned work Song of Pensive Beholding (觀), unmasking a process normally hidden backstage: dancers carefully painting, clothing and prepping their bodies for a live performance.
Intimate Encounters is being restaged in the Experimental Theatre this weekend, but tickets have sold out. However, there are still tickets available for Song’s big revival next month.
Photo courtesy of Legend Lin Dance Theatre
‘INTIMATE ENCOUNTERS’
Intimate Encounters depicts the ritual aspect of getting into character: slicking back hair, coating the body in oil paint and layering intricate costume pieces, before launching into a warm-up of Legend Lin’s trademark meditative walks.
The intention in this piece is to highlight the meticulousness required from every troupe member involved in a production, providing audiences with a rare glimpse of what goes into making the final product.
Photo courtesy of Legend Lin Dance Theatre
Lin hand-stitches every piece of clothing, believing machine-sewn lines would show through the fabric. She says that doing so enhances the quality and detail of its appearance. It’s the same with dance.
Intimate Encounter finishes with two dancers, now resplendent in dramatic makeup and costume, walking towards each other as the music swells. It’s a glimpse of Song’s opening tableaux.
‘SONG OF PENSIVE BEHOLDING’
Song of Pensive Beholding, which premiered in 2009, is inspired by Taiwan’s natural environment and has won international acclaim. Song tells of the life and spirit of the land through a mythical tale about an eagle clan.
Lin refuses to discuss the story arc.
“Explaining the plot crushes your imagination and limits you,” she said. “What matters is how the dance touches you and opens your heart, not whether you ‘get it’ or not.”
Although the company has been performing Song for 13 years, Lin says every run-through still feels unique. Each variation in time, space and people creates change, down to the expression of a hand.
REFLECTIONS OF A CHOREOGRAPHER
Most of Lin’s team have been with her for decades, which limits that likelihood that mistakes will be made in front of audiences.
“Anyone who’s been with us for less than 10 years is still considered a newbie,” she quips.
Still, accidents happen. Once, one of her dancers took a step forward only to realize her skirt still standing stiffly behind her. How it happened remains a mystery.
“If it falls, it falls,” Lin shrugged. “As soon as you enter that space, there’s no turning back, just like in life.”
Every tumble, every parting must be accepted, she adds.
“In our job, we have to put aside emotional fluctuations,” she says, “When you’re truly focused, the environment fades away.”
Through absorbing the meticulous movements and interactions, she hopes the audience will emerge into a bigger, calmer world.
“Legend Lin Dance Theatre’s performances are like tea,” Lin says. “They linger with an aftertaste in the mind.”
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