Abby Chan Can Dance

小心 ! 可別跌破你的眼鏡 ! 因為來自香港的俗辣雙人舞＂雙妹嘜＂, 將在皇冠小劇場吹起一陣見怪不怪丶百無禁忌丶瘋狂爆笑的表演颶風 ……

文/ 謝文琦

頂著玉玲瓏式的俗艷假髮與墨鏡，足蹬高跟鞋丶身穿旗袍及手持摺扇，這個名為 “雙妹嘜” 的雙人舞團 (McMuiMui Dansemble) , 可能會讓想要正正經經看支舞的眾看倌們跌破眼鏡。

皇冠藝術節在五月登場的第五個演出團體 “雙妹嘜” , 是由年輕的香港編舞者陳敏兒丶楊惠美兩人所組成。這個團名在廣東話裡有＂兩個女孩＂(源自香港本地的某個老牌香水名稱）的意思，本著以＂小女人＂觀看這個＂大世界＂的心態而創作，作品名稱《瘋繼續吹》則是諧取自歌星張國榮的歌曲＂風繼續吹＂。只是此＂瘋＂非彼＂風＂，於是乎，藉由電風扇、吹風機來表達出瘋狂的概念，透過一搭一唱的設計，再加上夕大雙人舞蹈的連綴，便成為這齣作品的基調。

見怪不怪

是的，這個融入說唱形式的作品，與其說是舞蹈，更不如說是戲劇；它藉由凸梯荒謬的喜感，巧妙地融合不同的元素，彌補不夠凝聚與內斂的肢體。索性，更誇張地羅織了香港在九七後光怪陸離的社會現象；說她們怪，她們的表演倒還真是＂見怪不怪＂一一不經意間剛好見證了香港這個城市的多變性格。

文化意象的拼貼也是它的特色。從伍佰到李宗盛的國語流行歌曲，從 Piazzola 的探戈到 J.S. Bach 的G弦之歌，都是配樂的靈感；中丶西雜燴，古丶今不分的假髮丶摺扇、水䄂、高跟鞋，全成了理所當然的趣味。幾個過場與反覆出現的熟悉旋律則是兒歌＂王老先生有塊地＂（英文原名為 Old McDonald has a farm)，在歌詞中不倫不類地融合了英文單字和粵語＂笑魁＂，將港產的無厘頭精神發揚光大。

百無禁忌

撇開語言的差異不談，對於類似的形式，小劇場的觀眾很難不去聯想到台北頗受矚目的小劇場導演魏瑛娟姊姊早期帶有＂歌仔戲味＂的雙女作品，對照之餘，不禁讓人產生無限的想像空間。還有，同為來自香港的編舞者，從前幾年執皇冠舞蹈空間兵符的彭錦耀的作品裡，也可見到類似百無禁忌的姿態。只見雙姝大玩特玩舞台跨界的遊戲，她們的肢體以通俗的語彙，展現出高亢的能量，身段靈活地模仿競選活動丶現場演唱，乃至於＂説文解字＂等等。

在二〇〇〇年舉辦的香港＂歐亞舞蹈调網路會議：＂中，這齣作品曾獲得著名舞評家，瑪沙 西格 ( Macia Sigel) 開懷大笑的激賞反應，以及六十多位各地策展人的肯定評價 一一 除了令人捧腹的笑料，以及港人對於自身處境的無奈幽默以外，即將在皇冠小劇場演出的《瘋繼續吹》，還會＂吹＂出什麼令我們驚艷的奇想火花呢？

(轉載自 567 期皇冠雜誌)

South China Morning Post
Fringe Club, Central
Simon Wu

Something Strange In The Air, the literal translation in Cantonese being “craziness in the wind”, is a multi-media dance theatre piece performed by the McMuiMui Dansemble, a local dance company formed by Abby Chan and yeung Wai-mei.

“Craziness” – or the Cantonese homonym of ” craziness” – was used as a frame work for a montage of scenes about contemporary Hong Kong.

The performance began with Chan and Yeung hosting a charity show, caricaturing well known Hong Kong personalities.

With long pink and purple wigs , Chan and Yeung danced holding hairdryers that hung from the ceiling.

Their lyrics covered government intervention in the stock market, health scares, the Snoopy fad, mainland mistresses, mass sackings and a panoramic view of newspaper headlines from the past few months.

Then came a blackout. They panicked, they complained and they bitched about each other. Both dancers were expressive and performed with great commitment.

The second of the two main pieces portrayed how insatiable materialism can drive people insane.

The performance was full of innovative concepts, seasoned with wit, camp humor, sarcasm and, above all, craziness.

Scenes included Chan being bombarded by brand labels projected on to her body, Chan and Yeung dancing in a handstand position with their feet in fluffy shoes and a doll stripped naked by electric fans.

This continued with empty political slogans being juxtaposed with the vacuous ambitions of beauty queens and a home music video.

Then the audience was asked to participate in a lesson in which we were taught both the Chinese characters for “forgetful” and “busy” were made up of two words – ” heart” and ” dead”. The message is when our spirituality dies, what we can do is to keep ourselves busy and forget what is important.

Two robotic security guards, brilliantly acted by Michael Wong and Paul Lam, provided a poignant contrast to the expressive women.

Scene changes were a bit abrupt, more like a variety show than a coherent piece. But McMuiMui was fun and popular with the audience – being self-confessed crazy it was beyond logic anyway.

McAulay Studio, Arts Centre
Kevin Kwong

Dancers Abby Chan and Yeung Wai-Mei pleaded : ” Stand back, fans! Stand back!” seconds after the show began. Then two tough looking menace on stage and pushed back two big electric fans that were blowing at full blast.

Bizarre, witty, but most of all, very funny. That is also how one would describe this well thought out and choreographed dance piece by McMuiMui Dansemble.

This show is part of the All Independent Dance Series jointly presented by the Hong Kong Dance Alliance, City Contemporary Dance Company and the Arts Centre.

The Chinese title for this production means ” the wind continues to blow”, playing on the word “wind”, which sounds the same as the Cantonese word for the “craziness”.

Something Strange in the Air is all about the weird and bizarre happenings in Hong Kong since the handover : bird flu ; red tides; and the Asian economic crisis.

The duo even sang, in Cantonese operatic style (to the nursery rhyme tune of Old MacDonald Had A Farm), a lament to a society on the verge of breakdown: “Here a crack, there a crack, everywhere a crack crack!”

The show is divided into about dozen sketches, each including a dance routine, along a distinct theme – whether social, economic or political.

One sketch had both Chan and Yeung “dancing” while doing handstands – “some-times we have to look at life from another angle” – to convey the need to ask whether the economic downturn need spell only doom and gloom.

In another, sensuous and beautifully choreographed dance, the pair intertwined limbs and glided over one another’s bodies, provoking a consciousness of the modern obsession with physical perfection.

Their cruel satire on the beauty pageant format saw Chan parade around the stage, before gradually descending into a wild frenzy.

More than just a dance show, this was an intelligent and wry critique on Hong Kong people’s senseless pursuit of popular culture and our tendency to panic and crisis.

South China Morning Post
Kevin Kwong
Fringe Studio

Living up to its title, Siesta – Before Hong Kong’s Return is a modern piece that is short, sweet and focused on Hong Kong’s imminent return to mainland China.

In just under an hour, choreographer Abby Chan Man-Yee lines up seven swift dance acts that focus on several common “97 themes” such as the Westernisation of the territory’s culture under colonial rule and migration.

The Prologue, performed by Chan and partner Yeung Wai-Mei, is an interesting and innovative mishmash of gymnastic leaps and flips, Chinese operatic steps and prototypical dance, which was prominent during the Cultural Revolution.

The Afro-style drumbeat, coupled with a recording of girlish giggles, adds to the aural impact of this routine. This is followed by a funny sketch on why Hong Kong people adopt English first names in addition to their Chinese names.

“Is it because by having an English name they will be more accepted by the English?” Chan asks when playing hide and seek with Yeung. The choreography for this piece is clever in that the two dancers, with one being blindfolded, never touch even they were doing some complicated body movements right next to one another.

In Bon Voyage, “dedicated to our friends who have emigrated”, Yeung scatters a bagful of fortune cookies on the world map, symbolizing the many Hong Kong Chinese now living abroad.

After the show, I picked up one of the cookies that were swept on to my feet. It says: “You will travel to many places .”

The evening performance reaches its climax in The Epilogue when both Chan and Yeung carry a red bomb. There is a collective gasp : will they light it or not?

The concept behind Siesta, which premiered earlier this year in New York, is not particularly original, though Chan’s choreography is beautiful, smooth and visually exciting.

Much though has also been put into the music and the beautiful costumes, designed in part by Yeung Kong-hon.