[中][ENG]陳敏兒、盤彥燊的創意交流之旅 To Festivals with Abby Chan & Wayson Poon
放眼舞林 An Eye on Dance
陳敏兒、盤彥燊的創意交流之旅 To Festivals with Abby Chan & Wayson Poon
(左起 From left) 陳敏兒 Abby Chan, 黃大徽 Dick Wong, and 黃俊達 Ata Wong
圖片由西九文化區提供Image provided by WKCDA
今期放眼舞林，我誠邀兩位本港舞蹈家陳敏兒和盤彥燊，以藝術家身分，分享他們分別參與愛丁堡藝術節和月滿舞蹈節的體驗。兩位藝術家都是受邀參與由西九文化區表演藝術部分別與芬蘭和紐西蘭及蘇格蘭當地舞蹈團體所合辦的「國際創意交流」計劃。
For this issue, I invited two Hong Kong dance artists, Abby Chan and Wayson Poon, to share their experiences at the Edinburgh Festival and Full Moon Festival respectively. Both were invited to Creative Meeting Point co-organized by West Kowloon with dance institutions in Finland, New Zealand, and Scotland.
陳敏兒 - 愛丁堡藝術節
Abby Chan – Edinburgh Fringe Festival
兩次世界大戰均沒破壞蘇格蘭首都愛丁堡，每年八月的大街小巷都會擠滿參與歴史最悠久丶規模最大的愛丁堡藝術節的遊人和藝術愛好者。今年踏入七十載慶典，街頭巷尾遍地表演場地，保守估計有過萬場演出，厚厚的節目書，令人容易患上「選擇困難症」 。
Edinburgh, the ancient capital of Scotland was not spared destruction during the Second World War [and in the post-war period, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was founded to "provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit."] Every August, the city fills with enthusiasts of arts who come to its seventy-year-old Festival. There were thousands of performances and it is difficult choosing from amongst them.
今次有幸聯同黃大徽及黃俊達兩位出色的香港跨界藝術家，參與西九文化區、蘇格蘭的Forest Fringe和紐西蘭的 Basement Theatre合辦，為期三年的「國際跨界實驗交流」計劃 ，於愛丁堡作文化交流的第一站。很久沒有由朝至晚趕場看演出，我們一星期內欣賞了14個演出。
所看的節目中，創作內容主題多充滿社會性的提問—以個人嫉妒心、比較心等暗批全球資本市場造成的不公平資源分配；個人真實經歷探討難民問題、種族歧視、層壓式暴虐；嘻笑怒罵式翻起性別、複製生物及身份認同的交錯；用屁股毫無保留地以「抵死」的藝術創作回應失控評論生態；重複又重複的問答遊戲反映出世人對崩壞的金融體制、地球暖化和全球化引發之禍害視若無睹，拒絕作出改變……另外，亦有兩個概念演出—六小時內兩位表演者不斷以口業傷害對方，彰顯語言暴力的日常。也有三小時不停重複，每次為一位觀眾演唱同一段歌曲，觀眾隨意決定逗留時間及去留……
Edinburgh was the first stop in the three-year International Co-Lab project co-organized by WKCDA, Scotland’s Forest Fringe, and New Zealand’s Basement Theatre that I visited together with two outstanding Hong Kong interdisciplinary artists, Dick Wong and Ata Wong. We attended fourteen performances in a week. Most of these questioned socio-political issues, for example: using jealousy and comparing mind-sets to indirectly critique the unfair allocation of resources in the globalized market economy; investigating refugee issues, racial discrimination, and hierarchical tyranny through personal experiences; connecting gender, biological cloning, and identity in an ironical, mocking style; uninhibitedly using the buttocks in a creatively sardonic way to respond to critics’ out-of-control practices; reflecting, through a repetitive quiz game format, on the state of affairs in which people ignore problems caused by collapsing financial systems, global warming, and globalization and refuse to make changes, and so on. There were two conceptual performances, a six-hour performance with two performers insulting each other non-stop to highlight everyday verbal violence, and another three-hour performance, at which a performer repeatedly sang the same song to each one in the audience with the audience members free to choose the time and the duration of the visit.
(左起From Left) 劉祺豐Low Kee Hong (西九管理局藝術發展主管 (戲劇) WKCDA Head of Artistic Development (Theatre)), 陳敏兒Abby Chan, 黃大徽Dick Wong, and 黃俊達 Ata Wong
圖片由西九文化區提供Image provided by WKCDA
這趟旅程才發現，其實人人都可以在愛丁堡藝術節演出，「節」已成為一個營商市場，促銷旅遊業利潤之推手。藝術家若沒有國家文化機構投放大量資金，也可以自資成就這個演出機會。藝術家需要賭博獲得多少好評作回報，一場演出若有多過七位觀眾就是高於平均入場人數，票房若能收支平衡就要慶祝，輸少當贏……或最重要是來「打個咭」。慶幸今次自己可以專心做觀眾，可以靠邊思考。冒名而來朝聖的藝術創作者除了賺了體驗和自我感覺良好外， 看到與世界接軌的作品，質素水準或會有所提升。但更重要是令創作及表演者思量，在這個藝術生態環境下，長年累月被壓在金字塔的底部，如何能倖存過來？
In fact, anybody can submit a proposal to perform at the Festival and it has become a marketplace that benefits local tourism. An artist without national institutional support can self-finance to participate. However, it’s a gamble for them, they must compete with big names at the Festival and usually shows have low attendance rates (an audience of seven is the average); barely breaking even at the box office is reason enough to celebrate. Perhaps the important thing is to be part of the Festival. What I observed made me think that besides possible artistic benefits of experiencing other world-class performances, it is important for an art practitioner to reflect on how to survive at the bottom of the pyramid in such an art environment.
盤彥燊 - 月滿舞蹈節
Wayson Poon – Full Moon Festival
盤彥燊Wayson在月滿舞蹈節期間的表演Wayson Poon at the Full Moon Festival
攝Photo: Jaana Salo & Jenni Kankaanpää
在田野、山丘、湖泊、藍天擁抱著的這個芬蘭中部小城鎮Pyhäsalmi，我參與了為期四天的月滿舞蹈節（Full Moon Festival）。它與一般舞蹈節的活動內容相近，包含工作坊、舞蹈演出和講座環節；但有點不同的是，舞蹈節的藝術總監是定期更換的，同時主題或焦點也會因所而改變。每年鮮明的主題，能吸引對此感興趣的藝術家和參與者，長途跋涉來到這個小鎮。而今屆則由Kisri Tormi 擔任藝術總監，主題設為「A Good Life」。來到這兒的大部份人，都困在這小鎮內，彼此碰見頻率相當高，對於藝術家而言，每天穿梭在大自然與劇場、排練室之間，所有活動、節目、交流都是十分有機地回應舞蹈節的主題。在小鎮的生活也好像包括在藝術節內容設計之中。舞蹈節的節目大多沒有強烈的政治味道，多數談論人性、藝術家自傳式的作品、還有具合家歡味道的作品。但可惜的是，大部份作品都是文字及語言為主的素材，對於不懂芬蘭文的我，很自然便影響了我對作品的當下體驗，唯有演出結束後，與當地藝術家或觀眾交談，求得翻譯，才有所領。但從另一個角度看，這也是增強與當地人文化交流的契機。
In Pyhäsalmi, a village in the center of Finland, surrounded by fields, hills, lakes, and the blue sky, I participated in the four-day Full Moon Festival. Its content is similar to other dance festivals and includes workshops, performances, and talks. The difference is the artistic director is changed regularly, therefore, its theme or focus changes accordingly. Based on the theme, it attracts artists who share the same interests. At this edition, the Artistic Director, Kisri Törmi, came up with the theme, “A Good Life”. The frequency of opportunities to encounter other participating artists was high because we were all enclosed within the village. For artists who moved amidst nature to go to the theater and rehearsal room, all the Festival activities, programs, and exchanges seemed to organically reflect the festival theme, even village life gave the impression of being part of it. The performances focused mainly on personal subjects, autobiography, and family rather than politics. Regrettably, most of the performances were text and language driven and as someone who doesn’t speak Finnish, it affected my experience of the shows. I only received the missing pieces after the performance by asking for translations in discussions with the artists or audience members. From another perspective, this difference encouraged a cultural exchange opportunity with locals.
出發前往月滿舞蹈節（前排左起：盤彥燊及徐奕婕）
Departing to Full Moon Festival (Foreground left and right) Wayson Poon and Ivy Tsui
圖片由西九文化區提供Image provided by WKCDA
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陳頌瑛 Anna CY Chan
西九管理局表演藝術主管（舞蹈）
Head of Dance, Performing Arts, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA)
