[中][ENG] 總監主場 Artistic Director's Home: 曹德寶 Hugh Cho
總監主場
Artistic Director's Home
今期嘉賓 Guest of the Issue:
Hugh Cho曹德寶
TS Crew藝術總監
Artistic Director of TS Crew
翻譯Translation: Chermaine Lee
從香港演藝學院舞蹈系畢業後，才驚覺自己原來還在表演路途上的起步階段。畢業後曾參與很多不同類型的演出，需要應用到不同的技巧及能力，自覺不足唯有邊學邊做，錯敗不餒。種種經歷在不知不覺間建構成一種價值觀，而遇上價值觀相近的表演者時便惺惺相識。他們不介意通宵排練，不介意5度低溫的晚上在戶外公園綵排，這種純粹可遇而不可求，是對創作及表演藝術的「愛」，亦是TS Crew的雛形。2017年2月，TS Crew正式成立。
After graduating from the School of Dance at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, I came to realize I was still at the beginning of my performing career. I participated in many different types of performances after leaving school, which demanded that I applied different techniques and abilities. I felt inadequate for this so it was a matter of learning on the job , and never giving up amid setbacks. These experiences gradually formed a set of values, and whenever I meet performers with similar values, we click and connect. They don’t mind burning the midnight oil, or rehearsing in an outdoor park on a 5-degree night. This passion is rare to encounter – it is the “love” for creation and the performing arts, and also what TS Crew was based on, which was officially established in February 2017.
TS Crew；攝：Travis Yuen
TS Crew是一個獨特的組合，團員各有自身專長，但又能於共同經歷當中發展出一套獨一無二的協調。我們的技巧涉及了香港表演行業當中很多不同的領域，包括街頭賣藝、舞蹈、戲劇、主題樂園、旅遊景點、粵劇、舞獅、Capoeira（巴西戰舞）、電影、武術等等。而當中我們會將舞蹈、粵劇及武術鞏固為舞團的技術基礎，在這基礎上作更深入的發展及創作。以作品聯繫社區、社會是我們的首要考量，他們的回應及我們的自省是令作品有更深層次發展的要素，亦令作品更能反映社區及當下社會的現實，換句話說更能代表本土香港。
TS Crew is a unique group, with individual members bringing different skills, but developing a distinctive collaboration through our experiences. Our skills involve many sectors in the performance industry in Hong Kong, including busking, dance, theatre, theme parks, tourist spots, Cantonese opera, lion dance, Capoeira, film, martial arts, among others. Dance, Cantonese opera and martial arts form the technical foundation for our group, from which we develop and create further. Our first consideration for making work is connecting the community and society. Their responses and our self-reflections are pivotal to the deepening of our work. This also allows our pieces to reflect the community and current social realities, in other words, they represent the local Hong Kong.
在現今社會裡，若只有當初的純粹，生活並不容易。藝術的創作建構自生活，所以要先有生活，才有更大空間去創作。表演藝術是TS Crew的專長，亦是生存技巧，這點非常重要，不能忘記。我們的創作除了要有一定的藝術水平，作品也要連繫大眾，亦要能拓展到商業演出的範疇。藝術，大眾，商演三者共通共連，環環相扣，缺一不可。作為一個表演團體必需建立品牌，透過三者同驅並進，TS Crew 漸漸成為一個品牌。每一位成員除了有自我的價值觀及自己的生活外，又不能脫離團體的結構核心，因為每一個成員都是核心。在現今個人主義極強的社會氛圍下，這是一個較難理解的概念，尤其現今舞蹈界講求個人風格，成了建立舞團的最大障礙。更確切地說，這個概念就是溝通，亦是藝術創作的根本，這個概念不能實踐的話，團體只是一個脆弱的空談。
曹德寶作品《順》Hugh Cho’s Along；圖：HDX
In current society, life is not easy if we only have passion. Artistic creation arises from life, so we first need to make a living to allow for more spaces to create. Performing arts is TS Crew’s strength, and also what we live on – this is a critical point that we cannot forget. Our creation not only has to reach a certain artistic standard, but it also has to connect with the public and be able to extend into the area of commercial performances. Art, the public and commercial performances are the three links in the chain, and none can be dispensed with.. As a performing group, building our own brand is a must, and advancing these three facets together was how TS Crew gradually grew into a brand. Each member has their own values and lives, but they cannot detach from the core structure of the group, because every member is the core. This is not an easy concept to grasp, given the current social atmosphere heavily emphasizing individualism, and the current dance industry focusing on personal style and so giving rise to the biggest hurdle in building a dance collective. More accurately, this concept is about communication, which is also at the roots of artistic creation. If this cannot be realized, the group is just fragile talk. TS Crew的出現絕非巧合，卻是緣份。把團員連繫在一起的，説到底最重要就是信任。TS Crew 每一次的演出都包含不少高難度動作，說我們在台上拼命演出，一點也不誇張，我們真正把生命豁出去的動作，是真的把命也拼了，稍一不慎便易生意外。然而我們所展現的不只是單純身體、動作，而是團員間建立起難能可貴的互信，這正正亦是人與人之間不可或缺的橋樑 —— 信任！有了這信任的基礎，TS Crew才得以一步一步走出自己的路，鑽研屬於自己的風格，可以挑戰更高難度的動作，慢慢的繼續發展。
TS Crew’s emergence is karma, not mere coincidence. Trust connects the individual members into a group. Every performance by TS Crew features many highly difficult stunts – it is not even an exaggeration to say that we risk our lives on stage – actions that really put our lives on edge, and accidents could happen if we were slightly less careful. We don’t only show the movements, however; trust is the precious connection that the group members build, that vital bridge between humans – trust! With trust as our foundation, TS Crew can walk its own path step by step, drill down deeper on what makes our style, take on more difficult stunts, and keep on growing. 香港是一個很特別的城市，中西合璧了很多年，卻又分離至極。作為市民，我們感受很深；作為創作人，我們感受更深。創作過程當中包含經歷、了解、展現。當中的經歷就是我們的生活，亦是創作的動力及原材料。它們不在遙遠的歐洲或中東，它們就在身邊，就在長洲，就在尖東。它們行走於街上，飄散於風中，存在於每一個你、我、他的過去、現在和將來，可卻不是每個人都有用「心」去感受。而藝術家的用心創作，就成為了將它們展現的一個媒介。說到底創作是將生活、經歷用另一種形式呈現；我們不是在解決問題或改變局面，相反我們可能是製造更多問題，引發思考，引導大家尋找一些機械式生活裏不曾去問的問題。更而是提醒及再提醒，提醒大家生活的味道，生命的可貴，重新用「心」去連結當初的純粹，無忘初衷。
Hong Kong is a rather special city – it has been “East meets West” for many years, and yet so disparate and polarized. As citizens, our sentiments are complex and they run deep. As creators, even more so. The creative process involves experiences, understanding and presentation. Our experiences come from our lives, the source and motivation for creation. These lives and expriences are not far away in Europe or the Middle East but amongst us, in Cheung Chau or Tsim Sha Tsui East. They walk on streets, drift with the wind, and exist in the past, present and future of you, me and them. But not everyone feels them with their hearts. Artists’ heartfelt creation becomes a medium for presenting these experiences. To create is, after all, to represent life and experiences in other forms; we are not solving problems or inducing change, and we might even raise more questions, to induce reflection and search for questions that don’t get asked in our robotic lifestyle. To remind and remind again of the flavor and the value in life. To renew our connection to the initial passion, and don’t forget our original intention.
