My First Society Column: South China Morning Post: TBT to 2003

Give 'em Noel

THE GATES OF the dynastic Harilela mansion in Kowloon Tong swung open for the clan's annual by-invitation-only pre-Christmas bash. About 200 guests mingled in the Mughul room, function room and Japanese garden while indulging in a feast prepared by chefs from Gaylord and Loong Yuen restaurants - co-owned by the Harilela group - the family's huge in-house kitchens.

Prominent faces among the well-heeled revelers were Kim Robinson - lord of folly an follicles - who was seen canoodling with Chanel's Mabel Au-Yeung. Cable TV's Sharon Cheung, one of Hong Kong's most recognisable and glamorous reporters, challenged the imperial decree of the colour-themed invitation (men in black, women in red) by stepping out in a black evening dress festooned with pink flora.


Another non-conforming invitee was Kam Kwok-leung,who appeared in a metallic, cleavage-baring, lace-brocaded navy blue creation - desperately trying to preserve his Best Dressed Hong Kong Personality 2002 reputation.


Perveen Crawford detached herself from sister Nasreen Ting long enough to pose with David Harilela (who did a funky jig on the dance floor later) and Bobby Oberio. Harry Hiranand enjoyed being sandwiched by the ladies in red - even if it was just for a picture.



My first ever column and blurb, back in the day at SCMP.
Monday January 13, 2003

Gone to Waist: Health Post: SCMP: Interview with Muk Venkatraman: Health Feature

Men aiming for that elusive six-pack stand a fat chance of success on a dodgy diet, writes P.Ramakrishnan. Photos by Hyvis Tong.

You've sen him - the middle-aged man at the gym in a muscle t-shirt with flabby arms and even flabbier belly, his sweaty arms flailing around as he groans to do another sit-up.

Robert Wang, 42, has been battling the bulge since he hit 40. "When I was younger, it was as if I had hollow legs - everything I ate would go straight through me," says the engineer. "But now it seems that I've developed a tummy that I can't get rid of. I've tried everything to trim down. I've watched my diet - at one stage I was just eating soup. And I've exercised at the gym. But nothing has really made a dent."

"Men ask: 'Is my stomach flat enough?', 'Am I fit enough?', 'A I good enough," says psychologist Lesley Lewis, from Culture3Counsel.

Harrison Pope, co-author of The Adonis Complex and a Harvard Medical School psychology professor, says females aren't the only ones who suffer from eating disorders and an obsession with their appearance. Males, especially teenagers, are increasingly "tying their self-worth to their \body image", says Pope. "They're obsessed with their bodies." Advertising and celebrities have raised unrealistic expectations.


Personal trainer Muk Venkatraman at Physical Harmony Personal Training, says no only do men want a flat stomach, they want instant results. He constantly sees men in the gym struggling in vain to rid themselves of a sagging gut. "I see people doing crunches and sit-ups, thinking that their huge tyre around the waist is going to get smaller, but that six-pack won't show on anyone who has a high body-fat percentage."

Excess body fat from the Hong Kong diet and a sedentary lifestyle is contributing to ballooning waistlines. "We have a rich carbohydrate saturated diet - the rice and noodles," says MSL Nutritional Diet Centre dietitian Joanne Chan Yuk-yi. "But I also find loads of people have a high protein intake too - an unhealthy balance of it, which is increasing the fat around the stomach. My clients say to me: 'It's the rice that makes my stomach bloat, or the noodles.' But it's not just the rice. It's the sauce, how you cook the meat, the deep-fried food, the cream-based sauces. The small bowl of rice that most people have at lunch is not the main culprit."

So what should you eat to get your stomach from fat to fit?

"Smaller portions," says Chan. "Eating until your belly's completely full is an archaic notion. Fruits and vegetables, high-grain foods are great as they help your bowel movements expel toxins from the body. Drink eight glasses of water a day - with the high fibre intake, you'll need the water to move it out."

And tonic water doesn't count. "A lot of people in Hong Kong drink too much alcohol," says Venkatraman. "Not only are they poisoning their body, but they're adding empty calories."

Chan agrees. "Our liver metabolises alcohol and excess alcohol turns into fat, easily deposited in the stomach area - and that's any kind of alcohol."

Venkatraman says beer bellies are made when your calorie consumption exceeds the exercise you do. "What it all comes down to is calories in versus calories out," says Venkatraman. "Do you eat more than your body burns? If the answer is yes, then you'll gain weight."

Forty per cent of Hongkongers have waistlines that exceed the recommended standard, according to a patient study. That makes the proportion of Hongkongers with outsized waistlines the same as that for North Americans. The standard average waistline suggested for local men in Hong Kong is 89cm, while for women, it's 80cm, according to the International Diabetes Federation. Their 2005 study, called the 'Idea' - International Day for the Evaluation of Abdominal Obesity - is a global survey involving about 180,000 patients from 63 countries. It aimed to find the prevalence of abdominal obesity and its relationship to the risk of chronic diseases. It was the first time Hong Kong had taken part in the survey.

Just as worrying is that the Chinese have a genetic tendency to accumulate fat in the inner abdomen, which increases the likelihood of heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses related to obesity. This recent Canadian study examined 822 healthy individuals. Doing sit-ups, for example, is unlikely to help someone lose harmful inner abdominal fat exclusively, says Gwen Chapman, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of British Columbia. "That's more likely to affect the muscles, and so you might have more muscle tone in your stomach," she says.

Specialist men's slimming clinic Mence says a growing number of its clients sign on wanting to build a six-pack. "In Hong Kong, most businessmen don't have the time to spend hours in the gym, so we provide services to target their problem areas - especially around their stomach," says spokesman Ronald Kwok Ka-lok. "They can relax and sometimes go to sleep while the machines do the work. There's an infra-red treatment, ulra-sound treatment, a lymphatic treatment and many others."

Although there's no such thing as a quick fix, Venkatraman says one way to appear instantly slimmer is to improve your posture. "The better your posture, the more calories you'll burn. Slouching is what the body does to save energy, If your body is upright with good posture, then technically you're burning more calories."

Venkatraman also says it's important to keep moving. "Stop taking the elevator and take the stairs instead. Don't jump in a taxi, use the MTR and save the environment and yourself."


Tone that tummy with core control
Sit at your desk in an upright, tall position. Pull your stomach in for five to 10 seconds and release. then do this about 20 times or more if you can. It's called the 'drawing in manoeuvre".

According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine, this action will directly influence the deep stabilisers in your core. In particular the transversus abdominis also known as the TVA.

"This is the muscle that keeps your body stable. Without this, we would collapse like a ton of bricks." says personal trainer Muk Venkatraman.

CONTACTS:

• Leslie Lewis at http://www.culture3counsel.com/
• MSL Nutritional Diet Centre
• Muk Venkatraman at www.elitefitnesshk.com

A Patten Developing: An Exclusive Interview with Alice Patten for South China Morning Post: The British actress talks about working with a Bollywood Icon Aamir Khan

The last governor’s youngest girl is a hit in Bollywood. She tells P.Ramakrishnan of her struggles with Hindi and dancing.

FOR HER FIRST three days in India, her thoughts were mostly variations on: “What have I got myself into?” But Alice Patten quickly found her feet, which was fortunate, since her film project stretched to almost eight months.

Making her debut in a Bollywood production, Patten took a while to get used to working in India. “But then I had so much fun,” she says. “It was such an enriching experience and I had such a great time, it was all worth it.”

Rang de Basanti (Paint it Yellow) proved rewarding. The movie set box office records in India and elsewhere when it opened late last month: the soundtrack, composed by A.R.Rahman, is still topping Indian charts. And the movie has garnered praise for its director Rakesh Omprakash Mehra and stars, including Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Soha Ali Khan and Patten. The DVD will be released in Hong Kong this week.

The youngest of the last Hong Kong governor Chris Patten’s three daughters, the 26-year-old had set her sights on become an actress when she was at Island School. She has made a promising start. Her debut, two years ago, in a play at the Royal National Theatre has been followed by a variety of television and stage roles.

Bollywood, however, was never on the radar, until her agent sent her a script from Mumbai, translated from the Hindi original. The project would give her the chance to work with Khan, a Bollywood idol. But the deciding factor for her was signing on to Rang de Basanti was the script.

“In fact, the key factor,” says Patten. “The story was great. I think it’s an important story to be told, rather political and the character I was offered was strong, so it was just nice to be a part of something like that. The madness of going to India was exciting and terrifying. Who wouldn’t want to do it?”

A film within a film, Rang de Basanti weaves issues of the nation struggling for independence with those of contemporary India. A British director (Patten) decides to make a docu-drama based on the memoirs of her grandfather, a former police officer in colonial India caught in a clash with some freedom fighters he admires.

She goes to Delhi and hires five graduates led by DJ (Khan) to play the revolutionaries. Materialistic and self-centered, the friends find little to relate to in the movie about courage, sacrifice and patriotic pride. But, as the project progresses, the youths understand the spirit of the 1930s patriots and change their perspectives on life.

Patten’s most politically charged role so far, it hasn’t stirred any notions of eventually following her father into politics. “I think it’s important to be politically aware, but I’m not politically active or inclined,” she says. “The acting bug’s got me for now.”

Patten reckons she was lucky to be cast for the role. “I couldn’t believe I had it in my hand to play one of the main characters in such a layered, rich film,” she says.

The cast spent a month in rehearsals, but Patten spent an extra month learning Hindi. Although she graduated from Cambridge with a degree in modern languages, the actress says she barely picked up the rudiments of Hindi.

"I had a tutor, but it’s only my own dialogue that I know,” she says. “If anyone asked me anything in Hindi now, all I’d be able to say is ‘haan' [yes], ‘naahi’ [no] and ‘shukriya’ [thank you]!”

Her parents supported the project form the start Patten says.

“Yes, I have been the baby of the family, but when I discussed going to India, they were very encouraging, Mum and Dad have been to India often and loved it, and said I should do it for the experience.”

And unlike some visitors to India, Patten had no problems with the food. “The rule is to eat everything, drink everything and you’ll be fine,” she says.

The first day of filming – at the Golden Temple in Amritsar – gave Patten a taste of Bollywood mania. “The location was stunning, with the sight of the gold domes at dawn,” she says. “To top it all, there were hundreds of thousands of people watching, in addition to our massive crew. Many go to pray there as it is, but when they heard Aamir Khan was on location, it was just insane.”

The reaction of the fans was extraordinary Patten says. “I’ve never seen that level of excitement, and everyone was all over Aamir,” she says. “In London, people pretend to not recognise actors when they see them. They fake a snobbish attitude while they’re secretly taking pictures with their camera phones. In India, it was all very honest.”

The film’s content obviates any need for the usual Bollywood song-and-dance routines.

“It’s not in the traditional format of a usual Indian movie,” Patten says. “All the songs are in the background, and we don’t suddenly break into a jig.”

Even so, Rang included a dance sequence that Patten describes as “tragic”. "It was a struggle to keep up with the choreography, she says. “It was astounding how bad I was,” Patten says. “Thankfully, I only had to do that for about three days.”

There was no chance of turning out in exotic costumes since the movie had a contemporary setting. But she made up for it with purchases from around the country as the crew moved to different locations. “I did go berserk shopping. Bought lovely things from Jaipur,” she says. “Mum came along to visit during the shoot while dad was away promoting his book, and we had a great time.”

Patten is now playing Ophelia in an English Touring Theatre production of Hamlet in the West End. It’ll be a while before she considers another Hindi movie. (“There aren’t that many roles for English girls; well not good ones.”)

But the possibility of kicking butt in Hong Kong puts a gleam in the actress’ eye.

“Oh, I’d love to do a cool action flick in Hong Kong,” Patten says.

Despite being under constant media scrutiny, Patten says she has great memories of the city. “I have lost all knowledge of any Cantonese, but I remember some of the swear words,” she says. “Always handy.”

Easy on the Ears: Singer Peter Cincotti, Zegna model and musician

Move over Norah Jones and Michael Buble, the world of polite jazz has a fresh face. P.Ramakrishnan meets the talented Mr Cincotti. Photo by Dickson Lee. Other images courtesy of Zegna and Peter Cincotti.




AS HIS FINGERS slide over the keys, Peter Cincotti furrows his brow in deep concentration, eyes firmly shut, biting his bottom lip. It's a musical duel and duet between the pianist and his drummer as they improvise on an original composition.


Off stage, Cincotti's an affable chap with an easy smile, and why wouldn't he be? Ermenegildo Zegna is keeping him in stitches. The Italian garment giant chose him to be one of its poster boys, and as far as Cincotti's concerned they've hit all the right notes with him.

"I wouldn't have had this opportunity to showcase my music to this variety of audience had it not been for Zegna," he says, in Zegna's store in Tsim Sha Tsui. "It's like I've been taken into this warm family and because of them, I've had the opportunity to play in Shanghai, in Hong Kong and Singapore [the next stop]. This is my first trip to China, my first time in Hong Kong, and I'm overwhelmed by the reaction of the audience."

It isn't just the invitation-only VIPs cramming the performances around Asia and Europe who have gladly picked up his albums. Most critics who've heard his second album, On the Moon - peppered with tunes and lyrics he wrote - have alluded to the wunderkind's prodigious talent.

He's 22-years old, has been performing since he was 12, opened for Ray Charles ("my hero and one of my all-time favourite performers"), studied with jazz masters David Finck and James Williams, starred on stage in the off-Broadway hit Our Sinatra and performed at the White House for President George W Bush. At 20, he was the youngest solo artist to reach the top spot on Billboard's traditional jazz chart. Last year, he appeared alongside Kevin Spacey in the Bobby Darin story Beyond the Sea.

Cincotti's roster of achievements would be music to the ears of any parent who shuttles their children into after-school piano lessons. "I was never pushed into playing the piano," he says. "I was three years old when I stared and it was an innate interest. I'm so glad my parents allowed me this creative freedom. if I practise everyday wherever I am, it's because I want to, not because I'm forced to."



In 2003, he released his self-titled debut, which led to an invitation to perform on Britain's Michael Parkinson Show. "Someone from Zegna was int eh audience and liked it and I was asked whether I'd like to represent their line of clothing for the next year. I said I'd be happy to. I love their clothes, and their visibility in New York is high, so it was a pleasure to do that. As far as I'm concerned, there are only pros, no cons, to this deal. I mean, I'm no model and I'm not out there to walk down the catwalk with the professionals, but the company has always chosen an atypical person to front their clothes. Adrien Brody was chosen right before he won the Oscar. Alberto Gilardino went on to win medals at the Olympics and do brilliantly at the European football championships. I'm here because of my music and I'm in great company."

Is a Grammy the next inevitable step? Already reviewers have him bracketed with Norah Jones and Michael Buble on the jazz-tinged side of popular music. Unlike the disposable pap that dominates the charts and the warbling of American Idol contestants, Cincotti can actually play an instrument and hist a note without synthetic modulation. He also composes and writes lyrics. He strikes a chord "with two hands and a voice steeped in emotion", as one reviewer put it.


"I know I don't sound like Norah Jones or Michael [Buble]. They're great artists in their own right. I don't worry about comparisons, nor do I get carried away with it. I'm just out there playing my music."

Cincotti had no idea what to expect from his first visit to Asia. "There's nothing like the dynamic of a live performance. I don't see myself as a jazz musician only. I like all kinds of music and am influenced by everything. I didn't get to see a lot of China and I'm so glad I get a day off in Hong Kong to get a feel for the city. All this can only influence my music."

The acting gig was a happy coincidence and took him into uncharted territory. The Spacey-directed biopic was panned, but the soundtrack garnered favourable reviews. Cincotti played Dick Behrke, a role similar to the one had in Spider-Man 2 as "Uncredited Piano Player in Planetarium".

"Working on the films gave me time to work on my latest album. Touring is different, you're always busy: working on the concerts, travelling to different locations. So, there's no time to do anything but perform. While working on Beyond the Sea, I was in one location for three months and, in between shots, I had a lot of free time, which is how I got to write some of the tracks from On the Moon. It was a great learning experience, too."

Where to next? "It's all about the music," he says. "It's not about recreating one genre again and again. My first record was classified in the jazz category, but it was primarily a trio record. I wanted to do jazz standards as well as songs by Blood, Sweat & Tears, which was next to Rainbow Connection and the theme from The Godfather and then I combined Nat King Cole with The Beatles. I'm interested in creating hybrids of music. The last thing I wan to do is sing a song the same way it's been done by hundreds of people. The artists I admire most are the ones that have constantly evolved. You take their first album and their last and it's completely different, and it's still great."



On the Moon is out now.

Coup d'art: Indian Artists are having a Renaissance

India’s artists are enjoying a surge of interest from galleries and collectors. P.Ramakrishnan does some canvassing.



A FISHING BOAT sails into a canvas sliced with red and white hues, drifting away from a branch studded with rouged flora and fauna. The caption reads, “Spring, China”, and the minimalist starkness suggests that the watercolour is from Shanghai. But it’s not. It’s a Paresh Maity original.

Next, a Buddha stands in repose, his arms folded across his chest as a shower of lotus petals dot the air. Perhaps it’s by celebrated Thai artist Sudjai Chaiyapan? Wrong again. It’s a Charan Sharma acrylic.

Indian artists, long lumped together with other Southeast Asians, are slowly emerging onto the contemporary scene, with growing recognition and solid sales.

The genre has risen from middling two-figure deals just five years ago to US$100 million worth of works sold by global auction houses Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Saffron last year.

“The significant trend is the globally buoyant demand for contemporary Indian art,” says Neelanjan Shome, co-owner of Reflections gallery in Hong Kong, which specializes in Indian art. “While the market was estimated at about US$5 million in 1995, today it’s estimated to be about US$180 million.

“Individual works are also following this pattern of increasing valuation. Tyeb Mehta’s Celebration held the record of US317,000 since 2002 – only to be smashed by his Mahisasura, at a whopping US1.6 million in September last year. There appears to be a critical mass with enough disposable income to sustain these prices. It’s not a case of a handful of collectors driving the market.”

Maity, a major contemporary Indian artist, agrees. He has noticed a recent surge of interest not only in his own work but in Indian art, generally. “In the past two or three years, Indian art has suddenly become very big – become global in a big way,” says Maity, who will be in Hong kong this week to promote a book featuring paintings from his private collection. His paintings fetch US$17,500, on average. “It wasn’t recognised before in the word arena because people weren’t looking at it,” he says. “We have a huge tradition of art and culture, but there was no proper recognition outside India.

“I just had my 46th solo exhibition worldwide. For many years my work has been presented and sold in England, America, Germany Franc and the Middle East. I didn’t think I had any Chinese collectors, but last year, in Singapore, I met a few people who had six to eight pieces of my work.

“One of them flew to Mumbai to pick up a piece when an exhibition was sold out. Now, I’ve been invited to showcase my work in Hong Kong and I’m very much looking forward to it.”

Charan Sharma, who is represented by Reflections, holds similar views. “We auction a few times a year in London and New York – Indian art is thriving and is in great demand. The reactions are very positive. I’m always surprised by the amount of knowledge that interested people – buyers, as well as viewers – have about the art scene today. Apart from Indians living abroad, the British, Australians and Americans are my regular collectors.”

According to Shome, about 20 per cent of all contemporary Indian art sold globally goes to non-Indians. This may be because the profile of Indian art has grown recently, with major exhibitions at the Asia Society and the Grey Art Gallery in New York and the Tate in London.

But Indian art is also seen as an affordable investment. A Ganesh Haloi, for instance, sells for between US$3,200 and US$5,000 – in sharp contrast to a lot of western art. The average price at the Christie’s autumn 1999 auction for contemporary American art, for example, was more than US$400,000.

“Last but not least, this has also been a function of a vibrant art scene,” Shome says. “The contemporary Indian art scene has witnessed a real revolution in the past 15 years.”

Maity says the innate Indian-ness draws people to his work. “When I went to China a few years ago, I was very influenced by the watercolours. In Venice and France, I saw and loved Picasso’s work and the way landscapes were done.


“But what I’ve found from collectors of my work is the positive-ness, the brightness, the colours, the centrally Indian themed paintings – the happiness in it is what they were picking up. I’m greatly influenced by folk art – miniature art that’s unique to our people – and that’s reflected in my work.

“I was so happy that in London last year my work was being shown in the same gallery as Picasso’s. Once, a few years back, my work was being shown with an international gallery of artists and people were picking up my work – when the buyers came in with no preconceived notions of what Indian art is or should be. When they’re buying it for simply what they see, that made me very happy."

Art critics from around the world are readjusting their views in light of the Indian invasion of precious wall space at Tate, Grey Art Gallery and the like.

According to Yamini Mehta, head specialist of Christie’s Modern and Contemporary Indian Art, the genre’s popularity has been growing steadily over the past decade.

“In the past, there was a nostalgic factor and nationalistic factor in that many of the collectors were non-resident Indians who were keen to collect and support artists who share their heritage,” she says.

“The growth of the Indian economy as also translated into the art world with much new wealth in the region. The relaxation of controls on foreign exchange and lowering of customs duties has made it easier for clients from India to participate in Christie’s auctions.”

Mehta says the demand for top Indian art is greater than the supply, and successive auctions have attracted more and more keen buyers at all levels.

“India and its diaspora comprise a population that is one billion strong, yet very little of the art is known to mainstream contemporary collections and institutions,” she says.

“This is changing, Indian art is being more exposed in the west. More international curators are coming to India and are taking note of the scene.”

Shome’s advice? “Use your heart to determine whether a particular piece of work will bring joy to you every day for years to come.”



Indian art exhition, featuring Paresh Maity, Vaikuntam, Jayshree Burman, Yusuf Arakkai and Laxma Goud
Mar 2-5,
Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre,
Kennedy Road.

In the Raw: Wim Vandekeybus’ dance fusion performance in Hong Kong

The nudity may be toned down for Asian audiences but the confrontational extremes of choreographer Wim Vandekeybus’ dance fusion performance could still make you Blush, writes P.Ramakrishnan.

THE POSTERS PROMOTING Blush, scattered around MTR stations and advertised on billboards are unabashedly deceptive of what one can expect from Wim Vandekeybus’ dance troupe. A portrait of a nude couple, entwined underwater and aglow like paintings from an erstwhile era says little of the show. There isn’t a hint of the fusion of theatrical extremes that the director/choreographer/dancer/photographer’s presenting. Vandekeybus’ production, Blush, seems like a reflection of his copious CV, it’s a dance poetry-film dramatisation that’s a hybrid of his interest and passions.

“For me, it’s very natural to mix and match all these different art forms," he says. “It’s more artificial to show just a dance, just a film, just one thing. That’s too rehearsed, contrived and set in its form. If you can do all this and inhabit one body, then it is the same in a show where you can see poetry being read, a drama, a dance, a film all together. They are all different ways of expressing and of expressions.”

Trying to describe the show and the osmosis of various art forms is difficult. A woman takes centre-stage and in a passion-filled voice almost sings out verses in French while actors and dancers crop up behind her, unexpectedly jack-knifing mid-air, yelping out noises like bullets in the wind. The woman seems not to notice the movements behind her, not even when a man, with a live frog, appears and holds up the amphibian by its leg over her face. Then the mood and scene change.

“On stage I’m exploring the beauty and the ugliness of people, their actions, especially between men and women,” the choreographer says. “But what I find beautiful, you might not. There’s something very attractive or perhaps intriguing about something that’s particularly ugly. There’s also ugliness in something of extreme beauty.”

Vanekeybus created his company Ultima Vez (Brussels) after working with the legendary Ian Fabre. His first production, What the Body Does Not Remember, picked up a slew of awards (including the New York Bessie Award, given to a work of dance and performance every year in the US) and he’s not looked back since. After picking up another Bessie Award in 1990, he collected the Prague D’or, for co-directing Roseland (1991), a video compilation of his choreographic works, set in a dilapidated Brussels cinema. More films, documentaries and videos followed, always under the umbrella of dance and performance art. Not only has he choreographed and directed Blush, the 15th creation with Ultima Vez, he’s also part of the 10-man dance troupe on stage.

His previous production, In Spite of Wishing and Wanting, had an all-male cast exploring the dreams and desires of men through interpretive dance. The follow-up, Scratching The Inner Fields, was performed by women only. “I don’t think you can explore the ambiguous relationship between men and women without having them together. Here, there are dancers and actors performing together from Russia, France, Vietnam and other places and trained dancers with actors who are not used to expressing themselves in such a physical way. It’s created an interesting energy.”

Indeed, a restless energy permeates the antics on stage. There’s never a dull moment as at any given time a group of actors or dancers inhabit separate sections of the stage. If one is in frantic motion with music, the other is silent and slow. At other parts, there’s a barrage of activity from all points of the stage. Some dancers dive into the large white screens that wall the stage and suddenly appear in the film that immediately begins where their stage performance seemingly ends. “The act doesn’t end, it continues in motion in the screen. I see myself as a story-teller who in as many ways as possible tries to lift the narrative, to showcase the changes of the personalities of people performing. I want to bring that to the stage. I’ve always wanted to incorporate my interest in cinema and photography on the stage in a different manner. It’s a mixture and melee of a lot of movies.”

If the languid movements at the ballet-tic dancers are graceful when live on stage. it’s almost liquid on screen. Shot underwater, with dolphins and frogs making cameos across the celluloid, the choreographed piece is extraordinary, visceral in vision and form. “The bodies underwater show a wonderful dichotomy of being completely free and liberating but then it’s also claustrophobic. You’re trapped in the water. The beauty you see is a mixture of paradise and the netherworld. Pleasure and pain. To have such freedom of movement and life underwater is paradise for some, while others can see it as underwater hell.”

As with any art form, particularly in an interpretative dance drama such as this, how the audience feels and understands what it sees is subjective. The press in Europe has dished out mixed reviews about his work, calling it a “spectacle” and nothing more, while others appreciated “the remarkable truth of [Vandekeybus’] piece is caught in the gaps between words, in the rich and finely tuned mix of movement, music and silence”.

The director is wide open to reactions, be they good or bad. “Blush is supposed to provoke you,” he says. “There is so much happening in the two-hour show that you don’t have time to react during it, but afterwards. As this is the premier in Asia, in Hong Kong, I’m really interested in looking at the audience, their reaction, what they have to say and come back to me with. Since it was first staged in Belgium a year ago, Blush has been performed 50 times across Europe and with every place, it’s a different reaction.”

Flitting about stage there is one dancer who appears as God intended. “In Europe, nudity is not a big deal. My intention certainly is not to shock with the nudity because my audience no longer gets shocked by it. In Asia, I am sensitive to the audience and what is considered a norm there, so I think I will change part of the performance. The nudity is not integral to the production. It’s not for shock value so I might change it. There have been slight variations to performances made as its staged in different countries, nothing is set in stone.”


Blush, Kwai Tsing Theatre.
A post-performance Meet the Artist session with the director and choreographer will be held after the show.

Seize the Moment for Music and Mischief: Scottish Country Dancing in Hong Kong,

With a nod to Burns night on Saturday, P.Ramakrishnan kicks up his heels and learns a thing or two about Scottish dancing.


AT FIRST GLANCE, the four row of eight couples poised to begin the beginner’s class of Scottish country dancing at the Hong Kong Cricket Club reminds me of a dance session at Ernakulam, in Southern India.

Nearly two decades ago, I saw a dancer begin a recital with her amateur troupe for Bharatnatyam, one of the oldest forms of classical south Indian dance. In similar rows, boys and girls stood in rigid anticipation as their guru rhythmically tapped a wooden stick on a circular, wooden pan. Every pupil’s blunder was met with a harsh, khol-laden glare and major flaw was met with the stick, the trainer would fold the tail of her sair into her waist, march to the offender and give the aberrant limb a bone-crunching whack.

I snap back to the reality of Wong Nai Chung Gap Road by the accordion music, guffaws and spontaneous claps of the eclectic group of enthusiasts in an eight-step dance programme. The “Kingston Flyer”, the “Chase”, the “Wheelie” and other arcane terms rang around the room and with relative ease, the novices fell into place as instructed.

Without the obvious sophistication of the waltz, the hint of eroticism of the tango or the near impossibility of the Irish river dance, Scottish country dancing doesn’t attract much press or praise. Picture lads in kilts and jackets, their feet strapped with ghillies, as legs move to and fro with their partners, women dressed in white dresses with tartan sashes. They create kindergarten-esque little bridges, which hand-held couples duck in and out of, and alternative versions of the merry-go0round are played out. A series of coordinated steps look undemanding, but miss a beat and the whole collective body-in-motion goes out of sync. As with any performing art, it’s never as easy as it looks.

With a nod to Burns Night on Saturday, which commemorates Scotland’s finest poet, Robert Burns, and in celebration of all things Scottish, I jump in at the deep end of the discipline with my effervescent fellow neophytes. After a two-hour session, I am told I have the “right flair” for it and am asked if I’ve done it before. Brushing aside all merit and flattery, I meet the instructors after class.

Jean Young, champion of this art in Hong Kong, never loses her smile or temper throughout her sessions. Her feet clad in flat, dancing pumps – similar to ballet shoes but with a full sole – she displays unflagging grace. Sneakers squeak on the hardwood floor, sock or stocking-clad feet repeatedly slip, and late-starters encounter misdirected bodies, but nothing can spoil the air of mischief, music and movement.

“it was introduced in Hong Kong about 50 years ago, when Scottish dancing lessons were held at the old union Church – mainly to keep the soldiers out of trouble,” says co-instructor Annette Stabb. “To provide good, wholesome entertainment and to meet people, that was the goal. It was always held on Monday night and its’ just been that way ever since.”

The dancing may be Scottish in origin, but I has spread to the unlikeliest of places. There are lessons available in Grenoble, in south-eastern France, in San Francisco, Germany’s University of Dortmund, Jakarta and Singapore. “it isn’t as simple as some of the folk dances that come out of the United Kingdom and I think that’s the main attract,” says Young. “There’s more to do, a pattern to follow. And, of course, anyone can do it at any age. An eight-year-old can partner an 80-year – it’s something for everyone.”

Scottish country dancing is not to be confused with Highland dancing, a more complicated affair seen iat fairs and festivals. “The original Highland dancing is strictly a competition sport now, mostly for young girls,” Young Says. “There are no qualified instructors in Hong Kong and there are some here who know bits and pieces, but not enough to teach complete lessons. Scottish country dancing is a more social affair performed at weddings, parties and get-togethers.”

For most students, these lessons don’t culminate in public performances or on stage but the exceptional few are invited to join the advanced class, where people do dance on occasions.

“We were asked to perform at the launch of a new whiskey in Hong Kong and at school fairs. The Racial Harmony Fair and folk festivals have welcomed us,” says Young. “Oh and there was that one performance at Seibu. It was a strange experience to be country dancing in the middle of a supermarket but if asked, I’m sure we’d go just about anywhere.”

The Hong Kong Highlanders Reel Club holds courses in Scottish country dancing at the Hong Kong Cricket club, 137 Wong Nai Chung Gap Road, Happy Valley.