Prior to her work in contemporary dance, Hou trained in traditional Chinese classic dance in her youth. The change came when she joined the Guangdong Modern Dance Company in 1995. (Photo : China Daily)
In a report by China Daily, renowned dancer-choreographer Hou Ying opens up about the world of performance art and contemporary dance. Hou is the founder of the Hou Ying Dance Theater, which will be staging a show called "Tu Tu" in Beijing this weekend.
"Tu Tu," Hou's latest masterpiece, is also described to be one of her most ambitious choreographic work.
Prior to her work in contemporary dance, Hou trained in traditional Chinese classic dance in her youth. The change came when she joined the Guangdong Modern Dance Company in 1995.
Hou rose to prominence when she won the top prize at a Belorussian modern dance competition in 1996 for her first choreographic work, "Night of Spirit."
She was part of the Shen Wei Dance Art, an internationally acclaimed group based in New York, for seven years before returning to China in 2008. Upon her return, she created the eight-minute "The Picture," which was showcased at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games.
The idea behind "Tu Tu," however, came to being when Hou experienced a serious spinal injury in 2007. She returned to China in 2009 to create the dance work in collaboration with Guangdong Modern Dance Company.
The dance work features abstract body movements and elements of color. In 2014, however, Hou remade "Tu Tu" and removed the color and movements. She premiered the new version at the Open Look St. Petersburg International Dance Festival in Russia earlier this year.
"The six dancers all wear deep gray clothes, and the stage is colorless. I want the audiences to feel the transparent lines portrayed through the body movements, which are simple but filled with energy," Hou said.
The change in "Tu Tu," according to Hou, reflected her transformation from a young, vivacious youth into a much calmer and artistic woman.
"As an artist, you have to believe in your work and your instinct," she said. "Whenever my work is being staged, I sit among the audience and enjoy it. It's my own language."
