Opening with a giant close-up of the almost disembodied head of artistic director Jin Xing on a screen being made up and dressed in the style of Chinese Opera, Shanghai Beauty is slow to start but soon establishes its own genre to a backdrop of Chinese music both classical and avant-garde.

It’s when the dancing ensemble of the Jin Xing Dance Theatre, from Shanghai, begin to move in syncopated movements unfolding a hypnotic and eclectic repertory, created in tandem with Jutta Hell and Dieter Baumann of the Rubato Dance Company in Berlin that the exploration of the relationship between East and West becomes evident through the dance movements of its creators.

Reminiscent in part of Maurice Bejart’s early work in Belgium with his Ballet of the 20th Century from 1960 to 1987, it’s the generous energy and complexity of the dancers’ portrayal of the choreography that gives this modern dance production a life of its own.

Two artists in particular deserve a mention, though it is not possible to name them as the ensemble is listed without mention of the roles danced (and much of the complimentary progamme is devoted to Jin Xing herself).

These worthy artists are the lady with the long flowing hair who danced a mesmerising solo and the man in the white boxer shorts who was extraordinary strong and rhythmic in his movements and who was justly awarded a round of applause at the end of his routine… Both are extremely talented dancers in their own right.

Clearly Jin Xing’s biography as a dancer is as extraordinary as her personal life, which is a story on its own… She has studied modern dance technique at the schools of Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham in New York, and has taught and performed all over Europe including La Biennale di Venezi, Dance Umbrella London and Impulstanz Vienna.

This is a must see production for all dancing aficianados!

At the Dunstan Playhouse of the Adelaide Festival Centre

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