Written by Jeremy Boo
-Part of the October issue of the EY Quarterly Newsletter  

The winner places his piece neatly on the chessboard, arresting his opponent’s king in defeat. The loser’s face collapses in resignation, cold sweat dots his forehead.

The worst is over. The anger will come later.It’s this rage that Albert Tiong seized and smashed in your face; a girl stood, mouthed angry words and gesticulated violently, while the silence layered heavily on itself, with each succeeding layer heavier than the previous. The audience shuffled in their seats. 

Cages of lights, which lined the sides of the theatre, threw a singular beam across, illuminating the right side of 4-seated people, casting the rest of their countenance in deep shadow. Silence. 

The tension was suddenly shattered when a loud beat slammed into the heightening silence, sending dancers into action and jolting the audience into their seats. The rest of the dance lapsed into brief periods of false serenity, massive confusion, helplessness, and most often, anger. Tiong’s utilisation of various techniques created a je ne sais quoi quality that added to the gripping, almost tangible realism of emotions.  For instance, lights cast drawn-out shadows at the sides of the wall, while stark lights cut clean boxes around dancers, isolating them within. Chanting music played during those uneasy moments of emotional plateaux, while the cello tightened the agitation. This was complemented by strong and graceful dance moves. Sometimes they were placed within such an intimate distance, that it would have proven disastrous had a dancer inadvertently made a careless mistake – very much like a mistake in chess. Other times, they were placed far from each other, with each dancing a different dissonant dance, clearly placing a yawning distance between them.  Although Tiong did an excellent job in creating a highly charged atmosphere, he perhaps sustained it for too long, with too little breaks in between. By bringing the audience through the convolutions of anger, sadness, loneliness, and resignation without letting them go, he stretched their emotions to sheerexhaustion; it was difficult to concentrate on certain parts of the dance. 

 By the time Checkmate ended (with a country song-like theme playing in the background), we were left with an echoing hollow feeling in our chests that only spiraled deeper with the sad smile one dancer had.

You can also find the interview on www.theurbanwire.com 

Tags:Da:ns 2008 EY Quarterly Newsletter October 2008 issue
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