For the first time, the Feng Dance Theater from Tainan, Taiwan is making its debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. And boy, have they exploded onto the international stage. Brilliant, captivating, enthralling, their performance, titled Kid Box, is absolutely electrifying! Choreographer Dominique Yen is top-notch and any dance aficionados would be remiss to see her work.
Ingenious in the simplicity of their props, the use of strobe lighting, nude leotards and a pulsing fetal heartbeat playing throughout most of the piece manages to convey a lifetime of emotions from seedling to grown adult. One dancer straps a torch on her hand as she juxtaposes the darkness of the womb with the maternal light at the end of the vaginal canal.
The cord that ties mother and child extends outside the womb, umbilical or not. And when that innocent grows up to the battle the adult word, it's not always a pretty picture in a tumultuous, competitive dog-eat-dog world. One thing is for sure, that unruly adult will always be one mother's beloved, helpless child.
Categorized under Dance and International show at the Fringe, it's also a family show. I took my two daughters, age four and nine, and they absolutely got the message. They couldn't take their eyes off the mesmerizing four female dancers and single male dancer, which make up the company of Feng Dance that come to Scotland.
As part of this year's Edinburgh Festivals, there's a segment of Taiwanese culture presented this year. Feng Dance Theater is not about ethnicity. Kid Box about pushing the movement and concept boundaries in a lively modern dance world with themes of mother and child that speaks to a universal audience.
To Go See the Show:
go to Edinburgh Fringe Festival https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/kid-box?day=21-08-2014&performance=26%3A10827
Additional Links:
Feng Dance Theater http://fengdance.org/
Edinburgh Fringe Festival https://tickets.edfringe.com/
Edinburgh Festivals http://www.edinburghfestivals.co.uk/