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Yin Mei at Dance Theater Workshop
by Effie George

Tradition: it guides us, hides us, and ultimately destroys us. Through juxtaposition of elusive artistic imagery, sporadic choreography and continual prop usage, Yin Mei's Nomad: The River unsubtly depicts the oppression and desperation under communist Chinese rule, where death was omnipresent and obedience was paramount to survival.

The piece began with the recitation of several diary entries, personal accounts of the horrors of communist China. Rows of translucent sheets hung from the ceiling, creating a canvas for images (which ranged from flowers and nature to Chinese symbols and letters) and a means for the dancers to be suspended. The score, by Christopher Salter, shifted between soft, natural sounds and harsh, resonating rumbles that echoed from beneath the audience, materializing the tension between Mao's revolution and the counterrevolution.

The movement in the piece conveyed a sense of tradition crippling its own people, and that tradition is something to hide behind as an easy approach to life, but it will always destroy those who partake in it. From the suffocation of one of the dancers by a stereotypical Chinese gong to the despair exhibited when Chinese letters appeared on the installation that was their set, each of the dancers was systematically destroyed by some part of tradition. The dancers moved methodically in what seemed to be a bodily revolt (or physical uprising against the panels), an attempt to crumble society, social structure and, perhaps most importantly, the government. Each of these sequences of revolt was quickly crushed through what seemed to represent organized annihilation, each dancer experiencing identical movement when they attempted to revolt. The dance forced the question of the nature of society and government, and whether or not it will inevitably crumble.

The production revolved around the predominantly negative effects of patriarchal society on women. The small cast of three women and one man clarified this exceptionally: although there was only one man out of the four, the women were still oppressed by his presence, confined to the mental prison that he created for them. The women, however, at times took comfort in being held by the man, offering the idea that the oppressed Chinese women occasionally embraced the security of a structured society.

Props were also used effectively in the production. A round, malleable aluminum sheet was used as a gong, a sound creator, as well as a symbol of the government and societal structure. The women at one moment simultaneously wrapped themselves in the aluminum sheet (that, coincidentally, just choked the male dancer), clearly suggesting the comfort that is a direct result of hiding within society, obediently not questioning authority, merely offering your life to the government and the system. The aluminum sheets were contrasted with flowers, again begging the question of whether or not society and government are natural, and, consequently, whether or not they are destructible. Masks were also used as a symbol of tradition. A person is quite literally hidden behind a mask, hidden behind tradition and the reality of a communist society. Through the use of props, Yin Mei clarified the idea that although society is easily corruptible, people take comfort within the confines of it because it offers a sense of stability and security in an ever-changing world.

The production ended with the male dancer painting the legs of the female dancers red, the cliché colors of passion, love, and, of course, Communism, to music with lyrics including "Don't say a word, here comes the break of the day." This act clearly depicted the state of the female body within communism, the ability for others within this society to corrupt her, to transform her, and her inability to control herself. The production ended with the same young voice from the beginning of the piece saying, "We are the children of the revolution." It seems, however, through "Nomad: The River" that Yin Mei is a child of the counterrevolution.