Eudaimonia

Sigma Contemporary Dance

Goodman Arts Centre, Black Box

Last Saturday, 8pm

Eudaimonia, an Aristotelian concept that refers to a life well lived, happiness and human flourishing, was the title and theme of Sigma Contemporary Dance’s triple bill performance that paired choreographers with composers. It was a nostalgic moment for many of the founding members who have been with Sigma for all of its 11 years and had their first performance together in this same black box.

This passion of the collective, made up of professional and amateur dancers, is both a strength and a weakness. While their enjoyment and close bond is a joy to watch on stage, it can also highlight the status of audience members as mere outsiders. The lack of time for rehearsals may have also added to the uneven embodiment of the technical nuances and textural quality of the dance styles.

The evening opened with artistic director Hong Guo Feng’s Deconstructing The Frameless Mind, which played to his strength in using props to create arresting images. An empty frame in the corner of the stage illuminates founding dancer Chua Chiok Woon. She hesitates to cross the threshold, but as she steps over, a hand appears to pass her an orange sticker to wear. The sticker seems to give her the freedom of movement to travel across the stage.

Midway through the dance, the frame becomes a revolving panel as a dancer runs on the spot trying to keep up with it. Later, another dancer is enclosed within the frame, trying to touch the offered disembodied hands and feet. Through these various images of restriction and release, one is tempted to draw parallels to fluctuating Covid-19 restrictions.

The second work Walk With Me To The End/Beginning by guest choreographer Marcus Foo clearly reflects the theme of Eudaimonia. It opens and closes with three dancers clinging to a thick rope as if trying to scale a mountain. As it progresses, Chua tells the story of her journey towards becoming a dancer. She used to work in a bank and once thought of climbing the corporate ladder, but this no longer interests her. Since her story is ongoing, it makes sense that there was no closure at the end of the dance.

The story connects to the closing work, The Direction Of by choreographer Christina Chan and music collaborator Redwan Hamzah, where the joy in dancing together is particularly apparent. Hamzah even incorporated recordings from the rehearsals into the sound design. Chan’s signature visceral choreography had the dancers swinging their limbs and playfully bounding together, aptly showcasing the group’s camaraderie.

Towards the end, as two dancers move in unison gliding smoothly near the floor, the other dancers group a variety of children’s toys around them. This semicircle of toys felt like the beginning of a new phase, but was a premature end that piqued one’s desire to see where they will go next.

The triple bill format is a good strategy for such a large collective as it gives a performance opportunity to every dancer. However, it limits the time available for each work. With such a large topic as Eudaimonia, one wonders if the format restricted the choreographers’ ability to fully develop their interpretations.