AT just nine, Chen Ing Kuang was introduced to ballet.

By 17, he was teaching waltz and cha cha at his school drama, music and dance club.

And at 19, dubbed the “Kevin Beacon” of Sibu, he lit up the stage with his eccentric movements modelled on the blockbuster movie — Footloose.

Then, over the next few years, he was in “serious tango” with his studies at the University of Taiwan where he graduated with a Bachelor Degree, majoring in Chinese literature.

Keen on choreography as a career, he joined the Beijing Dance Academy and completed a one-year study on folk dance in 1994. But his heart always felt empty — something was obviously missing in all the dance movements he knew.

Chen noted: “There must be more to a dance than just exciting moves and pretty costumes. For instance, it must be able to respond to the society and culture of its location and needs to be constantly developing and changing. In other words, I don’t want to limit myself to a particular style.

“I have always been fascinated by people and constantly thinking about the type of dance that can take human elements such as feelings or events in life — in short, depicting the human interest elements in a dance. With so many views from friends and internet resources, I was literally in sixes and sevens. The question is where do I start from here.”

He finally got his wish one evening while watching a dance themed “Sleep, Wake and Dream” arranged by a famed Australian choreographer, Simon Ellis.

Chen saw there and then the elusive missing piece to his dance puzzle. He had always wanted to capture people’s feelings and life events in a dance such as Ellis’ piece depicting people going about their routines in a dream.

Fascinated by what he saw, he journeyed Down Under to the University of Melbourne in 2000 to learn the art. From then on, contemporary dance stuck to Chen like glue and has became a part of him since.

In 2002, he graduated with a Master of Choreography and decided it was high time the beauty of contemporary dance was introduced to his hometown, particularly the younger generation.

“Contemporary dance is still new to East Malaysia, especially Sibu. Youths are generally more familiar with hip-hop, street dance and so on. Hence, contemporary dance fills the vacuum nicely,” said Chen, who could be easily mistaken for Donny Yen, the kung fu movie star.

Today, Chen teaches contemporary dance, yoga, ballet and folk dance at Hornland Dance Theatre he set up in 1995 and is also its artistic director.

So far, he has choreographed more than 100 dances. Here, the 42-year-old introduces thesundaypost to the world of contemporary dance and shares his experience and plans as a choreographer.

Q: Can you tell us when did you actually take a strong interest in dance?

A: Ever since I was a little boy, I have a strong passion

for dance. And that has not changed. Perhaps, for this reason, other career options such as teaching never really crossed my mind even though my first degree was in Chinese literature. In all honesty, dance is my priority and choreography is my life.

Q: Most people have heard about waltz, tango, samba, disco and so on. But “contemporary dance” seems so vague and new, particularly to Sibu folks. What exactly is a contemporary dance?

A: Perhaps, before delving into its definition, it’s important to have a basic understanding that dance can be grouped into four main categories — ballet, cultural or folk dance, contemporary and Jazz. Hip-hop and street dance are offshoots or have their origins in Jazz.

The name contemporary dance is attributed to a group of 20th Century concert dance forms. Pioneers such as Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham reacted against the rigid techniques of ballet and sought more versatile movements, using the body’s natural lines and energy. Defined as a collection of systems and methods developed from modern and post-modern dances and in view of its versatility, the contemporary dance can be performed to almost any style of music, or blended with other dance forms to create new styles of movement.

For this reason, contemporary dance does not confine itself to a specific dance technique. As a result, Australian, European, Canadian, Taiwanese and American contemporary dance is unique and not inter-dependent of each other. In short, being contemporary means keeping abreast and hence, responds to the society and culture while constantly evolving with change.

Q: How does contemporary dance differ from other types of dance?

A: The way I see it, contemporary dance centres on expressing and communicating emotions and ideas. It is also about making interesting and unusual shapes and designs. Here, dancers would move along with a particular energy and weight in tandem with particular rhythms. And as I mentioned earlier, contemporary dance does not restrict itself to a particular style. Instead, a choreographer can draw on a myriad of movements to create their dances.

Obviously, these will include movements the choreographer or dancers make up. Or they can be made up of movements borrowed from other dance styles such as classical ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, martial arts and even sports. Perhaps, what’s most striking about contemporary dance is that it can even incorporate ordinary everyday movements such as walking, running and gestures such happy, sad, curious and so forth.

Unlike hip-hop or street dance where the dancers just tag or move along with music, a contemporary dance requires a theme and storyline — apart from the music — that is tailored specifically to fit the piece. And this perhaps is the most notable difference between a contemporary dance and other dances.

Q: Earlier, you mentioned something about energy. Perhaps, you can dwell further on this.

A: In essence, dynamics, movement qualities, moods and textures are all associated with energy. Therefore, the levels of energy that dancers use change rather than held constant throughout the performance. For example, a dancer may exhibit a high level of energy and become lively in one moment and rescind to a low, tired and weak level the next moment.

The level of energy a dancer uses usually affects the mood of the dance — the idea or message the dance is trying to convey or project rather than its impact on the audience.

Q: Any particular reason why youths are slow to embrace the contemporary dance compared to other forms like hip-hop, street dance, disco and so on?

A: Based on my experience and understanding, it’s because a contemporary dance is more complex and requires a concept including expression of moods. Whereas in hip-hop or street dance, they can just dance with the music without the need to have a theme. Unlike the contemporary dance, there is not much artistry involved in them and easier to learn.

The lack of awareness on the contemporary dance among youths could be another reason why it is slow to catch on among the younger generation. The sad part is some mistake contemporary for hip-hop. Collectively, perhaps, these factors explain why youths have yet to develop a strong interest in the contemporary dance.

Q: One of the most challenging contemporary piece you have choreographed so far is “Wind Gap” performed during the recent Hornland Dance Concert. Why so?

A: The theme for “Wind Gap” was rather complex and involved about 10 dancers. So, this is a rather large group and countless hours were spent perfecting the movements. The whole piece lasted for 25 minutes, one of the longest pieces I have choreographed to date.

Moreover, I’m very particular about preparations and those dancers I feel are not yet ready will not take to the stage. There’s no point for dancers to be on stage if they are only half prepared. It will only serve to waver the confidence of the audience. For this reason, dancers of “Wind Gap” practised about half a year perfecting their movements before performing on the stage.

Q: What was the message “Wind Gap” tried to portray?

A: This contemporary piece concerns life’s struggles and people’s attitude towards society. Life is full of adversities but they are not absolute. The way I see it, there might be positive implications in difficult times. Hence, it’s important we always remain positive in our thinking. The whole concept comes from my self-realisation of life.

Another point this dance tried to project was the need for self-realisation. This means we must always be aware of our own actions and not sit around and wait for unpleasant incidents to crop up to initiate corrective measures.

Q: Can contemporary movements be incorporated into a traditional dance?

A: Certainly. In fact, “Birdy”, one of the dances presented during Hornland Dance Concert was an excellent example of such fusion. The dance inspired by an ethnic group — Orang Ulu — which mimicked a bird’s movements was injected with some contemporary elements to better manifest the character and message of the piece. Another piece I infused with contemporary elements was the Chinese folk dance — Blossom.

Q: Can you elaborate on “Dance-in-Education” you are actively advocating?

A: This literally means as a dancer, there is a need to understand the background of the dance such as its history, culture and traditions. For example, in Ngajat, it’s not enough for our dancers to only master the steps.

They need to know the tradition associated with the dance and in this case, Ngajat is performed during Gawai. In doing so, the dancers will appreciate the dance better. Such understanding will indirectly build stronger bonding among people of different backgrounds, cultures and religions.

Q: What are the seminal moments in your career as a choreographer?

A: There is nothing more meaningful for me than to see people starting to treat dance as an education rather than just an entertainment or leisure activity. I see this in all my students although when they started out, a number of them regarded dance as a form of entertainment. Dance is also a form of art, and overseas, it is a lucrative career.

I have a student with an accounting degree but she is very enthusiastic about making dance or even choreography her career.

Q: What’s your highest achievements in choreography so far?

A: We won two prestigious awards (Gold and Silver) at the National Chinese Dance Festival 2006 in Kuala Lumpur. Apart from that, we do take part in local competitions every now and then.

Q: A person aiming to become a full-time or good dancer must be naturally gifted. How far do you agree with this?

A: Personally, whether or not a dancer needs to be naturally gifted is not important. Rather, what’s important is how far the person is willing to go. Dance like other forms of art is all about interest.

Without interest, a dancer is like a boat without rudder — he is neither here or there. In the end, he will quit.

Q: What’s your outlook on the dance industry in Sibu?

A: Unlike other sports or recreational activities, the industry, I believe, will develop at a snail’s pace given the lack of awareness on the art. The career path in Sibu for those who intend to move into this field is rather limited. However, the scenario is just the reverse in developed countries like US, Australia and so on.

In these places, a person can even study dance up to a doctoral level (PhD) and there is demand for this sort of people. In addition, there are dance schools offering an array of courses and indirectly creating a higher level of awareness.

Of course, this should not be a deterrent for those keen to take dance or choreography as a career. When I decided to take up choreography as my career back in the early 1990s, the term choreography itself was enough to raise eyebrows. Back then, choreography was totally a new vocabulary to most people in Sibu. But I didn’t give up and persisted until I became successful. I always believe if a person has the interest in making this line his or her career, success is just a doorstep away.

Q: What are your future plans?

A: I hope to bring in more professionals to create better awareness on the contemporary dance. I also wish to be able to perform overseas with our group of dancers. I believe this will give them the exposure they need.

I also hope to create a more conducive atmosphere for dancers in Sibu, in particular those really keen in pursuing the contemporary dance. I remember back in the 80s and 90s, such a term was practically unheard of here and enthusiasts had to travel overseas to learn the contemporary dance. And that’s why I’m also making plans to bring in more professionals to provide better learning opportunities for the younger generation. I hope to cultivate and nurture more dancers.

One thing I hold dear is the need to raise awareness that dance is not merely an entertainment but a form of education. The way I see it, with an improved level of awareness, the standard of dance in Sibu can be further elevated.

In time to come, I hope more dancers from different cultural backgrounds will join Hornland Dance Theatre, hence, making it a truly culturally rich and unique dance organisation.