Ritual feast

Chinese roots

While Tsang's singular vision informs all his choreographed pieces, Travel of Soul has a special place in his career, and heart, being connected to his roots. It had struck him early on, as he watched his mother sing in Chinese operas, that "a stage performance is also like a ceremony - a kind of ritual that speaks to the presence of an invisible spirit". Hence adapting a concept based on a shamanistic burial ritual to the language of contemporary dance didn't feel all that unusual or even particularly challenging.

Yuri Ng, artistic director of CCDC, applauds the fact that Tsang opted for a subject that some others "might think of as a taboo". He adds that though there are no references to time or location, Travel of Soul, feels "uniquely Hong Kong" and hence "deserved a performing platform", one that CCDC was happy to offer.

Yeung feels Travel of Soul has served an important purpose by presenting Chinese heritage in a form that is spectacular, contemporary and fit for the consumption of a global audience. "The world today needs more artists from the East to represent the true nature of contemporary Asian art forms, help open dialogues and foster appreciation of the same," he adds.