Janis Claxton: Part One

Over the past decade, Janis Claxton has revealed an inquisitive approach to choreography that has propelled dance beyond its comfort zones and taken on serious subject matter, from her studies on primate behaviour - most famously placing her company within a pen at the zoo - to Chaos and Contingency's foundations in mathematical theory. However, she says that behind the different subjects, "the movement vocabulary is not actually that different to the basic style I have been playing with for a very long time." And although the superficial aspects may have changed - for the theatre, she has substituted the open spaces of Scotland's grand art galleries and museums - there is a continuity in her approach that goes back to her first choreography.

"The difference with this piece is that it is forty-five minutes of movement with eight glorious dancers: the material is a drawn from both my body and all of the dancers so there is more range of material than before," she continues. "And as this work is so much about movement itself, we had time to experiment and push the range some. But I wouldn't say the style is so divergent - just more developed and better and starting to get noticed for the virtuosity it contains!"

Although she is not impressed by my suggestion that the flowing movement of Chaos and Contingency is influenced by tai chi ("I think you (and others) are trying to gear me towards this Tai Chi/Chinese thing and some apparent major influence - but I'm not having it!"), Claxton's attitude towards international exchange is serious and integral to her practice. Rather than a gesture towards multiculturalism, Claxton has pursued eastern connections because of her own enthusiasms.

"I went to China because I resonated with the movement much more than I do in the UK. I went there so that I could work with dancers who could do my 'style.' So this is historical for me, not new," she says. "I have been studying/practicing/influenced by Eastern movement arts and culture for 30 years now - in both direct and indirect ways."

The molten techniques of Chaos and Contingency are difficult to resolve into a single influence: Claxton has developed a personal style that admits aspects from most traditions of modern dance. Yet this integration does reflect her eclectic evolution as a choreographer, and the east does figure in her past and present.

"When I was 18 I started working with Kai Tai Chan in his company The One Extra Dance Theatre in Sydney," she remembers. "The man was brilliant- a Chinese/Australian Architect and Choreographer and pioneer of dance theatre Down Under." Kai Tai Chan added a martial element to the usual practice. "We did Kung Fu as part of our training and that was it - I was hooked. I studied Kung Fu five days a week for four years in Sydney's China Town. I really wanted to be in Kung Fu films but I was NOT that good!" she laughs.

"It was difficult to go to China back then (early 1980s) so circumstances brought Japan into my life . I received a grant to study Butoh Dance there. I had realized that it was an (East) Asian sensibility about the body, movement and performance that fascinated me so Japan became home and I lived in Tokyo for four years."

It might be difficult to associate the raw physicality of Butoh with Claxton's current elegant production, but it offers a freedom of approach that is not usually found in the western traditions that have roots in ballet. Equally, Butoh insists on a precision and discipline that remains a strong feature in Chaos and Contingency.

In the last five years, China has been more open, especially to visiting artists - but while many of the exchanges could be characterised as opportunistic, Claxton's long term interest has made her exchanges a far more dynamic engagement.

"Nearly 30 years latter I finally got to China. My passion for the Far East is deep and I am really committed to China. It is the most amazing and infuriating place and I am a bit obsessed about the change that is happening as China 'takes over the world'. It is so important, sometimes underestimated, and we need cultural understanding between East and West - and we need it fast!"

"For me this starts in small ways - like my dancers being in China for three months in the studio everyday working with Chinese dancers and visa versa.  I am learning Chinese (slowly) and I read and engage in what is happening with China's expansion in the West. I am happy to dispel some Western myths about China at any chance. It is an amazing country with vast and rich cultural heritages. There are fifty six different ethnic groups and more than 100 languages! I will go on and on if anyone wants to have a beer and talk China! I love the place!"

Saturday 2 & Sunday 3 March 

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow

in association with Tramway

Midday and 2pm 

FREE

Saturday 16 March 

Aberdeen Art Gallery

Presented by Citymoves Dance Agency as part of March Moves in association with Aberdeen Art Gallery

Midday and 2pm

FREE

Saturday 23 & Sunday 24 March

National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh 

in association with Edinburgh International Science Festival and National Museums Scotland

1:00pm and 3:00pm 

FREE

Qing Ching

Taoism is the ancient Chinese religion that hooked up with Buddhism to make Zen. Beloved of stupid western hippies, who quote the Tao Te Ching before slipping back into a stoned stupor, it is all the more difficult to understand because it refuses to define its central concept.

Qing Ching is “the first ever artistic attempt to showcase the Taoist philosophy on stage," says James Tee Wee. It highlights the particular preoccupations of this rich spiritual tradition. “The story line itself is based upon a very strong Taoist culture. Take for example the duality of soft versus hard, and the ideas of non-doing, immortality, natural balance, and ultimate quietude: one will find the teaching of Lao Tzu presented in abundance. The us of tai chi movement, sword technique, calligraphy, chess games, music instruments, and praying rituals on stage are all very representative of Taoism. Even the scenery wagon on stage resemble a pair of Ying and Yang!” 

Taoism is one of those traditions of thought that confuses simplistic ideas about the difference between religion and philosophy. While it does have a splendid pantheon of gods – and Qing Cheng is a story about lovers who live a thousand plus years, suggesting a magical rather than rational universe – it can be elegantly reduced to a series of epigrams that might not reflect western philosophy – Lao Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching, is more mystical than logical – but don’t fall into the category of religion as defined within the Judeo-Christian heritage. This might explain why hippies love it, and why Richard Dawkins hasn’t written a book condemning it as child abuse.

Tai Chi – the elegant martial art that doesn’t involving kicking or punching anyone, and a gentle alternative to the contortions of yoga in gyms across the UK – is another part of Taoism that has made the journey to the West. For RinkyDink, “like calligraphy, meditation, and many others, martial art is part of the total concept of Taoist wellness lifestyle. The musical would not be a complete Taoist presentation without martial art.”

Surprisingly, given theatre’s current obsession with incorporating everything from wrestling to monkey moves into the action, this use of martial arts is not that common in China. “Performing arts like Sichuanese face-change, Beijing opera, and many folk dances around China do not involve martial art. They may have some kind warming up exercise but it's not martial art.”

The Ying and Yang is the central image of Taoism, and symbolises the complex relationship between contrasting elements that makes us Taoism’s most distinctive – and well-known – concept. Given that “the Tao which can be named is not the Tao,” it is perhaps surprising that theatre has not been quicker to play with its precepts, since it contains that ambiguity that is ideal for a challenging performance.  

Christian religious art – from Botticelli’s Annunciation to David Mach’s controversial exhibition down near Waverley Station – takes on all manner of forms, but James Tee Wee observes that Taoism dictates that its art has a particular quality. “The practitioner has to master their heart and soul. It is not just as simple as controlling them but to subdue all impulses and let the being itself blend very harmoniously with universe.”

As the performance reveals, this philosophy can be found in many arts, but the quality of the artist is, in itself, the ideal being expressed. “One can easily spot a uniqueness in all Taoist arts, which is the feel of harmony. The act can be swift and forceful but the results are always graceful and smooth.”