continue with water and goddess

It was a gorgeous day, I have planned a week ago to have this relaxing day.  I prepared my lunch box, snacks and book, and headed to the Governor Island.  Whenever I go for a long journey alone, I would bring Paulo Coelho's book with me, it's all about life-enhancing and spiritual journey.  This time, I have brought "By the River Piedra I sat down and wept" with me.

Between the lines, it says, "The Goddess uses water as the means to manifest Herself..........Her symbol is water ---  like the fog all around us.............the mist suddenly seemed to take on a life of its own, becoming sacred.............Why is water the symbol of the feminine face of God?............ I don't know.  But She normally chooses that medium to manifest Herself.  Maybe because She is the source of life; we are generated in water, and for nine months we live in it......."

Does it sound beautiful and immediately it reminds me about our discussion earlier. 

-- Candy@NYC

Appreciating the differences

Yeah! That’s the stylist bicycle which I mentioned.

In the article, it said that “Traffic jam is already a problem of our small city, and recently more and more bicycles appear on the street. But decorating the bicycle in such a bizarre way, expanding its size, is in fact affecting the image of the city, this act shouldn’t be encouraged.”

I am definitely against what it wrote there. Vice versa, I do feel it adds to the beauty and break the monotone of the city. I wonder nowadays many people just cannot accept the differences and choices of variety. Anything which is out of what they think as “regular”, it would become an alien or need to be get rid of.

--Candy

Re: structure

I agree with Amy, having a clear some what like a story line is important as a guideline in building up the structure. I do the same when I choreograph. In addition, I am a movement-oriented person. Images of the movement and ambience concerning the subject matter always come to my mind first. Thus, base upon the theme which we’ve discussed earlier, I’ve come up with some of the following idea.

Transition in time & space
- dancers scatter in different area of the stage, multi-focusing, different movements happening, solo/duet/trio. Feel like in a big open space.
- some entering the stage running / some disappearing / crisscrossing / constantly changing movement / shooting up across the air;
- suddenly empty stage / + video projection (i.e. images with an ambience of proceeding, entering into the odd);

Losing balance
- dance movement with contrasting quality, repeation.

Take a break
- dance ensemble, physical movement / dance movement with funs, kind of games, etc.
- video projection (i.e images of daily city life / scenes with special editing effect which make it looks unusual and with relish)

Appreciation of inner beauty
- dance movement with quality of serenity and subtlety.

Wait to hear.

- Candy

Motif

So by running through all our opinions and sharings, these words and ideas keep roaming in my mind, and I think they best describe the moment that we have now in Macau: transition in time and space / losing balance/take times to appreciate the inner beauty.

Do u think this is already a clear direction line to go for it ? Do u think we could move on to work on the structure.

-- Candy

How would you describe the Macanese?

Hong Kong people generally describe themselves as being energetic, pushy and always strive for good performance.

The Taiwanese generally describe themselves as being able to stand hard work, vivacious and generous.

How about the Macanese?

These few weeks, I am thinking over this topic, especially the characters of the Macanese amidst the rapid development of this place, and then I happened to see:

• A TV program showing a lot of images of Hong Kong around 30 years ago. Then I found that during the development stage of Hong Kong, quite a number of beautiful British or Victorian style buildings were pulled down so as to build the skyscrapers. Comparing the situation of Hong Kong with that of Macau, Macanese seemed to cherish much the Portuguese-style buildings constructed in the old days;
• A news article (http://www.macaodaily.com/html/2008-04/22/content_161575.htm) exploring the human touch (人情味) of Macau. In this article, two Hong Kong artists were interviewed and they thought that under the rapid development of Macau now, it is commendable that human touch can still be kept. Although many old buildings were pulled down and new huge buildings were built, if a person would pay attention, the distinguishing feature and good old things of this city could still be found, like the tri-cycles can still be driven on the busy-traffic roads of Macau.
  

Maybe before the rapid development and the so many changes of Macau, we could have the chance to really look into the characters of the Macanese. This also corresponds to Amy's idea of underlying beauty surrounded by a hard shell. I think somehow the beauty of Macau still exists, but with the new eye-catching constructions around, it may now take us more time, or maybe even the need to take a break, so as to aware of the inner beauty of Macau.

─ Stella Ho

Losing Balance

In the very first chapter, the second sentence in the book “Yoga Sutra” (瑜伽經) (which described as the Bible of Yoga), it says that “Yoga is the restraint or bounding of the fluctuations of the mind.” (約束心靈的變化就是瑜伽). Behind these words, it implies that we human beings are very easily affected / influenced by the surrounding external conditions and situations. (i.e. you’re very concentrated reading a book at home, then u smell something nice, so u take a deeper breath for sucking more nice smell into your nostrils. Now, u recognise this smell. Hmmm, it’s chicken wing……chicken wing in BBQ style, yummp...yummp, with very rich garlic too. You like it, so u go and search where this smell comes from, it’s near, not far. You look down from the window……yeah! u got it. It’s the hawker selling BBQ chicken wings in the street. The good smell reminds u about the funs you have in the BBQ gathering with your friends last time. In split second, you rush downstairs and buy yourself one delicious chicken wing. So where is your book now, how’s your reading?). We grow a habit of attaching ourselves to the outside world. Our thinking, attitude, behavior, emotions….etc,etc; always sway here and there, going right and left, jumping up and down. We never get to the equilibrium, we never rest and have peace of mind; Do u realize that we always find ourselves busy and we always complain there’s not enough time. We always want to have 36 hours a day instead of 24.

Thus, this is our life in the city. New buildings keep growing, more and more tourists coming, prices going up, the whole world is striking hard for expansion and development; when we keep moving forth, fighting for more, everything seems to be growing bigger and bigger, we seems to be gaining more and more. But we don’t know that at the same time, many of our much precious things are losing. We lost our time, our space, our mind and love. There are things which we see and encounter everyday, but you are blind to them; there are things which you think that they should be with you, and you take it for granted. The danger is--- when you realize that all these things are leaving away from you, you will fall into a stage of losing balance, not only you, object loses its weight, space loses its volume, time loses its duration as well. And finally the whole world is at lost. (I think this corresponds with Amy's idea of claustrophobia vs open space.)

Thus, take time to smell the roses is just the first layer, what is the most intimate and delicate thing that we miss smelling it?

--- Candy

Taking time to smell the roses

"Stop and smell the roses" is a cliche for saying, don't go so fast, slow down and take in what surrounds you. So much now people everywhere, particularly in cities, are frantically trying to make ends meet and continually looking for the next best thing to come along. Our need for more, our greed for success, has left us forgetting about the small things in life. Like taking the time to appreciate something as simple and beautiful as a rose. If we could take off the layers of time, and return to our roots, much of this craziness that surrounds us would no longer exist. I find myself taking a break for the moment to enjoy the beauty of one of life's most beautiful miracles. The ever growing, ever changing development of my twins. Watching them learn the most basic skills each day makes me appreciate so much more. So, how do we find these most basic layers again? How do we peel back the layers and see once again what made life so enriching? Taking a break is definitely an option, but will most people do this? I don't know. From an outsider's perspective, and based on a brief visit in March, I can see the beauty of the old Macao, the richness of it's mixed culture of Chinese and Portuguese. It does sadden me to see so many huge buildings going up around the smaller historical landmarks which have made Macao such a unique place. It's integrity must be saved. I think for a theme for the new work we can certainly start with the "taking a break" idea, and I also was thinking about :underlying beauty surrounded by a hard shell; peeling back the layers; claustrophobia vs. open space. Stella, Candy, does any of this sound like it would be good?

-Amy Marshall

Maybe all we need is to take a break

Before the discussion with Candy yesterday, I had been thinking over the direction of the dance piece about Macau. I observed, I read the popular blogs written by Macau writers, and I intentionally talked with my friends about how they see the Macau today. I found that somehow most of the Macau people have negative feelings towards the drastic change of Macau. They find life harder under the higher and higher inflation rate. Work pressure is increasing, construction sites and repair of roads are everywhere which make driving more and more unpleasant…life seems to be less enjoyable than before. With more and more grand and beautiful casinos launched, with more and more travelers coming, and with our GDP growing continuously in these few years, why aren't we enjoying?

During our meeting, Candy shared her idea of “Why not take a break?” Yes, maybe what Macau people need now is a break before they strive to cope with the rapid development and all the changes happening around, just like a swimmer may have to take a deep breath before swimming across a long distance. Especially as Macau people used to enjoy living leisurely, a break is maybe very much in need for reducing the pressure and recharging. So, it is really a practical but also interesting point to develop.

― Stella Ho

Take a break,why not ?

Today, Stella and I have a discussion about the preliminary direction and theme of the dance piece. Stella is saying that for most of the local people, even for her as well, the reaction/feeling towards Macao's nowadays changes is negative. I agree so, but then I told her about the idea of why not taking a break out of this rabidity, and this immediately becomes one of the interesting topics for both of us.

In this break, many crazy ideas and funs could be poped up.

- Candy Kuok

Re: Timely question

So globaliation is getting on its way..........this might mean that our places would be gradually losing its unique character and personality. Yesterday, I read about an interview from a local english magazine "Macau Closer", it's about a Malaysian girl who settled in Macau in 1982 and has worked in the garment industry as a designer and production manager for the last 26years. She now plans to open her cafe by June this year, and these following particular words enhance my thinking, it said, "I call this place Jabber, because I want to create a spot where people can sit around and chat.I realised that Macau's scenery is changing drastically with the indroduction of the new casinos. It is losing the old time lifestyle that has made Macau so special. I love this area of St. Lazarus, but life is changing too fast. By opening this cafe, I am encouraging Macau to " Take a Break." What really inspires me here is the idea of " taking a break". Fast-growing development are happening all around, no matter you like it or not, so why don't we take a break before we start off again.

-- Candy Kuok

Timely questions

Interestingly I happened to answer the phone tonight and found myself in the midst of a consumer survey. People call during all times of the day to give over the phone questionnaires about different subjects. Most of the time I simply say, "no thank you , I don't have a free moment", but something made me stop and re-evaluate. This evening's survey was to ask my views on the possibility of legalizing gambling in the state of New York. I think the timing is very odd and coincidental, I'm really not sure how I feel about this at all. Especially since I have heard so much about what is happening in Macao. This one simple phone call made me realize something huge: this is happening globally. What can this mean?

-Amy Marshall

Macau Sa Assi (Macao is like this) - by Tuna Macaense

When I was out of town, people asked me how's Macau, I usually answers like this : 'Macao used to be a portuguese colony for more than 450 years, though back to China, but it still has the feeling of a european city.' In other case, when there are friends visiting Macau, I usually bring them to have dinner in a Portuguese restaurant. I am happy that I grew up in a colonial environment,blending the east and west,but now,with all these tremendous changes (I should say distruction of the city), I feel sad and I missed the old days of Macao.

Tuna Macaense is a typical Macanese band, existing for longe than a century. In the lyric of this song,it describes the old days of Macau.....small streets,narrow alleys, name of the different districts, neighbours knowing each other well, there are men selling hot bread in the street, or calling out to buy in old home stuff........

I'm afraid only at Coloane now, we could still have a glimpse of the taste.

post by candy

home sweet home ?

Construction sites are everywhere, new buildings grow like weed. One month before, you might still able to see the next block of building in front of you, but one month after, a new building is already high up in front of you. When I am riding my bike in big road, I feel I am a stranger in the city, I am confused and scared in some degree, I feel secure only when I am riding in the small streets and between alleys. I remember a preacher told me that “a home is not just a physical shelter, it’s a place where love and peace nurtures, if u find being insecure and uncomfortable at home, it’s no longer a home for you”. So what can I say about my “homeland” at present condition… ……….

post by Candy

I traveled to Lisbon twice because I miss the air of Macau’s old days. In Lisbon, I can find familiar alleys, architecture, culture and humanity; People speak Portuguese, though I don’t really understand, but I feel familiar with the tune of voice. Then in India, I traveled a long distance from north to south, just to visit Panjim (the state capital of Goa, also a former colony of Portugal). To my surprise, the colonial culture seems to be much well- preserved and alive in Panjim than that in Macau.

post by candy