Rite Of Spring

Set to Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring and new music composed by He Xuntian, Rite Of Spring is a contemporary dance performance that is elegant and striking. It depicts life in all its forms – both heaven and hell, calm and chaos are present on stage. Yin and Yang are represented by a woman in red and a lion – the lion then spits out a man representing desire. As Yin dances with (and on top of and across and all around) Desire, the Lion watches on. Other forms of life and society form around them, a Buddhist monk putting the world together without stopping the entire show.

It can be difficult to take in the entire scene, such is the scale of the work’s staging. With every moment, something else inspires wonder and makes you question whether what you’re seeing is real or an optical illusion. It’s all real, which is what makes this show the most surprisingly thing you’ll see this year.

Looking at promotional images for this show, which are already beautiful, brings a viewer nowhere close to understanding how visually stunning the work really is. While the beginning is slow, easing us into the world, the performance truly takes off as Stravinsky’s music swells. It's refreshing to see an interpretation of classical music that is not tied to Western culture, and the fusion of artforms and styles is inspiring.

The amount of thought that has been put into every costume, every prop, piece of staging and lighting cue is of the highest calibre, making for an utterly masterful performance. Rite Of Spring is a work to get lost in.