
I've personally found this delicately mindblowing, and I simply couldn't help sharing it here...
It's a very austere piece, don't expect too much in the way of immediate entertainment. But, if you invest some attention, it will gradually carry you over to the final potent climax. The cover of my DVD proudly quotes from Ballet International: "In Moon Water, Bach's cello compositions and Lin Hwai-min's Tai Chi movements give the impression that they have been waiting for each other for centuries." I am generally not too fond of self-promotion, but, in this case, I couldn't agree more. It's also quite remarkable how this piece succeeds attaining a plateau of intense sensuality without ever delving into explicit eroticism.
As a bonus you get We'll All Go To Heaven, a short-but-very-moving piece choreographed (in Germany) by Chun-Hsien Wu, one of the principal dancers in Moon Water. Also, if you're generally interested in the modern dance of the Chinese-speaking world, you should check out a few short clips from Hong Kong City Contemporary Dance Company I posted earlier:
http://www.cine-clasico.com/foros/viewtopic.php?t=6118
Taiwan ’s first and leading contemporary dance company brings together a fabulous blend of Eastern and Western dance styles in the performance called Moon Water.
To the Chinese, Moon Water, is reminiscent of two things: one is a Buddhist proverb, ‘Flowers in a mirror and moon on the water are both illusive’ and the other describes the ideal state of a tai-chi practitioner ‘Energy flows as water, while the spirit shines as the moon.’
Choreographer Lin Hwai Min’s entrancing Moon Water is based in tai-chi which gives it a natural rhythm and a visible pulse from the energy of breathing that propels one action smoothly towards the next and recalls the swell and ebb of a river. Moon Water is profoundly simple. Circles of stage design and movement, identical white silk costumes for men and women, a watery black set opening up to a panoply of silvery mirrors and a flowing continuity in the style and structure of the dance, all performed to J.S. Bach’s solo cello suites.
By translating and metamorphosing the essence of traditional Chinese physical exercise into a blend of dance and theatre, Lin Hwai Min has created another milestone in the development of dance.