綽舞場專訪 Interview with Beyond Dance Theater

麥卓鴻與他的流浪貓 Kelvin Mak and His Stray Cats

榮獲香港舞蹈年獎2022 Recipient of 22 Hong Kong Dance Awards

傑出中型場地舞蹈製作— 綽舞場—《遺角》Outstanding Medium Venue Production - Beyond Dance Theater for "Remnants

白朗唐新晉編舞— 麥卓鴻 Tom Brown Emerging Choreographer - Kelvin Mak

香港舞蹈聯盟剛剛舉行「香港舞蹈年獎 2022」，舞團新貴「綽舞場」，喜獲五項提名，更榮獲傑出中型場地舞蹈製作- 綽舞場- 《遺角》及白朗唐新晉編舞- 麥卓鴻。「我們的熱情一直維持着啊!」綽舞場藝術總監麥卓鴻(Kelvin)，從早年到處漂泊，到組織舞團，於五湖四海廣納兄弟幫，去年租下一個偌大的studio，也擴展至一團、二團，更見規模，「我會形容大家就像『流浪貓』，我築了一個『家』，讓大家可以在這裏生活。」

The Hong Kong Dance Alliance recently held the “22nd Hong Kong Dance Awards”, with the up-and-coming Beyond Dance Theater (BDT) receiving a remarkable five nominations and being awarded two awards ie Outstanding Medium Venue Production - Beyond Dance Theater for "Remnants" and Tom Brown Emerging Choreographer - Kelvin Mak. “We’ve always been this passionate!” From the wandering of his early years to the formation of his company, Artistic Director Kelvin Mak established his entourage from across the seven seas. He rented a studio of considerable side last year, and expanded to two companies, displaying the scale of his operation. “I think we’re all like ‘stray cats’. I built a ‘home’, so that we can all live here.”

沒空間就去創立 Make a Space Where There is None

Kelvin早年就讀香港演藝學院，主修現代舞，2013年加入城市當代舞蹈團，及後曾於世界各地參與不同的舞蹈團隊，好像於法國Ballet Preljocaj當舞者、在德國Delattre Dance Company 當編舞等等，然後輾轉回流香港，2017 年首度以綽舞場名義，於北京舞蹈雙周進行表演。

Early on, Kelvin studied at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, majoring in modern dance. In 2013, he joined City Contemporary Dance Company, and later performed in places around the world such as Ballet Preljocaj (France) as a dancer and Delattre Dance Company (German) as a choreographer. He then made his way back to Hong Kong. In 2017, he held Beyond Dance Theater’s debut performance at the Beijing Dance Festival.

最初驅使他成立舞團的原因，跟香港土地問題有關。早期有些甚麼想嘗試，卻苦無空間，他試過與後來成了綽舞場核心成員的潘振濠、梁信賢，闖進香港演藝學院的studio，偷偷排舞;沒有studio，他們就鋪一張地毯，照跳可也，也曾向友好studio敲門，總之哪裏有地方就去哪裏。雖說是「流浪貓」，但這種遊牧生活，有苦自己苦。

The initial motivation for him to establish his company relates to the land issue in Hong Kong. There was certainly something he wanted to try out, but hindered by the lack of a space, he attempted to make use of the studio at the HKAPA in secret to rehearse with Poon Chun Ho and Charlie Leung, who would later become core members of his company. Whenever they couldn’t find an actual studio, they laid out a mat and danced anyway, knocking on the doors of studios they knew whenever possible. Wherever there was a place, there they would go. Be they ‘stray cats’ or not, his kind of nomadic life brought its own difficulties.

他又不諱言，香港有很多好的表演者，卻苦無機會，本地舞者的就業情況並不理想，「我們有沒有辦法堅持下去? 如果現有平台已經飽滿了，何不自己建立一個?」

He is not afraid to say that Hong Kong has many great performers who languish in the lack of opportunities. The employment prospects for local dancers are not ideal. “Will we be able to persevere? If the current platforms are already saturated, why not establish one yourself?”

《遺角》 Remnants

然而，綽舞場成立不足數載，便遇上疫情大流行，至今一共取消了四場演出，「感受較深的，是原定2020年12月上演的《遺角》，我當時可是把所有積蓄都掏出來 ! 」《遺角》終在去年12月演出，共得二十多位舞者參與，賺獲口碑，已獲得「香港舞蹈年獎2022」傑出中型場地舞蹈製作，Kelvin也同時獲得白朗唐新晉編舞和獲提名傑出編舞。

However, not long after the establishment of BDT came the outbreak of the pandemic. Until now, a total of four performances have been cancelled. “What hit the hardest was that “Remnants”, which was intended for December 2020, ate up all of my savings at the time!” “Remnants” was finally performed in December of last year, with over twenty dancers participating to great acclaim. It was awarded Outstanding Mid-size Venue Dance Production at the Hong Kong Annual Dance Awards 2022, with Kelvin was simultaneously awarded the Thomas Townsend Brown Rising Choreographer Award and nominated for Outstanding Choreography.

「《遺角》延期一年，我們都成熟了，找到了那個『key』。」最叫他觸動的，是他跳過那麼多舞團，從沒有一刻好像《遺角》那樣，所有舞者那麼「 together 」，「我們一起向同一目標進發。」

“‘Remnants’ was delayed one year, and we all matured. I found that ‘key’.” What moved him the most, was that of all the companies he’s danced for, there was never a moment like in “Remnants”, where all the dancers were indeed so ‘together’. “We were moving together towards a common goal.”

永遠留了房間 A Room Always Reserved

疫情也促使他們發展網上平台，製作網上舞蹈劇集《餘．像》，獲提名「香港舞蹈年獎2022」傑出網上製作，「想讓更多人認識我們。如果欣賞，將來走進劇場看看吧！」

The pandemic also drove them to develop online platforms, resulting in the production of online dance serial “Remnants. Images”, which received a nomination at the Hong Kong Annual Dance Awards 2022 for Outstanding Online Production. “We wanted more people to get to know us. If you like us, come check us out in the theatre!”

Kelvin為一班「流浪貓」，包括自己，築了一個「家」，渴望跟觀眾交流，又笑說是「放養式」非「家養式」，「我沒有『家居隔離』他們啊！」要離開的話，隨時都可以，如果有更好發展，他甚至想他們快些走，因為這裏只是啟航之地。「但綽舞場永遠為他們留了房間。」

Kelvin has built a home for a bunch of ‘stray cats’, including himself. He desires to interact with the audience, joking that his approach is “hands-off” rather than “helicopter” parenting. “I didn’t force them to self-quarantine at home!” They can leave if they want, whenever they want to, if there are any better developments. He even wants them to leave sooner rather than later, because this is meant to be a launching point. “There will always be a room for them at Beyond Dance Theater.”

潘振濠：我們在跳舞 Poon Chun Ho: We Are Dancing

潘振濠(潘)跟Kelvin同期於香港演藝學院唸書，然而前者主修的是表演，後者主修的是現代舞，讓他們結緣的，竟然是翻筋斗，「小時候覺得『打翻』好型，知道 Kelvin懂得翻筋斗，便跟他說，不如一齊玩。」約2014、15年，Kelvin開始創作第一個作品《遍地謊蜚》，發覺想法接近，竟邀請當時不諳跳舞的潘參與，潘也大着膽子:「你敢問，我敢試!」

Poon Chun Ho (Poon) and Kelvin both studied at HKAPA at the same time; however, the former majored in performance, the latter in modern dance. What brought them together was acrobatics. “When I was young, I thought ‘flips’ were really cool. When I found out that Kelvin could do flips, I said, why don’t we hang out?” In about 2014 or 2015, Kelvin began to create his first work, “Lies in Waiting”. Seeing the similarities in thinking, he invited Poon, who at the time had no understanding of dance, to participate, with Poon bravely asserting, “if you dared to ask, I dare to try!”

從初試啼聲、跳舞演出，到為綽舞場擔任排練總監等等，潘的努力漸漸受到肯定，剛憑《遺角》獲提名「香港舞蹈年獎 2022」傑出男舞蹈員演出。

From his first steps, to dance performances, to taking the mantle of Rehearsal Director for Beyond Dance Theater, Poon’s hard work gradually received recognition. He recently received a nomination for Outstanding Male Dance Performance at the 22nd Hong Kong Dance Awards for his work in ‘Remnants’.

潘不諱言，對本地舞蹈圈看不過眼，甚至覺得許多舞團，都「沒有在跳舞」，「我不敢說我們做得很好，但至少我們有在做。

Poon is not afraid to say that he is not fond of local dance companies, going so far as to feel that many companies “aren’t actually dancing”. “I don’t dare to say that we’re doing really well, but at least we’re doing it.”

梁信賢：香港舞者會思考 Charlie Leung: Hong Kong Dancers Can Think

畢業於香港演藝學院芭蕾舞系及現代舞系的梁信賢(Charlie)，比Kelvin年輕兩屆，一次Kelvin主動上前問他:「想不想多上一些課？」不滿足於學院所學的 Charlie，一口答允。Kelvin不僅教他更多技巧，還為他比賽前排舞，Kelvin有創作時，也邀他參與。

A graduate of the Ballet and Modern Divisions at the HKAPA, Charlie is two classes below Kelvin. Once, Kelvin came up to him and asked, “do you want to take more classes?” Charlie, who was not satisfied with what he was learning at the academy, answered in a heartbeat. Kelvin didn’t only teach him more technique, but rehearsed with him before competition. Kelvin also invited him to participate in his creations.

Charlie畢業後，便跟Kelvin、潘等人一起外地巡演，後來駐留日本三年，成為無設限舞團的全職舞者，去年回港後，全情投入綽舞場之中，既參與跳舞，也幫忙訓練「二團」。比較之下，他覺得本地舞者不比外地的輸蝕，只是一般較遲起步而已，「但香港舞者會思考，會有自己意見，編舞和舞者一起交流，才有火花。」

After Charlie graduated, he embarked on an overseas tour with Kelvin and Poon, later staying in Japan for three years, becoming a full-time dancer with Noism Company Niigata. After returning to Hong Kong last year, he threw himself into Beyond Dance Theater, participating in works as well as helping to train Company 2. Under comparison, he feels that local dancers are no worse off than those overseas, just that they got started a little later. “But Hong Kong dancers are capable of thinking; they have their own opinions. Only when the choreographer and the dancers interact will sparks fly.” 

從街舞跳到現代舞 From Street to Modern Dance

跳街舞出身的Marco、Rain和阿權，因緣際會加入團隊。Marco跳了街舞一段時間，覺得有點停滯不前，想嘗試不同表演方式，看了 K e l v i n 的《遍地謊蜚》後，覺得十分精采，後來便加入其中。Rain 之前也有參與劇場式的舞蹈作品，在一些studio認識了Kelvin和潘後，覺得頗合得來，得知他們有試鏡機會，決定一試，最終加入團隊。

Marco, Rain, and Ah Kuen, who originate from a street dance background, joined the company out of happenstance. Marco had been dancing for some time, and, feeling stuck, wanted to try a new mode of performance. He was entranced after watching Kelvin’s “Lies in Waiting”, and later directly participated himself. Rain had also participated in theatrical dance works in the past. After having met Kelvin and Poon at a studio, he felt they got along well together. Finding out they were holding auditions, he decided to go for it, and ended up joining the company.

阿權看了Kelvin的《Made in》後，對現代舞完全改觀，認為Kelvin跳得很有型，有種剛強美，又覺得他所用的技巧，自己較能掌握，「不是要身體很鬆、很柔軟才能跳。」阿權後來認識了Kelvin，漸漸跟他學習，又隨他巡演，包括《乘. 風》等，後來正式加入綽舞場。

他們均表示，綽舞場接納到不同背景的人，「跳甚麼都可以，只要你跳得!」

After Ah Kuen saw Kelvin’s “Made in”, his views toward modern dance were completely changed. He felt that Kelvin’s movement was very stylish, with a sort of beauty in strength, and felt that the techniques Kelvin used, he would also be able to grasp. “Not only does the body have to be relaxed, but also flexible, to be able to dance this.” Later, Ah Kuen got to know Kelvin, and gradually learned from him, touring with him in productions like “Riding. Wind”, and later officially joining Beyond Dance Theater.

They all expressed, BDT accepts people of all different backgrounds. “You can dance anything you want, so long as you can dance!”

綽舞場《無風之域》Beyond Dance Theater “The Wind of Empty”

https://theartvenue.net/featuredevents/beyond-dance-theater-the-wind-of-empty