A Startling Dream
Kallang Theatre, Singapore, February 2014
Choreographer: Xiao Yanying
Lighting Designer: Tay Huey Meng
Projection Designer: Aaron Yap
Produced by Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan Dance Theatre
A Startling Dream is a Chinese dance drama adapted from the famous Kunju opera classic The Peony Pavilion. The choreography style of the dance is heavily influenced by the symbolism of Chinese opera. Therefore, to create a cohesive mood and style, the animated multimedia backdrops similarly adopts the poetic style of traditional Chinese paintings; not so much to create a representation of the physical world the dance is set in, but the intangible inner world of the characters on stage.