The Cheo Movement: A Methodological Analysis

In the choreographic process, the restricted vocabulary of traditional lotus dance and Cheo movement poses some challenges to the devisor’s choreography. In order to elicit raw emotions from the audience through the use of physicality as part of the function of Experimental Theatre, the devisor needs to extract movement from Cheo and the lotus dance that is not only culturally appropriate, but also universally recognisable. However, since traditional Vietnamese forms focuses more on restricted hand gestures and minimalistic lower-body movement, it is difficult to find raw, powerful movement that can clearly show the situation and the interior struggle of the protagonist. Therefore, the devisor has to rely on physical metaphors in order to convey

In order to show how two forms of different cultural backgrounds can be ‘retained and united….to create a new heterogeneous theatrical identity’ , the devisor decides to use Cheo drums as soundscape in the choruses to aid contemporary movement. This, however, proves to be problematic, as the Cheo drums have irregular counts – a traditional feature that allows Cheo musicians to alter the music in terms of beats, tempo and rhythms, so that the music suits the change in atmosphere created by Cheo actors’ movement improvisation. Due to the lack of counts and abrupt changes in rhythms, it is difficult for the devisor to determine the timing of the movement. Initially, this greatly hinders both the execution and the synchronisation of the movement. After several unsuccessful attempts to figure out the counts, the devisor decides to gauges the timing based on intermittent pauses and peaks instead. This helps the devisor and partners to estimate the destination/arrival of the movement, while encouraging the performers to feel and memorise the music instead of depending on the counts. As a result, the performers grow more accustomed to the development of the music and the mood and atmosphere created by it, as well as more sensitive to the layers of drums beats. This helps them elicit suitable emotions as part of characterisation in the choruses, enabling them to ‘know how to act with

Costumes are employed as part of the movement to convey the theme of misery from restrictions (Appendix) and the concept of moral maturation (Appendix). However, the devisor encounters problems for both purposes of costume manipulation. Firstly, the material of the blouses is not firm and stretchable. While this feature creates a nice, elegant and flowing effect, it generates loose kinetic energy that is a hindrance to movement that needs a powerful look like whipping (Appendix) and strangling (Appendix). As a result, the devisor has to include movement that involves running (Appendix) to generate momentum for the blouses. This keeps the blouses flying or looking firmer and more powerful, thus incorporating the blouses into the movement in a more effective way. Secondly, the two-layered lotus dress is long and heavy; thus, it is difficult to maintain balance, speed and grace, as well as to properly secure the inner layer onto the Velcro sheets during the whirling (Appendix). This, however, can be improved through the drilling the steps to stimulate muscle