Jing's journey comes full circle with Nian Gao dance production

INTERVIEW | London-based Malaysian dancer Jessie Jing has put her heart into a show called “Nian Gao: A Retelling”, showcasing a Chinese legend with a contemporary twist, and couldn't wait for its debut next month.

Nian Gao is the glutinous rice dessert which is traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year, and the legend is of how the sticky sweet snack was actually an offering to the Kitchen God.

It was said the offering was aimed at ensuring the Kitchen God’s mouth would be stuck with the sticky cake, so that he cannot badmouth humans in front of the Jade Emperor.

Under Jing's direction, it is now a contemporary dance theatre piece that reimagines the Chinese legend. It will debut in KL next month.

"It will use contemporary dance movements, gestures and voice-over text to deliver this. I recreated the whole story to bring it on stage.

"There are two parts. One is the stage piece and the other is the short-form storytelling piece that I wrote," Jing told Malaysiakini.

“We look at the tradition as a whole but with an underlying contemporary context such as identity, community’s generational storytelling, memories and passing of traditions.”

This story is told from Jing's perspective as an artiste and diasporic Chinese artiste working in England and Malaysia.

“I put it this way, a reimagining of traditional Chinese legends from a modern Malaysian perspective. I am proud to say that all the collaborators are Malaysians. I wanted that. There will always be room for development.”

She hopes to keep developing this piece further until it encompasses all the various ethnicities in Malaysia. She also hopes to have her version of the story published as a book.

Back in town for a while

Jing, 31, has been dancing professionally for 10 years now. She was in Kuala Lumpur for the Chinese New Year holidays and choreographed the piece, which is to be performed by local dancers.

“I have always danced. I remember my mum telling me that she sent me to classes when I was four years old. It was kind of on and off.

“In high school, I joined a dance group. That is where I got into contemporary dance, which is my speciality,” she said.

Jing also studied under various teachers to perfect her craft.

Her first academic degree is in public relations and communications. She then continued her studies to obtain a graduate diploma in dance.

“I branched out further and got my Masters in Choreography from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, which is what I was doing during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown,” said Jing.

She said that her mother always reminded her to be mindful of the physical aspects of dance and essentially, have something to fall back on.

“She has always been very supportive and backed me when I took that ‘jump’ to be a professional artiste and wanted to focus all my energy on that,” Jing explained.

Her father is part of the performing arts industry and knows how hard the field can be.

“He always advised me to have a thick skin, and be able to accept rejection. I have been very lucky to be educated and guided by both parents.”

Many moved overseas

Many dancers thrive outside of Malaysia. Jing believes that age and what one is seeking in their craft are important factors when deciding in spreading their wings to another country.

“There are certain opportunities that are in abundance in places like Europe, Australia and Hong Kong which Malaysia may not have. There is a huge gap in Malaysia that can be filled as well.

"Still, there is a big pool of Malaysian artistes inside and outside the country. I have witnessed their talent myself in London. It can flourish and be nurtured even more, especially in the future,” said Jing.

She noted that it is given that countries such as the UK have a great head start in terms of institutional academic arts. There is also funding and a culture of engaging with various art forms.

She pointed out that Malaysia also has a thriving art scene, especially when it comes to traditional art forms.

Jing thinks that things are looking up for Malaysia and there are more opportunities now, adding that the artistic seeds being planted now will bear fruit soon.

“As for myself, I have the opportunity to create my own work, something I would not have been able to do 15 years ago. You have a very dedicated pool of artistes and producers in Malaysia."

Pandemic video production

During the pandemic when she was stuck in London, Jing made a video called “I'll Write About It Later”, which was later used as part of the Trinity Laban COLAB 2021 project week.

“For this project, musicians and dancers come together to create something. This was one of the projects that I had led.

“We combined poetry alongside dance as a response to Covid-19. We also placed it on a digital platform and created this collaborative piece,” she said.

Jing described herself as a facilitator of the project, with writers and dancers contributing to this effort.

“I gave them various tasks to stimulate different impetus. I took various sequences and directed this video, “Jing described her work.

Jing also believed that both contemporary and traditional art forms must be made more accessible to the public for their viewing.

"It is pointless for someone to come up with something innovative if there is no audience to watch it.

"To a certain degree, the public must want to catch what is being staged regularly, the way performing arts scene is frequented regularly by the public in places like the UK.

“I hope that there is more focus on Malaysian talent too,” said Jing, noting that there are a lot of local talents getting recognised only after doing well outside the country.

“As someone who is living in two countries, I know that there is more to be done that will allow artistes to be nurtured here and be able to bring back what they learnt abroad.

“And it will be very hard for us if we are unable to make a living here,” Jing mentioned.

“Nian Gao: A Retelling” will be presented at Five Arts Centre, GMBB on March 25 (Sat), at 2pm and 7.30pm.

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