《羅曼菲》
Man-fei, a documentary
2017 導演 - 陳懷恩
Originally written July 17, 2019
revised w/updated information and photo March 31, 2020
The tribute to dancer Man-fei 曼菲 was embodied in her dance “ 輓歌 - an elegy” where she dances by circling round and round on toes without pausing throughout the entire piece of her performance. The dance first appeared in the film when she was inside the studio practicing with her back facing the photographer ( thus us the viewers.) I thought the movie could have ended toward the end of film when “輓歌 - an elegy” was performed on stage years later as an elegy to her. A statue of her dancing this number* was placed at two locations commemorating her achievement in dance …….(see link* below)
https://www.ettoday.net/news/20210916/2080796.htm
*紀念羅曼菲66歲冥誕，她是台灣傳奇的舞蹈家、編舞家，曾任雲門舞集2藝術總監、藝術學院舞蹈系主任等，一生為舞奉獻。而她的舞姿也化成雕像「旋的冥想」，由雕塑家林健成製作，一尊位於宜蘭縣政府文化局宜蘭演藝廳，另一尊則位於淡水雲門劇場的荷花池中永恆翩舞 ET Today 新聞雲
Photo courtesy : Kathleen Y
Strangely enough, Man-fei 羅曼菲 only showed her face in the film a few times, we knew she past away nearly 15 years earlier (in 2017) and was not available for live footage in this documentary. Yet we palpably felt her presence all along. The scene showing her practice in the studio earlier in the film is thus carved in our collective memory which is an excellently executed scene by director 陳懷恩。
Another film I discussed on SVMLC forum in responding to LY on another dancer Pina Bauch** shares the same idea for leaving in audience an indelible memory of dancer’s images. In the film “Pina” which was also a post-mortem work after the dancer passed away. The entire film used footage of her student dancers from various performances in tribute to the teacher who only appeared in a couple of cameo roles in the docufilm dedicated to her.
**Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance ...
Grace
