Ying Yun Dismantles the Male Gaze

Wen Wei Wang Ying Yun

I felt a certain apprehension prior to watching Ying Yun, featuring an all-female troupe of dancers the piece is made in tribute to the late mother of the choreographer, Wen Wei Wang. In many unfortunate cases where a male choreographer attempts to represent the realities that young women face in society, the audience ends up watching a performance that perpetuates the patriarchy and places the women in a passive position only to be dominated by phallocentric voyeurism. In this instance, I am referring to Liu Kuan-Hsiang’s piece Kids that was presented at the Scotiabank Dance Centre as part of the 2019 PuSh Festival. Like Wang, Hsiang’s work is a tribute to his mother and her life as a young woman in China. Performed by himself and two female dancers, the piece demonstrates a clear power dynamic as Hsiang manipulates the two women through the space. The manner in which Hsiang controls the dancers is off-putting and inappropriate, and thus the piece is a misrepresentation of what being a woman means. However, that is not the case for Wang’s newest work. Instead I was pleasantly surprised by his success in representing the authenticity of the performers’ experiences, which in turn represent women in society. By capturing the genuine essence of womanhood, Ying Yun subverts the male gaze and reconstructs the objectifying role of the spectators into audience members who view the dancers in an appreciative and cognizant way.

Before delving into Wang’s piece, I want to bring light to what womanhood is. I understand that encompassing a complete and honest definition of what it is like to be a woman would require an essay in and of itself. I also recognize that how I will be defining femininity does not do justice to the experiences of all femme-identifying people. However, due to the constrictions of this piece of writing I will provide what I believe are general and authentic components of what being a woman is about. When regarding the women in my life and how they move through their own experiences, they each carry similar attributes that I see are present within all females. These women: my mother, sister, friends, and role models possess a sense of courage, determination, autonomy, and sensitivity towards all beings. Though these aspects are what I see within all of them, they are each a unique and inimitable individual. Wang’s Ying Yun embraces all these attributes as the five dancers move through space expressing their own stories within their movement.

Wang has named this piece after his mother Ying Yun. Translating to “Hero Cloud” from Chinese, the work investigates the intersectional experiences of the dancers and “the observation of womanhood in relationship to [Wang’s] life” (Program).  As a significant influencer in his artistic career, Ying Yun embraces the essence of his mother’s strength and perseverance – attributes that he greatly sees present in all women. When considering the discourse the #MeToo movement has brought, Wang believed that it was necessary to showcase the dancers in their truest form “as powerful, complex, and multifaceted human beings” (Program). Moving in and out of group work to perform a solo, each dancer is given the ability to showcase their artistry through their movement as they take the stage alone. In doing so, the audience is presented with an unmistakable strength that is exuded by the dancers as they interpret their own experiences as young women in society. It is admirable how the dancers unravel their life in an ingenuous and brave manner that does not go unrecognized by those watching. The disposition of Ying Yun invites members of the audience to connect to their own intersectional experiences and appreciate the veracity in which the women are performing.

The ability for the women of Ying Yun to dismantle the male gaze does not only come from their ability to genuinely express themselves with their performance but is also due to the inspiration behind the work. When acknowledging the piece as a tribute to Wang’s mother, this guides audience members to subconsciously relate the work to their own maternal figure. The spectators thus become children regarding each woman dancing as their mother. This renders them incapable of objectifying the dancers on stage. Instead those in the theatre watch the women with adoration and reverence. It is also important to consider “the absence of a revered male figure in [Wang’s] upbringing” which has brought him to a “close affinity with femininity and womanhood” (Program). This is prevalent to the mindset of the audience as the absence of masculinity brings the spectators closer to the feminine aspects within their own life. Therefore, phallocentric ideals are removed from the relationship between the spectators and the performers, as well as, the entirety of Ying Yun. This in turn, deconstructs the male gaze and reiterates the maternal characterization the audience places onto the dancers.

However, we must also take in account the actions the dancers have taken within their performance to subvert phallocentric voyeurism. In much of the feminist analysis that revolves around dance, the question has been whether or not the male gaze is “more vulnerable to being dismantled if the performer is live?” (Ann Daly). As the dancers take the space, Ying Yun dismisses the doubts within this inquiry and ascertain the fragility of the male gaze in live performance. The five women take hold of the spectators’ attention from the moment they enter the theatre and render the audience incapable of objectifying their bodies. Standing on a stage that is equally as white as the costumes they are wearing; the dancers look out into the audience with a gaze that emanates power. Incorporating intentional breathing that derives from Tai Chi, the performers move through the space with the strength and precision their breath initiates. Despite the complexity of the movement, the dancers perform the choreography with certainty and ease. It is impressive, admirable, and all consuming. The women’s virtuosic approach to the demands of the piece orders the audience to recognize the remarkable capabilities of their dancing. Forcing the spectators to simply watch and appreciate the movement that is performed, the five women project themselves as unattainable to voyeuristic spectatorship.

Though this is not the only factor that succeeds in dismantling the male gaze. In regard to Laura Mulvey’s psychoanalysis of women in film, Ann Daly summarizes the role of both the performer and spectator in her writing, Unlimited Partnership: Dance and Feminist Analysis. Daly states that the performer “is in a passive, traditionally female position” (2) and that “the spectator is in the position of power” (2). However, this does not comply with the performers of Ying Yun. From the beginning, the five women were in the position of power as they stood looking into the theatre. Acknowledging those seated in the space, the women break the fourth wall and cause the audience to recognize their own vulnerability which in turn place the dancers in the position of power. By establishing the passivity of the spectators, Ying Yun, discredits the fact that the “darkness in the auditorium … helps to promote the illusion of voyeuristic separation” (Mulvey). From the initial acknowledgement of the audience, the women breakdown the sense of security and privacy that the darkness facilitates for the spectators. Instead the dancers reiterate their roles and subject the audience in the passive position in the moments of stillness when the performers see the audience.

Wang’s ability to successfully represent the genuine essence of womanhood within Ying Yun is something to truly praise him for. By displaying the strength, perseverance, and autonomy that each dancer possesses allows for the performers to move through the space without the fear of misrepresentation or objectification. With this sense of confidence for the work and their choreographer, the dancers disestablish the male gaze through their virtuosic ability and determination to showcase themselves as powerful beings. As a significant influencer in his artistic career, it is also Wang’s desire to pay tribute to his mother that renders phallocentric ideals incapable of flourishing within his work. Thus, the objectifying role of the spectators is subverted into audience members who view the dancers in an appreciative and cognizant way.

Photo by Chris Randle

References

Daly, Ann. Unlimited Partnership: Dance and Feminist Analysis Dance Research Journal, vol. 23, no. 1, 1991, pp. 2–5.

Mulvey, Laura. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. Eds. Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen. New York: Oxford UP, 1999: 833-44

Program for Wen Wei Wang’s Ying Yun at the Scotiabank Dance Centre, Vancouver. Playbill, 2019