Veteran choreographer Helen Lai talks to Edmund Lee about her Eileen Chang-inspired modern dance theatre, and why she prefers thinking to moving.

The life stories and vivid imaginations of Eileen Chang are set to hit the Hong Kong stage this fortnight with Tales of Two Cities, Helen Lai’s reinvention of a short piece that she did in Taipei back in 2000, also inspired by the Chinese literary legend. A founding member and longtime resident choreographer of the City Contemporary Dance Company, Lai navigates the inner world of an aging Chang as the writer reminisces in a desolate room about her past, as well as characters from her famous stories, such as Love in a Fallen City and Aloeswood Incense: The First Brazier.

So far, what’s been the most memorable part about the creation of this work?
The most memorable part is that I have to require my actors to say their lines – which are really extracts from Chang’s writing – during the live performance. Of course we’ve done this [arrangement] before, but the trickiest part is that we’re speaking entirely in Putonghua this time. [Laughs]

You mean all of them have to speak in Putonghua?
Not everyone, because not everyone can. [Laughs] The decision is done because we’re going to stage the show in Shanghai [at the World Expo, on June 25], and I guess Eileen Chang, apart from speaking Shanghainese, should speak Putonghua as well. I don’t really know for sure, though. [Laughs]

The words are usually pre-recorded in your previous works. Is there a reason you’re letting your dancers speak their lines here?
Actually, I’m going to include both [pre-recorded and live] for this work. I think the recorded parts are used to express [the characters’] inner thoughts, while there’s another kind of impact that comes with [the dancers] speaking their lines. Since the piece is trying to interweave aspects of both reality and imaginations, I think the two [sources of voice] can create the right contrast.

What about the costumes in this show?
One of the girls will be in cheongsam. Actually, the costume design is quite interesting this time. In one set, the inside of the costumes are made with skin-tight garments, to echo Chang’s portrayal of the constraints and repression of women in those days. In another ballroom scene, my costume designer made suits with furniture and window cloths, just as Chang actually did in real life. Chang was really innovative in her fashion sense. [Laughs]

How would you describe your own style?
I have a preference for the form of dance theatre. Even when I’m not telling a story – or, at least, not telling it in a chronological manner – my choreography seldom ever consists purely of action. There is a touch of theatricality to my work. Narrative-wise, I like to employ multiple or parallel storylines.

Why are you especially interested in this arrangement?
I guess it’s because I’m a theatre lover myself. Literature also has an important influence on me.

What kind of literature do you like most?
There’re so many! [Laughs] Let me put it this way, I like the surrealist type when it comes to theatre, and not so much the realist dramas about daily life. In terms of literature, there are a few works that I’ve already adapted into dance pieces, such as [Italo] Calvino’s Invisible Cities, and [works by] Kafka.

You’ve been working in this field for more than three decades now. What do you see as the largest change down the years?
I think it’s the hugely improved quality of the actors, compared to the time we started [the CCDC in 1979]. There wasn’t a steady supply of talent back then (there wasn’t the Academy for Performing Arts yet), and modern dance wasn’t that popular to start with. Many of the dancers were trained in classical dances, like ballet.

You were originally trained in ballet, too.
That’s true, and afterwards, I went to the UK to study modern dance. The quality of dancers wasn’t that high back then… and the quality of us, the choreographers, also wasn’t that high. [Laughs] I think the overall quality has improved greatly since then.

Why did you decide to become a choreographer at the beginning?
Well, I learnt ballet first, but I soon realised that it doesn’t really suit my personality. I think modern dance gives me more freedom. It happens that I was in a dance group with a couple of friends back then, and I realised my interest in choreography there. I was frequently thinking to myself – I could do the choreography too. [Laughs] So even when I was learning to dance, my heart was already with choreography. I already knew in my mind then, that I was learning for my future choreography career, and not for my own [dance] performance.

That’s quite an unusual way of thinking, considering almost every dancer loves the spotlight.
And I don’t. [Laughs] I don’t like to stand on the stage. I think it’s a lot of fun to create with choreography, but not by moving my body – it’s so tiring! [Laughs] I prefer to exhaust my mind instead of my limbs. [Laughs]

Tales of Two Cities is at Kwai Tsing Theatre’s Auditorium on Fri 28 and Sat 29. Tickets: 2734 9009, www.urbtix.hk.