Pushed to the Edge

Push and pull are pretty commonplace commands. You can push someone’s buttons, pull someone’s leg. Somehow we always manage to conflate the two when facing a door in a public place. Lai Hung-chung, in his duet for man and woman, pushes those commands to their extreme end. Or perhaps pulls them to new territory. His duet “Push and Pull” has made quite the impact since premiering last year, it was twice awarded at Hannover’s International Choreography Competition and bagged four prizes at the prestigious Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition. Now it’s London’s chance to see this nifty work which has repped Taiwan with pride.

Performance

Hung Dance: “Push and Pull” by Lai Hung-chung

Place

The Coronet Theatre, London, UK, March 12, 2026

Words

Eoin Fenton

Lu Yang-chieh and Lee Kuan-ling in “Push and Pull” by Lai Hung-chung. Photograph by Franco Wang

The work pulls from a variety of influences. Tai-chi, the volatile tectonic plates that Taiwan sits upon, breath and water. Sometimes they play out with clarity in the kinetic energy and fragmented set piece, but the work seems more concerned with the relationship between our subjects than the ancillary elements. Lu Yang-chieh creeps out from under a granite, compartmented set piece to the sound of a ghostly breath, as if emerging from a sarcophagus. She displays odd, irrational behaviour, all twitching muscles and snappy motions. She pulls Lee Kuan-ling’s limbs to her ear, fixated on his heartbeat (her own sounds like static). They join hands and float about the stage like weightless spacemen. “Push and Pull” plays out quite a bit like an unromantic ghost story. A danced séance.

Lu Yang-chieh and Lee Kuan-ling in “Push and Pull” by Lai Hung-chung. Photograph by Franco Wang

This straddling between worlds is interesting when given the space. The clash of personalities is compelling. Kuan-ling is totally fixated on the odd Yang-chieh, she meanwhile is more interested in what lies before her. She drags Kuan-ling into other worlds, suggested by shifting lighting states. He is gormless. She is curious, especially when the house lights come up revealing the mortal audience to her. Yang-chieh's determined drive is weighty—she’s not going back to that tomb anytime soon. But oftentimes with this ghostly tale we only go so far. The choreography, which is certainly worthy and impressive, doesn’t offer much in terms of emotional catharsis. The work, as a kinetic manifesto, is brilliant, but the narrative feels rather thin.

Lu Yang-chieh and Lee Kuan-ling in “Push and Pull” by Lai Hung-chung. Photograph by Franco Wang

The duo are technical wizards, but there is something in Lu Ying-chieh, her fearlessness and total abandon, that is especially potent. Often I found myself nervous for her safety as she swings from Lee Kuan-ling’s arms and skids herself along the floor. She pulls everything off with an aloof certainty. Lai Hung-chung’s choreography is risky, nearly acrobatic, but full of innovation. Gesturally rich and symbolic, the dancers’ tired arms interrogate connection through swiping hands and yearning pulls. Their frenetic momentum is the kinda stuff that would make Steve Paxton proud. Hung-chung’s duet is real heart-in-your-mouth dancing, even if the story is weightless.

Eoin Fenton

Eoin (they/he) is a dance maker and writer based in Cork (Rep. of Ireland), and London (UK). They have danced across Ireland and London in venues including The Place, Project Arts Centre Dublin and Galway Cathedral. Eoin graduated with a BA in Choreography from Middlesex University in 2024 and began writing as part of the Resolution Reviews programme. They are a regular contributor to A Young(ish) Perspective.

comments

Featured

REVIEWS | Gracia Haby

In Orbit

To travel around, like the Earth in its recurrent, elliptical revolution around the sun, is no mean feat. Touring is a complicated, lengthy and costly affair.

REVIEWS | Anna Eastman

Myth Meets Grit

“Specky Clark” opens with a bang, then a whimper. The bang is the titular Specky’s mother, dropping dead onto the kitchen floor.

REVIEWS | Karen Greenspan

Bending the Process

The sought-after choreographer Aszure Barton and award-winning composer Ambrose Akinmusire bend their individual arcs toward one another in their collaborative, multi-disciplinary work titled “A a | a B : Bend,” presented as part of Lincoln Center’s Pasculano Collaborative for Contemporary Dance.

REVIEWS | Cecilia Whalen

Dreamscapes

There's a wonderful collection of photographs from 1911 of Nijinsky taken by Auguste Bert. Nijinsky was 21 and at the peak of his dance career.