One chopstick at a time

By: Arno Wagenaar

Tea  for Two, choreographed and performed by Misato Inoue and Felix Dumeril, had the audience giggling throughout the performance. With their effortless and delicate dance movements, music that sings to the ears and a witty love story, Inoue and Dumeril managed to entertain the audience while also allowing them insight into their identities. 

This piece talks to how we, as individuals, view perfection in a relationship, and in life as a whole. It deconstructs notions around the expectations of what a woman should be: pure, sweet, obedient, and faithful. In this way, Tea for Two explores the identity struggle, wrought with inconsistencies and double standards, between men and women. 

Tea for Two took the audience on a journey; from the screening of interviews with the dancers in which they give impressions of the first time they met as well as insight into the creation process, to the very last moment on stage which sees the relationship between the two peak in a moment of intimacy, and then interrupted by the sudden stop of music, leaving the audience desperate for a conclusion.

The intricacies of the story were well supported by the music by , which often reflected the mood and tone of the piece, from serious moments, to a quick pace and uplifting tone.

The awkward tension created on stage by Inoue and Dumeril was very effective and resonated with the concept of the search for identity. The brilliant use of chopsticks as an instrument of control articulated an instructive sentiment: once you’ve dealt with your own problems, it’s easy to accept those of  another, one chopstick at a time.