Upon Calligraphy and Rice, Spice, Zen, Colors

Date:       May 9 – May 10,   19:30
Venue:     MF Theatre – NCPA
Choreographer: Upon Calligraphy by Liu Qi, and Rice, Spice, Zen, Colors by Pun Siu-fai

Upon Calligraphy - The Essence of Chinese Script

Upon Calligraphy is a poem of movements, which are developed from the stylistic essence of different Chinese scripts. The acuteness and tardiness of the bone script, the elegance of the seal script, the harmony of the official script, the strength of the regular script, and the expressiveness and freeness of the cursive script underline respectively the paragraphs of the dance. The passage of movements from slow and delicate to quick and expressive corresponds to the development of Chinese writing and  communication in general. Writing conveys not only the symbolic meanings of the words but also the temperament and feelings of the person creating the brush strokes.  At the end of the passage is the information age of today, when writing means touching the keyboard and words are electronic codes of identical forms.

“full of meditative grace, sharp, cut-crystal physicality and languid dignity.”
The Washington Post

Rice, Spice, Zen, Colors - A dance about food and desire

The dance will be in four parts, which deal with four different but interrelated topics:

Rice
- as the main staple diet in most Asian countries, rice is a metaphor of livelihood.
Spice
- a provoking sense
Zen
- a balanced and tranquil state of mind that transcends senses
Colors
- the Chinese character of color, ‘se’ also means appearances or various physical states of existence, or constantly exposed to temptations and desires. In the Buddhist understanding, it is a boundary to be overcome.

“balanced between an amazing athletic thrust and a contained elegance….[with] intensity and emotional power.”
  New York Times

Guangdong Modern Dance Company

Guangdong Modern Dance Company is mainland China’s first professional modern dance company.  Internationally renowned for its exquisite and captivating performances, the company was founded in 1992 under the auspices of the Department of Culture of Guangdong Province.  Willy Tsao from Hong Kong was invited to be the first artistic director for the company.  Tsao served his term till 1998 and again from 2004-2007. In 2007, Pun Siu Fai succeeded the artistic directorship of the company and Tsao took up the responsibility of Managing Director.

GMDC is a company based in the fastest growing region of the fastest growing economy in the world.  Its vision that modern dance is a tool for self-expression attracts some of the most talented dancers and choreographers in China, paving the way for the development of dance in a country with distinctly different social and cultural backgrounds from the West.  Works created by its dancers, resident choreographers, artistic directors and international guest artists have been staged at home and abroad winning critical acclaims and overwhelming audience responses. The New York Times described the company as ‘one of the biggest success stories of internatinal dance’ and ‘a pacesetter with a difference.’

The company tours extensively and has appeared at the India International Dance Festival, the Singapore International Arts Festival, Korea’s Chang-Mu International Dance Festival, England’s Edinburgh Festival, Millennium Moves of Germany, Japan’s Tokyo Tiny Alice International Theatre Festival, Hong Kong Festival of Asian Arts, the Holland Dance Festival, the International Festival of Contemporary Dance in Venice, Festival Cina Vicina, Rome, Italy, the Pina Bausch Dance Festival, the Aarhus International Arts Festival, Aarhus, Denmark,  the Festival of China in Washington D.C. and Dance Salad, Houston, U.S.A..

http://www.gdmdc.com/

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