The Dance Centre presents Discover Dance!
Triaspora with Moving Dragon and the Orchid Ensemble
Thursday May 31 at 12 noon Scotiabank Dance Centre, 677 Davie St (at Granville), Vancouver
Tickets $9/$7 students, seniors and children from Tickets Tonight:
604 231 7535 www.ticketstonight.ca
Info: 604 606 6400 www.thedancecentre.ca
Presented as part of Asian Heritage Month
The Chinese Canadian experience inspires an exquisite blend of dance and live music, for the final edition of The Dance Centre’s popular Discover Dance! season. Triaspora is a collaboration between dance company Moving Dragon (founded by husband-and-wife team Chengxin Wei and Jessica Jone) and the acclaimed musicians of The Orchid Ensemble. Fusing traditional Chinese dance with contemporary thought and movement, alongside an original score of cross-culturally influenced music, Triaspora draws on interviews with the descendents of railway workers, head tax payers and Chinatown residents and examines the search by generations of immigrants for cultural identity and social acceptance. The performers will show excerpts from the forthcoming full length work set to premiere in the fall, and discuss the creative process with the audience.
Moving Dragon was founded by Jessica Jone and Chengxin Wei in 2004 as a contemporary dance company that focuses on cross-cultural fusion between Eastern and Western dance styles. Born in Vancouver, Jessica Jone trained in Chinese classical and folk dance with her mother, Lorita Leung, at the Beijing Dance Academy, and the Guangdong Dance School in China. She is also a graduate of the dance program at Simon Fraser University, and has won many awards for her performance and choreography. Born in China, Chengxin Wei graduated from the Beijing Dance Academy in 1997, where he studied classical Chinese dance, and worked as principal dancer of the Guangdong Provincial Dance Theatre. Since moving to Vancouver in 2000, Chengxin has danced with companies including Anatomica, Judith Marcuse Projects, the Lorita Leung Dance Company, Wen Wei Dance and Ballet British Columbia. He has created numerous contemporary works that have appeared at Dances for a Small Stage, the Connecting Community Dance Series and at the Dance Centre. Chengxin was recently announced as recipient of the Iris Garland Emerging Choreography Award, through which he will present a new work for Moving Dragon at Scotiabank Dance Centre in April 2008.
The Orchid Ensemble (Lan Tung, Gelina Jiang and Jonathan Bernard) blends ancient musical instruments and traditions from China and beyond, creating a beautiful new sound that is both creative and distinct. The ensemble has embraced a variety of musical styles to its repertoire, ranging from the traditional and contemporary music of China, World Music, New Music to Jazz and Creative Improvisation. The Orchid Ensemble has been tirelessly developing an innovative musical genre based on the cultural exchange between Western and Asian musicians. The ensemble regularly collaborates with musicians from a wide variety of world cultures and actively commissions new works by Canadian and US composers for its unique instrumentation. The Orchid Ensemble performs regularly in concerts across North America, and at prominent World, Jazz and Folk Music festivals. Recent appearances include The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.; Canada Day Celebrations and the National Gallery in Ottawa; Vancouver International Jazz Festival; and at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre.
Discover Dance! is a monthly series showcasing diverse BC-based companies, presented by The Dance Centre, BC’s resource centre for dance. The Dance Centre also provides programs and services for the profession and the public, and operates Scotiabank Dance Centre, Canada’s flagship dance facility.
2006-2007 Discover Dance! season schedule:
Sept 28 Kathryn Ricketts (dance theatre)
Oct 26 The Urban Flow Project (modern and street dance)
Nov 30 Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre (flamenco)
Feb 22 Bale Brazil (samba)
Mar 29 South Asian Arts (bhangra/Bolly)
April 26 Dancers Dancing (contemporary)
May 31 Triaspora (contemporary Chinese dance and music)
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Media contact: Heather Bray T: 604 606 6412 F: 604 606 6401
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Triaspora is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Arts Now, the British Columbia Arts Council, Taiwan’s Overseas Commission and the Lorita Leung Dance Association.
The operations of The Dance Centre are supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council, and the City of Vancouver through the Office of Cultural Affairs. Programs are also supported by the Department of Canadian Heritage, and the Province of BC through the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch.
Discover Dance! media sponsors: Channel M, CBC Radio 1 & 2, the Vancouver Courier.
The Dance Centre, Level 6, 677 Davie Street, Vancouver BC V6B 2G6 Tel 604 606 6400 www.thedancecentre.ca
