'Dream Realms' Video Clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdJ7SGcUR-Y

Click above to watch a snippet of the show.

'Changing Hue', 'Reverie' and 'She Dreams'

Photography by: Grace Chiang and Jiawei Kuo

~My first international concert

Delicious Anticipation...

It's hard to process everything that's happening now, so much packed in such a short span of time, so many people demanding my attention and time, with questions and more questions...that I need to answer so they can help me better. It took a while but I do have a strong production team now, I am so glad for everyone of them assisting me in fine-tuning what this dance, this living artwork should look like. Again just the mystery involved in drawing out a dance from the intersection of ideas in paintings still fascinates me so much, and I wonder at the every 'day' of working and thinking of trying and failing and trying again over two years, that brought me this far...I do hope for a successful representation of those ideas within the dance medium...and the test will be with the audience on that day...for now we keep working with the vision. It's so important for me to still focus on the dances themselves in the flurry of so many "other" things to do...my friend's advice, and I will take it...'focus on the choreography, it's the most important thing'. I finished making all changes and now it's about helping the dancers own the dance...I have ten days to the premiere...delicious anticipation...i want to finish well.

Closer still...

Three weeks to go and we are wrapping things up. I have a strange feeling that though the process has been really hard at times, there will be something of value to celebrate that day...I remember my adviser Ming saying each time you dance a piece, you don't just dance it, you are living it, it's life we present on stage, it is real or needs to be...I haven't had alot of time with my new dancers but I hope to have imparted something (perhaps a different something)  to each of them so they could have "lived" and "grown" through this process...

Even if it may not be the perfect result my artists's heart is so excited to see it as a whole...I will enjoy being in the audience, after a long long journey of  discovery and creation...again, this is just a beginning and there is so much more to come after this...I must enjoy this 'first attempt' on so many levels of production and choreography...someone said in the performing arts when you create, 'love your audience' love who you are creating for, it might change the way you create... and this is held in tension to creating from love instead of for love...Things to ponder on, so many thoughts, so many wishes...what will be will be.

~For those who love dreaming...

In the percussion studio...

It's been an interesting process to rework the music for the group piece as a piano and percussion composition. My new friends Seung Ri Wu and Yu Ci Kong (seen above) did a short demonstration  of the new section we are adding. It was exciting to listen to the wildness in it,as compared to the softer tones of the percussion used in the first two sections. Those have more of a layered effect of the percussive instruments, but this new part has quite a different rhythm and energy and I like the contrast. It is a little bit of a challenge to ensure the overall blend and yet variation in parts of the music score;. and having suitable transitions is also crucial to make the juxtaposition work. They are both great performers and musicians though, so I look forward to the live performance. It is a new experience for  me as a choreographer to coach and prepare the dancers for live music. I think it's going to be great!

Seven weeks...

We are seven weeks to the final production...some happy developments in the last month have been to connect with a locally based lighting designer, a videographer and  to make progress with the live music percussion and piano arrangements. The rehearsal time I had during the holidays was limited but I used it in workshop sessions to help the dancers understand different aspects of performance quality, doing improvisation and drama-based methods at first and then applying what those results on the actual choreography. I also had the time and pleasure of doing a lot of personal research and reading, including watching more performances from the point of view of a choreography student, rather than only an audience member. In particular I enjoyed a talk by choreographer/singer/director Barack Marshall at a pre-performance discussion of his work 'Rooster', at The National Theatre (Taipei) last weekend. I was greatly encouraged by his personal story and liked how his performance shared his Israeli-American heritage as a cultural expression within a dance-theatre style of choreography...I delighted in his use of gestural movement danced in patterns that gave a delicacy and intricacy to the way those dancers' bodies communicated and spoke...it reminded me of paintings I saw when I was in Caesarea, Israel. Perhaps later on I will experiment more with dance theatre, it's a medium of powerful expression. 

Seven weeks...I hope for regular attendance by the dancers and enough margin before the final to finish all changes in choreography. We run now, bolder, faster, stronger. This will be my first international concert. I'm excited.

On the road...

Winter Break. Things are moving slower now...even if I sometimes don't want to stop, I know that rest is needed to give you the strength to carry on. At the showing there were many different changes recommended and one of those was to add percussion to my music score for the group piece. I was able to connect with some new artists who join this project and could potentially perform live for the final concert. With the other dances the changes are with increasing the depth of the work mostly concerned with coaching the dancers and working on the 'dynamic engine' for each piece. Crafting and staging are also areas I can give more attention. Time is of the essence and with limited rehearsals it becomes a real challenge to accomplish everything that needs to be done. I have to be very practical and realistic about what's going to be possible for my dancers to handle, and leave overly ambitious things for another time. We grow from small things to big so I'm fine with a production on a smaller scale but done well. Yes that is my goal, go the farthest we can possibly go, but stay on the road and in the journey.

Passed the exam!

The table set up from yesterday's 'kaoshih' exam...I passed...and we passed...'us' made it through the screening! I got a lot of great feedback to work on, so we keep going,keep working, sailing ahead to 7th April 2013 for the 'Dream Realms' Premiere....Wheeeeeeee!!!!

...Making it happen step by little step

Breathe...

The Last Few Days...The exam showing is in three days...the choreography is mostly in place after a tiring weekend of finishing things...when I think over what the last two months demanded for us to reach this far, I think it's crazy...a crazy amount of work in very difficult circumstances. I handed in my production book yesterday to my exam committee...that was such a complex assignment, because I had to document the creative process through about two years of work and with many twists and turns, but present it, as briefly and concisely as possible.

I think it's so hard as a choreographer, because something you value and prize so highly can be treated by others with so little value and care. So yes it's a challenge to find the right people to work with who have what you need on an artistic, professional and relational level to accomplish what needs to be done. High standards need hard work, dedication and commitment. Someone once told me, don't pursue dance because of the money, because that won't be a driving force for you, pursue dance because of your love and passion for it, it has got to be something deeper. Perhaps love and passion for something is expressed in different ways. But when it's there you see it, you see it burning inside. I think if you are lukewarm, you don't, you can't last very long. Through stormy times,can you still burn bright...this is one journey...and after this there is more to come. I've had an endless list of things to do, but today I have a day of rest. To breathe. My adviser Ming, would tell me to do this when things got crazy, 'just breathe'...so I 'breathe'...it's beautiful for your spirit, body and mind...and what will be, will be.