About NEW WORK: Flying white – 飞白

Co-created by Wen Wei Wang (Artistic Director of Wen Wei Dance), Owen Underhill (Composer, Artistic Director of Turning Point Ensemble), Dorothy Chang (Composer)
Choreographer: Wen Wei Wang
Composers: Owen Underhill and Dorothy Chang
Performers:
6 dancers from Wen Wei Dance: Dario Dinuzzi, Eowynn Enquist, Ralph Escamillan, Sarah Formosa, Daria Mikhaylyuk, Matthew Wyllie
12 live musicians on stage: 8 from Turning Point Ensemble; 4 from Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra
Costume Designer: Linda Chow
Lighting Designer: Jonathan Kim
Scenic Design Consultant and Technical Director: Mark Eugster
Production Stage Manager: Kim Plough

Duration: TBC

Premiere:
January 31, February 1 – 2, 2020 at Simon Fraser University (SFU) Woodward’s

“Flying white” is a rare and extraordinary form of Chinese calligraphy that jumps and leaps on the paper surface in graceful beautiful strokes, the black ink revealing a white background. The motion and aesthetic of this calligraphy and the philosophy of the elements—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water are the foundations for the artistic vision of this new work Flying white – 飞白.

Mobile and delicate, flying white is like meteors passing through the sky, or hair fluttering in the wind. The piece explores the space between black and white, inhale and exhale, east and west, and sound and movement. Furthermore, integrating six dancers and an intercultural ensemble of twelve musicians, interacting on stage and with representations of elements including rice, paper, water, silk, and ink.

Produced and presented by: Turning Point Ensemble and Wen Wei Dance
Co-producer: SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs

Both organizations are grateful for operating funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council and the City of Vancouver. Supported through The Dance Centre’s Artist-in-Residence Program.