Wen Wei Dance’s latest choreographic creation, Ying Yun, premieres February 19 - 23, 2019 at Scotiabank Dance Centre. This timely work, born at a heated time in the trajectory of gender discourse, raises the platform of choreographing to the female performers.
The creative process involves a series of dialogues between Ying Yun’s dancers and Artistic Director Wen Wei Wang, with the aim of translating their stories into movement.
Ying Yun is the name of Wang's mother (Ying means Hero & Yun means Cloud), who passed away from ovarian cancer four years ago. A significant influence on his becoming an artist, Wang dedicates this new creation to her, engaging the dancers in interpreting her story, and in turn expressing their own intersectional experiences.
Daria Mikhaylyuk, a dancer in Ying Yun, says: “Even though this might not be the first piece in Vancouver with an all-female cast, it is not very often that we see a dance piece that is about being a young female. While in the studio we might not verbally talk much about the issues of womanhood, the discussion seems to be always present in the physical material we are generating together.”
This exciting full-length dance piece is an extension of Wang’s first all-female performers’ creation, which began in 2017 for the SFU School of the Contemporary Arts. In Ying Yun, Wang channels and melds his emotional association to his mother with elements of Tai Chi: silence and intentional breathing. It is created with research and improvisational methods to ensure a collaboratively creative process with the dancers.
Ying Yun aims to give power to the human body and investigates how dance reflects the current zeitgeist in relation to the larger global issues that women and society are grappling with today.
Choreographer Wen Wei Wang says: “I am asking myself questions about how to investigate deeper meaning in my work. In doing so, I want to be inclusive of the time and place in which I now live. These questions are generally about who we are and who we really want to be in the future. Art is a unique and volatile part of our life that must continue to evolve with a clear reflection of contemporary values and attitudes.”
This performance is part of the Vancouver International Dance Showcase (February 18 to 21, 2019), a community initiative to expose Vancouver’s vibrant dance scene to a delegation of international programmers and presenters.
February 19 - 23, 2019 at 7pm
Opening night | February 19 at 7pm
Location | Scotiabank Dance Centre (677 Davie Street)
Tickets | $37 general with discounts for Dance Centre and CADA Members
Tickets and Info: www.wenweidance.ca
Image by Emily Cooper
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