BEiJiNG 2008 - Jodi Kaplan & Associates

the fa C t o r y
Odyssey Dance Theatre
Choreography: Trey Barber
Music: Christopher Lennertz, Timbaland Featuring Jay Z, Eminem, Linkin Park, Trazz Featuring Wayne
Wonder, L’il Mama with Chris Brown and T Pain
Dancers: Sarah Aezer, Katie Brimley, Mallauri Esquibel, Thayne Jasperson, Eldon Johnson, Elizabeth
Martineau, Veronica Yeager
A new Hip-Hop piece by the fabulous Trey Barber (The Krew) about The Factory - where the world’s
finest Hip-Hop Dancers are created and produced - but as usual - something goes wrong on the production
line.
INTERMISSION
Kun q u vision [World Premiere]
Artists from the National Ballet of China
Choreography: Fei Bo
Music: Chen Xinnuo
Dancers: Fei Bo and Cao Shuci (National Ballet of China), Yi Jie (China Er Pao Army Song and Dance
Troupe), Li Xing (People’s Liberation Army Art School)
The ancient art form Kunqu opera is over 600 years old, and in the fast pace of modern life it teeters
on the precipice of extinction. This traditional culture deserves to be revisited with new eyes so that it
can be shared with people from all walks of life who will no doubt esteem its tremendous value. The
strongest feeling I get about Kunqu is that it is a way of life that has been lost due to carelessness. In
this short piece, we draw on elements of Kunqu opera to discover a new kind of modern expression
from an ancient culture; from form, we excavate substance.
tra n s i t i o n a l il l u M i n at i o n s - so u n d tr a x
Odyssey Dance Theatre
Choreography: Eldon Johnson
Music: Edward Shearmur
Dancers: Sarah Aezer, Katie Brimley, Mallauri Esquibel, Thayne Jasperson, Eldon Johnson, Elizabeth
Martineau, Veronica Yeager
This sensitive and provocative piece, by long-time company member Eldon Johnson, explores the
effects of music on the dancer’s body and psyche. Set to the music of Edward Shearmur, this piece is
the beginning of great things from Mr. Johnson.
sC a l e s
Kim Robards Dance
Choreography: Kim Robards
Music: Jerome Begin
Dancers: Alexis Drabek, Daniel Escudero, Emily Kampf, Stuart Lauer, Kim Robards, Lauren Schmitz,
LaRana Skalicky, Jon Sloven, Alice Wylie
Scales is both a musical exploration of the piano keys and notes on a music staff, as well as a metaphor
for “scales” (which weigh things). The piece explores the shifts of energy from one side to the
other and in this process the support that we receive from others.
“in s e C t”
from Oath (Midnight Rain) (commissioned by the 2006 Venice Biennale)
Beijing Modern Dance Company
Choreography: Gao Yanjinzi
Music: Wenzi
Makeup: Jia Lei
Costumes: Zhong Jiani, Ah Kuan
Dancer: Yang Chang
Insect is the final of five solos (Flower, Grass, Fish, Bird, Insect) in an evening-length work commissioned
by the 2006 Venice Biennale that explores the Buddhist concept of Samsara or rebirth and the
soul’s search for unrequited love. Each occurs in the liminal moment between the end of one day and
the beginning of a new one, in the crossroad of night and morning, the moment between beginning and
ending of all things.