The Paper reporter Liao Yang
What is the level of development of contemporary Chinese dance? Come to this dance biennale to take a stroll and you can get a glimpse of the leopard and know a little about it.
From August 16th to September 19th, the 7th “Youth Dance Talent Cultivation Program” and the 2nd Contemporary Dance Biennale, hosted by the China Dancers Association and Shanghai International Dance Center Development Foundation, and organized by the China Federation of Literature and Culture Dance Art Center and Shanghai International Dance Center Theater, will bring the latest style of Chinese contemporary dance to audiences at home and abroad.
Considering the requirements of epidemic prevention and control, this year’s Biennale will be carried out in the form of online screenings, and there will be four sections: “Full Screening of Excellent Plays”, “Selected Repertoire Fragments”, “Dance Documentary” and “Dance Video”, a total of 36 contemporary dance works or dance videos, which will be broadcast online through the Bilibili website.
The 36 works exhibited in different styles reflect the observation and thinking of young Chinese dancers on the current life and life state.
Among them, Rao Yuhong’s “Three Forks”, Gu Jiani’s “Plugged Into”, NUNUKONG’s “Caught Off Guard – Born Dull”, Tashi Wangjia’s “You Should Be Like a Bird Flying to Your Mountain”, Yu Jinying’s “Divine Comedy”, Lian Guodong “We Talk About the Future”, Situ Jiayi’s “Between Me and My Wing Knowledge”, Xiaoke & Zihan’s “Dance Deco Co”, Er Gao’s “Come to the Dance Hall” and other 9 works will participate in the screening.
At the same time, Fu Binjing’s “I Use a Dance to Take You to the Sky”, Tian Ming’s “Figurines Series”, Yin Fang’s “Entropy”, Yin Yi’s “Regent”, Zeng Ying’s “Homecoming”, Jiang Fan’s “Loading, Players Please Wait…”, Li Chao’s “Kaguntua”, Shi Yanyan’s “Canglang” and other 10 works will participate in the clip display.
In addition, this year’s Biennale will also have 2 dance documentaries and 15 dance video works screened.
Dance documentaries include “Yoyo Vision”, which chronicles the difficult birth of Shanghai International Dance Center Theater’s self-made amateur dance theater Yoyo Vision. “Yoyo Vision” premiered in Shanghai in May this year, causing a crowd of tears and tears. The 11 amateur actors on the stage include painters, doctors, programmers, business analysts, and freelancers, who tell their true stories with their bodies and use the ordinary things of ordinary people to create an unexpected “explosion”.
Dance video works include both visual reconstruction based on stage works and works that are deeply integrated with the video medium from the beginning of their creation. Among them, “He” draws inspiration from the traditional Chinese five elements, and through the splicing of images, the dancers can move around different times and spaces in China and Scotland, and convey the thinking on the relationship between people, cities and natural environments in the context of human beings fighting the epidemic. Co-produced by Scottish Dance Theatre and Wang Yabin, with the support of the British Council and the Shanghai International Dance Centre Theatre, the production will feature an oral version for the visually impaired, in addition to the regular version.
In 2019, the first Contemporary Dance Biennale attracted more than 20 internationally renowned theater program planners and festival artistic directors from 14 countries and regions, providing a new window for Chinese contemporary dance to the world.
In order to promote China’s cutting-edge contemporary dance power to the world, this Biennale continues to invite the planners and artistic directors of internationally renowned theaters and dance festivals such as the Sadler’s Well Theatre in the UK, the Old Regional Dance Centre in the UK, the Umbrella Dance Festival in the UK, the European Youth Choreographer Network Platform, the National Theatre of Charlotte in France, the Municipal Theatre in Porto, and the Suzanne Dral Arts Center in Israel.
These international guests are located in more than 50 countries and regions in Asia, Europe, America and Australia. Due to the international epidemic, they were unable to visit Shanghai in person, so the Biennale set up a special webpage to invite guests to watch the performance online and interact online. Guests can learn about the new forces of Chinese contemporary dance in a “one-stop” manner, build a bridge for in-depth cooperation and exchanges between Chinese and foreign contemporary dance, and prepare for young Chinese dancers to “go global” in the future.
Responsible editor: Chen Shihuai
Proofreader: Ding Xiao