World Premiere!
Margaret Jenkins Dance Company / Guangdong Modern Dance Company
Other Suns (A Trilogy)
Featuring Live Music by the Paul Dresher Ensemble
“… A fiercely visceral piece that felt like one had stepped onto a platform that revolved sometimes at dizzying speeds.” — SF Bay Guardian
“… A stunning new synthesis that unites the hectic language of the limbs with morphing group sculptural forms, tied together with [Jenkins’] unflinching commitment to beauty.” — Contra Costa Times
Watch a preview of Other Suns (A Trilogy):
YBCA is thrilled to co-commission Other Suns (A Trilogy), a world premiere trilogy of dances created by Margaret Jenkins and her company in a cross-cultural collaboration with the Guangdong Modern Dance Company of Guangzhou, China. Jenkins, who has for 35 years been one of the Bay Area's most influential and innovative choreographers, investigates symmetry and asymmetry in both Chinese and American cultures. Through an intricate blend of contemporary dance forms, Other Suns (A Trilogy) transcends national and cultural barriers, offering a new perspective on balance and imbalance in our fast-changing, global society. Live music composed by Paul Dresher and performed by the Paul Dresher Ensemble, with additional music by Bun Ching-Lam. (Running Time: 100 minutes, including one 20 minute intermission)
Post-Show Conversation with Margaret Jenkins Dance Company and Guangdong Modern Dance Company
Following the Fri, Sep 25 performance
Free with Other Suns performance ticket
Post performance Q&A with members of the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company and Guangdong Modern Dance Company discussing the experience of their unique collaboration in developing Other Suns.
RELATED EVENTS
Fri, Sep
18, 2009: Margaret
Jenkins Dance Company / Guangdong Modern Dance Company Open Rehearsal • FREE
Sun, Sep 20, 2009: Artist InSight: Contemporary Art in Quangzhou, China: A Conversation with He Cong, Margaret Jenkins, and Liu Qi
Other Suns (A Trilogy) has been co-commissioned by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Peak Performances at Montclair State University in New Jersey, and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, with additional support from Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, The Hellman Family Philanthropic Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Bernard Osher Foundation, The Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, The San Francisco Arts Commission, The San Francisco Foundation, and generous individuals.
Funded in part by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and additional funding from the Ford Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Community Connections Fund of the MetLife Foundation.
Margaret Jenkins Dance Company
Margaret Jenkins Dance Company (MJDC)
Founded in 1973 the MJDC has been a part of the cultural fabric of San Francisco for over three and a half decades—dedicated to the making and touring of new work, international exchange and programs that support process, choreographic mentorship and performance opportunities. The MJDC performs regularly in San Francisco and has toured extensively in the United States, Western and Eastern Europe and Asia. The MJDC is known for programs that serve to expand the health of the dance field like Choreographers in Mentorship Exchange (CHIME) a mentorship program for emerging and established choreographers. CHIME is now in its sixth year and has served over 65 artists in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. The MJDC operates a studio devoted to creative research, the Margaret Jenkins Dance Lab, which hosts MJDC creative activities, CHIME and other long- and short-term artistic residencies. For more information on the mission, history and activities of the MJDC please visit www.mjdc.org.
Guangdong Modern Dance Company (GMDC)
The GMDC is mainland China’s first professional modern dance company. Internationally renowned for its exquisite and captivating performances the company was founded in June 1992 under the auspices of the Department of Culture of Guangdong Province. Its vision that modern dance is a tool for self-expression attracts some of the most talented dancers and choreographers in China. Ms. Yang Mei-Qi was appointed the first managing director and Mr. Willy Tsao from Hong Kong was invited to be the first artistic director for the company. Works created by its dancers, resident choreographers, artistic directors and international guest artists have been staged at home and abroad winning critical acclaims and overwhelming audience responses. The company performs abroad frequently and also has hosted the annual Guangdong Modern Dance Festival since 2004. Besides presenting performances by international dance companies, the festival also stages works by young independent dancers/dance groups from all over China. Hailed as the nation’s cradle of modern dance, the GMDC continues to cultivate new grounds for the promotion and development of the art in China. www.gdmdc.com
Margaret Jenkins (MJDC artistic director) is a choreographer, teacher and mentor, as well as a designer of unique community-based dance projects. In her 35-year career Ms. Jenkins has created an impressive body of work with over 75 works created on her company as well as resident companies in the United States and Europe. In addition she has received numerous commissions from renowned national and international arts presenters and cultural institutions. Her company tours regularly in this country and abroad and her recent cross-cultural collaborations with the Tanusree Shankar Dance Company of Kolkata, India and the Guangdong Modern Dance Company of Guangzhou, China have been the focus of her choreographic attention since 2003. In 2004 Jenkins launched Choreographers in Mentorship Exchange (CHIME) an innovative mentorship program that fosters creative exchange and long-term relationships between emerging and established choreographers. CHIME and Leaders at the Lab continues a tradition of Jenkins’ commitment to the growth and health of the field of choreography and to deepening the sense of community among working artists. For her unique artistic vision Jenkins has received numerous commissions and awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Irvine Fellowship in Dance, the San Francisco Arts Commission Award of Honor, three Isadora Duncan Awards (Izzies), and the Bernard Osher Cultural Award for her outstanding contributions to the arts community in San Francisco and the Bay Area. April 24, 2003 was declared “Margaret Jenkins Day” by San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. On that day she also received a Governor’s Commendation from Governor Gray Davis. For the 75th anniversary of the San Francisco Ballet in 2008 Margaret Jenkins was commissioned to create Thread a new work for which long-time collaborator Paul Dresher created a new musical score.
Liu Qi (GMDC deputy artistic director) graduated at the Beijing Dance Academy from the ethnic dance faculty in 1991 and worked as lecturer in the Academy thereafter. Liu joined the GMDC in 1996 and has since then served the company as dancer, teacher and artistic master. In 2004 she was appointed deputy artistic director. In 2006 she was awarded Century Star by the Guangdong government for her outstanding achievements in the art. Liu has performed in major dance works, toured extensively with the company and has taken part in many international arts festival and dance festivals. She has also choreographed many award winning works for the company. Her work Pagoda (1996) was awarded a Gold Medal for choreography at the 1997 Tao Li Cup, a Silver Medal at the 1998 Lotus Award, and Grand Prize at the 2000 Moscow International Arts Competition. Fight Under the Table (2001) was awarded a Silver Medal for choreography at the 2001 National Dance Competition, a Gold Medal for choreography at the 2002 Lotus Award. Upon Calligraphy (2005) was awarded for outstanding choreography, performance, lighting design and repertoire at the Guangdong Arts Festival 2005. It was featured in the China Festival at the Kennedy Centre, Washington D.C. and the Dance Salad Festival, Houston, TX. Other major works include: Opera Girl (1996), Hong Bo Qu (1998), Fight Under the Table (2001), and Between… (2004), Ambrosia (2006), Forward-For-Forward (2007).
Paul Dresher (Composer) is an internationally active composer noted for his ability to integrate diverse musical influences into his own coherent and unique personal style. He pursues many forms of musical expression, including experimental opera and music theater, chamber and orchestral composition, live instrumental electro-acoustic music performances, musical instrument invention, and scores for theater, dance, and film. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship for 2006-07, he has received commissions from the Library of Congress, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Spoleto Festival USA, the Kronos Quartet, the San Francisco Symphony, California EAR Unit, Zeitgeist, San Francisco Ballet, Walker Arts Center, University of Iowa, Meet the Composer, Seattle Chamber Players, Present Music, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Music America, National Flute Association, and the American Music Theater Festival. He has performed or had his works performed throughout North America, Asia, and Europe at venues including New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic the Munich State Opera, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, the Festival d’Automne in Paris, the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival, CBC Vancouver Radio Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera, Arts Summit Indonesia ‘95, Festival Interlink in Japan, and five New Music America Festivals. Dresher has also worked extensively with many choreographers including Margaret Jenkins, Brenda Way/ODC San Francisco, Nancy Karp & Dancers, Wendy Rogers Dance Company, and Allyson Green Dance. www.dresherensemble.org
Alexander V. Nichols’ (visual design) design work spans from lighting, video and projections to scenery, costumes for dance, theater, opera and installation art. He has served as Resident Lighting Designer for the Pennsylvania Ballet, Hartford Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, as Lighting Supervisor for American Ballet Theatre and, for the past 23 years, as resident visual designer for the Margaret Jenkins Dance Co. His designs have been set on San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Hubbard Street, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Singapore Dance Theatre, ODC/SF and Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. Collaborations with choreographers include Chrostopher d’Amboise, Val Caniparoli, Ann Carlson, Sonya Delwaide, Marguerite Donlon, Dominique Dumais, Joe Goode, Jean Grand-Maitre, Bill T. Jones, Graham Lustig, Mark Morris, Matjash Mrozewski, Mikko Nissenen, Kevin O’Day, Kirk Peterson, Stephen Petronio, Michael Smuin and Brenda Way. Theater credits include designs for Mark Taper Forum, American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Arena Stage, Huntington Theater, Seattle Rep, National Theater of Taiwan and the Alley Theater. Mr. Nichols created the lights, set and video for Carrie Fisher’s current Broadway production Wishful Drinking. Off-Broadway credits include visual designs for Los Big Names (Gomez), Horizon (Eckert) and lighting for “Bridge and Tunnel” (Jones). Current projects include lighting and projection for Tony Kushner’s “Tiny Kushner” at the Guthrie Theater, structural and lighting design for the museum installation piece Circle of Memory, a collaboration with Eleanor Coppola, recently presented in Salzburg, Austria and the creation of the video for Origins and LIFE – A Journey Through Time, a collaboration with photographer Frans Lanting and composer Philip Glass most recently presented at the Inaugural Ceremony for the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Switzerland.