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Explorations and Innovations in Choreography: A Conversation with Xiao Suhua

Colombia University's Weatherhead East Asian Institute presents a talk with Xiao Suhua on the future of dance in China.

When:
October 1, 2015 4:00pm to 6:00pm
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Moderated by Edward Tyerman, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Slavic Languages, Barnard College

Co-sponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and the Barnard College Department of Dance.

No registration required.

What are the possibilities for experimental dance in China today? How does the medium of dance allow artists to deconstruct and recreate literary classics? Based on more than six decades of experience in China's ballet world, Professor Xiao Suhua will discuss his views on contemporary dance in China past and present. He will also introduce and discuss two of his own recent experimental dance adaptations of Chinese literary classics: "Legend of the White Snake" and "Dream of Red Mansions."

A brief question and answer session will follow.

Xiao Suhua ranks among China's foremost choreographers and teachers of contemporary dance. Born in Moscow in 1937 to members of China's underground Communist Party, he trained in Soviet dance academies and returned to newly-­-established Communist China after the 1949 revolution. Prof. Xiao began his career as a conduit for Beijing-­-Moscow cultural  exchanges, a role lasting into the 1960s. He survived persecution during the Cultural Revolution to emerge as one of China's most influential advocates of contemporary dance. Today, Professor Xiao maintains close creative relationships with global dance institutions including the Bolshoi Ballet, traveling frequently and sitting on numerous juries in Asia and Europe. This will be his first lecture and workshop series in the United States, offering a rare window into the contemporary arts culture of China.

Phone Number: 
(212) 854-2592