Choreography and the Element of Surprise

It was roughly forty years ago and I was developing my skills as a dancer and choreographer. I heard that Jennifer Muller and The Works was giving a summer choreography workshop and decided to attend.  (If you click on the link for Jennifer and her company you will get some inkling about why a young artist would […]

Memories of Concert Dance in China

Image of Concert Dance and the Dragon

In the New York Times, I see an article dated October 10, 2021. The headline says, “China Flexes Power over Taiwan”. This island has moved to the heart of tensions between our two countries. Could it really come to war? It’s been 12 years since I traveled to China with my company, Concert Dance. We […]

Concert Dance Cultural Exchange in China

June 2009 – After two years of planning, fundraising, and rehearsing, Concert Dance, Inc was finally on its way to China. We were at O’Hare airport waiting for our flight to China, where there was a SARS flu alert. A scratchy voice from United Air Lines over the intercom announced, ” If any of you […]

Terra Cotta Soldier Dance

As I view the dancers in the video below, I’m struck by their generosity and skill. Jorge on the right of the screen and Garrent on the left are learning a dance titled “The Terracotta Soldier” from the Chinese dancer in the center (for more about the Chinese Terra Cotta Army of soldiers go to […]

The Missing Coffee Cup

dancer with leg held high

Unfortunately, my efforts to communicate on this trip were less successful. Each day, our group and our Chinese hosts ate our meals together in the campus hotel dinning room, where we were staying. The meals were generally the same each day. Mysteriously non-western, with mostly unrecognizable ingredients. Most of the company were open to trying […]