Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House,
Covent Garden, Bow Street, London WC2E 9DD
16th - 18th February 2007
Chinatown Arts Space (CAS) is proud to present our second annual Chinatown Arts Festival, in partnership with the Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House.
Featuring the best of British East Asian Dance, Theatre and Music, this 3 day Festival celebrates the East Asian idea of ‘The Circle’ uniting contemporary and traditional artforms, East and West, Yin and Yang, with performances and workshops from established and exciting new companies.
LINBURY STUDIO THEATRE performances, 7.30pm
- Red by Cody Ka Lok Choi
[ZO]_2 by Anh Ngoc Nguyen
Fire of Hope by Sin-Man Yue
of New Orient Dance Company (NODC) - Jie-Qing 2007 by Taipei Folk
Dance Theatre
(presented by Step Out Arts)
- NODC aims to combine the dance cultures of East and West, fusing East Asian influences with the sensibility of living in the UK. Red explores Hong Kong in the 1960’s, a time of mystery, romance, beauty, elegance and modesty. [Zo]_2 is a sinuous and dynamic duet around the beauty and value of tradition, by award-winning choreographer Anh Ngoc Nguyen, fusing Vietnamese folk with contemporary dance. Fire of Hope combines a modern sensibility with the unique dance style of the Miao people from Yunnan in China.
- Jie-Qing or 'Festival Celebration' is an annual Taiwanese dance project by Step Out Arts to coincide with Chinese New Year. Taipei Folk Dance Theatre was founded in 1988 and aims to preserve and promote the beauty of aboriginal Taiwanese ethnic dance and culture. The programme ranges from gracious meditative Buddhist dance to humorous folk romance, exciting Kung-Fu dance and joyful Temple dance-ritual.
- A Dream of Butterfly by TiAT Moo, directedby Myung Hee Han
- Parting at the Kiln (Pinggui Bieyao 平贵别窑) by London Jing Kun Opera Association (LJKOA)
- Peace Pagoda, Act 1 by Andy Cheung, directed by Philippe Cherbonnier
- TiAT Moo is a British Korean performance group.Inspired by the Chinese story Dream of Butterfly by Chan Zu, A Dream of Butterfly is an object theatre live art performance, exploring the space between life and death, illusion and reality. In an installation constructed entirely of paper – itself a metaphor for the human life cycle – the process demands the ‘presence’ of the audience and resists exoticising the seductive aesthetic and mythical philosophy of the East. The pieceinvites the audience to reflect, providing an environment for a ‘meditation on life’.
- LJKOA promotes the understanding and practice of Chinese Jingju and Kunqu Operas. Parting at the Kiln shows Xue hurrying back to the kiln to bid Wang good-bye before his departure for the battlefront. This episode is well known for its moving arias and choreographic movements, displaying both military crispness and tender lyricism. Performed in full costumes with projected English surtitles.
- Peace Pagoda, Act 1 is a special preview of a new play developed through Yellow Ink and presented by Andy Cheung in association with Yellow Earth Theatre. Inspired by the true story of the Peace Pagoda in London's Battersea Park, this enchanting tale focuses on a civil servant's encounter with Buddhist monks that leads him on a search for both inner and outer peace...plus his missing clipboard. Music, song and dance combine in a fun and dramatic celebration of one of the capital's major cultural landmarks.
- The Silk String Quartet (TSSQ): innovative classics (presented by China Arts)
- Big Yellow: “blissed out” indie guitar band
- Frank Chickens / Kazuko Hohki: pop cabaret
- TSSQ is the premier Chinese string ensemble in Europe and performs contemporary works, fresh interpretations of traditional music and cross-cultural music creations. They are currently working with the former Blur frontman, Damon Albarn, on an opera-circus spectacular, ‘Monkey – Journey to The West’. The programme includes the London premiere of an exciting new composition by Mo Fan, plus regional music from China including Uyghur, folk, classical and civil style.
- Big Yellow is a contemporary rock 4-piece band. They have been described as ‘blissed out indie rockers’ and play on the North London gig circuit, the natural melting pot for many of today's chart bands. Their performance is characterised by jazz-influenced drumming, rhythmic bass playing, alarmingly catchy keyboards and manically intense guitar playing - always a hit with the crowd. Comparisons have been made to New Order, Talk Talk, Smashing Pumpkins and Inspiral Carpets, however the band would rather you made up your own mind!
- Frank Chickens is a pop cabaret performance group with quirky and (mostly) original songs merging East and West in a charming and provocatively idiosyncratic way, led by Kazuko Hohki. Their live set is eye-catching, with songs, stories and costume changes every time you turn your back. And sometimes when you don't! Founded in 1982, they had an independent chart hit with ‘We are Ninja’ (remixed collection released in 2000) and have released 5 albums. They recently appeared in ‘The Singer and the Songs’ produced by Home at the Theatre Museum.
LINBURY
FOYER, Family Workshops
(minimum age 5 yrs)
Friday 16 February
1.45 - 2.45pm Chinese Ribbon Dancing with Maggie Kwan
3.15 - 4.15pm Japanese Ogres & Other Monsters
with A Thousand Cranes Theatre
4.45 - 5.45pm Chinese Paper Cutting with Zong Mei
Xia
Saturday 17 February
1.30 - 3.30pm Chinese Face Painting with
London Jing Kun Opera Assoc.
4.00 - 5.30pm Japanese Origami Fun with Kumiko Mendl
Sunday 18 February
1.30 - 2.30pm Chinese Music Melodies with
Cheng Yu
3.00 - 4.00pm Create Andersen’s magical The Nightingale
with Yellow Earth Theatre
4.30 - 5.30pm Chinese Paper Cutting with Zong Mei
Xia
In April and May 2007 more East Asian Cultural Workshops will take place in community centres and libraries across the City of Westminster.
BOOKING INFORMATION
Performances: £10
adult, £5 child, £8 students & ROH2
access list
Family workshops: £3
ROH2 Box Office: 020 7304 4000
www.roh.org.uk
Supported by ROH2
Funded by Westminster City Council & National
Lottery through Arts Council England
Sponsored by Shaftesbury PLC
Part of ‘China in London, 2007’ season
Click here to download
the A5 flyer (pdf file)
Click here to download
the A3 poster(pdf file)
Click here to
download the press release (word doc)
DANCE
Red, Fire of Hope and Cham’s Soul by New Orient
Red, by Hong Kong and UK trained choreographer Cody Choi, is contemporary
dance using Hong Kong 1960s culture as well as aspects of modern, urban
life, set to a variety of music, ranging from 1960s Chinese opera, to
sound tracks of popular 1950s Hong Kong films to Western Latin music
and modern pop songs. Fire of Hope, by China-born, Hong Kong raised and
London based choreographer Sin-Man Yue, combines modern dance language
to depict the unique rhythms and movements reflecting the moods and passion
of the Miao people from Yunnan Province in southern China. Cham’s Soul,
by ballet trained Vietnamese choreographer Anh Ngoc Nguyen, draws the
inspiration from ancient Vietnamese Champa’s Sculpture and attempts to
reveal its strength, beauty, and mysticism as well as bring out its spirit
and live within which contrasts itself as a still object.
Jie-Qing Festival 2007 by
Taipei Folk Dance Theatre
Jie-Qing Festival 2007 is performed by internationally acclaimed visiting
Taipei Folk Dance Theatre and presented by Step Out Arts. The performance
includes five folk dances showcasing varied dances from the heritage
of the island’s colourful ethnic aboriginal tribes, influenced by Chinese
traditional dance.
THEATRE
A Dream of Butterfly by TiAT Moo
/ Myung Hee Han
An object theatre piece, integrating elements like site specific, audience integration,
ritual, and installation arts, by Korean performing group TiAT Moo, whose artistic
director is Myung Hee Han. Inspired by the famous Chinese story of ChanZu Dream
of Butterfly, this performance explores the liminal space between life and death,
illusion and reality with a very personal but also social association. The performance
is just made of paper and transforms constantly with audience participating in
the changes.
Bie
Yao: Parting at the Klim by London Jing Kun Opera Association
A Chinese ‘jing kun’ style opera excerpt with newly edited script and
music writing, and modified music accompaniment. It tells the story of
a prime minister’s daughter - Wang Baochuan, and her pauper turned general
husband - Xue Pinggui. This opera excerpt conveys the rich symbolism of
this traditional art form: black and white costumes and straight and round/semi-circular
movements, as well as the concept of ‘the circle’: yin and yang, female
and male, the part and the whole, separation and reunion.
Peace Pagoda (Act One) by Andy Cheung and Philippe Cherbonnier
This is a 40 minute preview of the first act of Andy’s newly written theatrical
piece with music and songs, inspired by a Japanese true story which follows
the universal search for inner peace. Andy attempts to transform Linbury’s
stage into a surreal park with miniature cherry blossoms and spring bulbs
in bloom around a central focal point, Battersea Park, where the peace
pagoda is built.
MUSIC
String Circles by Silk String Quartet
Silk String Quart comprises four virtuoso Chinese musicians who perform
both traditional and modern music with traditional instruments: Cheng
Yu [pipa (4-stringed lute)], Sun Zhuo [quzheng (21-stringed zither)],
Qiu Zenghui [erhu (2-stringed violin)], and Zhou Yinyan [yangqin (hammered
dulcimer)]. The Quartet will perform a diverse range of traditional and
contemporary repertoires which include new compositions by composers
from both East and West such as Mo Fan (China), Minoro Miki (Japan),
and Basil Athanasiadis (Europe) with guest erhu master Men Hui-Fen from
Shanghai and a London based Chinese wind-instrument player.
Big Yellow
Big Yellow is a contemporary pop/rock 4-piece band consists of Nick,
Cyril, Ben, and Jeremy. Jeremy hails from New Zealand, whilst Nick, Cyril,
and Ben are all of Chinese descent. The bands performance is characterised
by Jeremy’s jazz-influenced drumming, Nick’s rhythmic bass playing, Ben’s
alarmingly catchy Keyboards, and Cyril’s manically intense guitar playing.
They will play a 30 minute set, with 8-9 songs that are all original
compositions.
Kazuko Hohki is a versatile artist. She is an artist, singer, musician,
animator, director, performer, storyteller, writer, and film maker. She
has won a Total Theatre Award and Herald Angel Award at the 2005 Edinburgh
Fringe Festival. Kazuko will give a lively and communicative performance
of singing, dancing, and rapid costume change with idiosyncratic pop
songs.
