Dancers' Group, in partnership with ZiRu Dance, has received a $50,000 award from the U.S. State Department and the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing in support of its yearlong cultural exchange with China.
The exchange involves seven American choreographers and seven partnering organizations in Beijing, Yunnan, and Daqing, working together "to build greater cross-cultural understanding and cooperation through the medium of dance." The exchange begins this month as the first of American choreographers travels to teach in China. Each will lead students in a series of workshops focusing on modern, contemporary ballet and hip hop dance techniques.
The participating choreographers are Karah Abiog, director of Alonzo King/LINES Ballet's Training Program; Charles O. Anderson, professor of African Diaspora Dance Studies and the MFA coordinator in Dance at the University of Texas at Austin; Aleta Hayes, lecturer in Contemporary Dance and Performance at Stanford University; Jennifer Harrison Newman, resident artistic director at Franco Dragone Entertainment Group; Scott Putman, professor of Dance at Virginia Commonwealth University and the founder of Amaranth Contemporary Dance; Kelly Wadlegger, director of Dance at the Western Academy of Beijing; and Philein Wang, founder and artistic director of ZiRu Dance.
The exchange will conclude with a VIP reception at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and a three-city tour of public performances in June, ZiRu Dance in Beijing, Xishuangbanna and Daqing; the following month, the company will return for performances in the U.S.
The Chinese partners in this exchange include: Beijing Normal University, Western Academy of Beijing, LDTX/Beijing Dance, Daqing Cultural Group, Daqing Opera House, Yunnan Han-Fu Tong Culture Communication Company, and No. 11 International High School Hip Hop Dance Club.