Students doing a preliminary selection for a major dance competition later this year
This piece was about the economic crisis. Two buddies who used to invest together start beating each other up after the stocks fall. Actually a very moving and well-done piece by two students.
Last day of Chinese sword class with my teacher Zhang laoshi
Teaching Latin dance to kiddies at the "HuaYi Beiwu" dance school
The Paso Doble routine is everyone's favorite
Report to parents on the students' progress
Building 1 Entrance 3 Room 316 bedroom B: my home sweet home for the past year at the Dance Academy
my jewelry collection
this jade plant has been with me since the Tsinghua days... almost 2 years now!
The view out my window (into Minzu Daxue across the street)
excellent closet space
and that's not including all the stuff in the drawers!
my workshop
the door across the hall goes into my roommate's room
our foyer / living room / dining room
kitchen
details of daily life
A "Maishelaipu" party hosted by the Xinjiang students at our school in concert with the department for ethnic and folk dance
My friend, a dancer in the Xinjiang Song and Dance Company
a crowd of students from the dance academy attached middle school enjoying the show
That's me in the purple pants next to my friend Haster it the black leather jacket. The two foreigners next to me are visiting choreographers and dance students scholars
More dancing
This is a husband and wife team, both doing advanced studies at the dance academy before heading back to their company in Xinjiang
This is part of the "whipping" dance, which all about flirtation and inuendo
A budding choreographer friend
Students in the ethnic dance major who helped with the show
On my way to a dinner, a random street lined with roses
and my flowery shirt to match!
late night snack on the birthday, between preparing for the big talk of course
"Dance, Cultivation and Social Change in China" third in series of three talks by Emily Wilcox, future scholar of Chinese dance!
with Professor Liu Zheng'ai, who invited me to speak
Hanging out after the talk... finally a real birthday celebration!
Rehearsal for "DanceCross," an international research and dance creation project sponsored by the British Council for the Arts which I'm working on at the Dance Academy this month. I'm the main translator the foreign choreographers creating works for Chinese dancers.
Make it all make sense between the two languages is not easy sometimes...
The woman on the left is the first of four foreign choreographers these dancers will be working with over the next five months
Avatara, the amazing and tireless teaching assistant
These dancers are all stars in Chinese dance but not trained in modern dance, so working on this piece is definitely a challenge for them.
Finally a chance to rest after two weeks of rehearsal
Watching and translating at rehearsal everyday I really got a sense of the mysterious process by which a piece of dance art comes into existence
An exhibit on the history of Beijing Dance Academy, for international museum day
Sword dance class back in the day
Early Dance Drama "The Peace Dove"
Red silk scarves dance was the most popular dance piece in the 1950s, it was created to celebrate the liberation of the Chinese people
"Laundry Song," another extremely popular song made into a dance and performed all over the country during the 1950s and early 60s
the newest addition to the Red Detachment
Putting on my meanest face for the evil landlord
A scene from the movie _The East is Red_. The sign reads "Government of the Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers"
A talk on how to appreciate Chinese painting... this is the professor who reminded me that kooky professor-types are charming
