CELEBRASIAN
DANCE 2024
coming soon!
Fall 2024
CHINESE OPERA DANCE
The Autumn River
featuring William Lau, Laura Astwood and Marjolaine Fournier on percussion
THAI DANCE
The Capture of Benjagai
featuring Kai Whitcomb
INDONESIAN DANCE
Klana Topeng Sewandono,
featuring Eko Nurcahyo
KOREAN DANCE
Samgomu, and Buchaechum,
featuring Yeonji Hong
CHINESE OPERA DANCE
Rainbow Pass
featuring William Lau and Justin Lui
THE PERFORMERS
William Lau is a graduate of York University’s Master of Fine Arts program in dance. A refined performer, he was trained in both Chinese traditional dance and Western classical ballet and now specializes in the Dan (female roles) in Chinese opera. William has been an ambassador for Chinese performing arts for the past 25 years, conducting workshops, lectures and demonstrations at various academic institutions and artistic companies as well as museums and cultural organizations and has shared the richness of Chinese dance and opera with a wide range of audiences nationally and internationally. He has pushed the boundaries of traditional art practices by collaborating with professional artists of different artistic disciplines and diverse cultural backgrounds.
Laura Astwood is a creator and performer of original theatre works as well as a coach and teacher of physical theatre skills. She has led numerous stilt workshops in Ottawa and elsewhere, specializing in teaching the use of stilts as a theatrical tool. She was the Artistic Director of the Ottawa Stilt Union for 9 years. With the OSU she was involved in the creation of 20 original performances and performance events. In Ottawa, Laura has also collaborated with Zoopyra Productions to create Six: at Home, a site-specific work that won two Rideaux Awards, and with Two Little Birds on and then it happens, which appeared in the 2012 Undercurrents Festival. In 2013 Laura directed Occupy Me, a play by Bronwyn Steinberg & Sarah Waiswisz which was performed at the Ottawa Fringe Festival, the Hamilton Fringe Festival and various other venues in Canada and the US. Laura collaborated with Sarah Conn on Split, produced by STO Union for the 2015 SubDevision Festival.
Representing Chinese Operatic Dance
Justin Lui was born in Toronto and began dancing at age 13, learning Chinese classical and folk dance at Norman Dance Company. He has since trained in a variety of Chinese ethnic dances, classical ballet, and street dance styles. He has performed with the Little Pear Garden Dance Company under Artistic Director Emily Cheung and Toronto International Ballet Theatre under Artistic Director Tatiana Stepanova. Justin has a Master of Public Health degree from Western University and works as a program evaluator in the not-for-profit sector.
Marjolaine Fournier A graduate of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec, Marjolaine has been a member of the double bass section of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1991. Long-time cohost of the podcast “Explore the Symphony”, she enjoys studying and playing music of times and places other than her own and is always ready to adopt a new sound. She is a member of the Toronto Chinese Orchestra and the children’s concert duo “Les Marjo”, dedicated to creating original kids’ musical adventures.
Representing Traditional Thai Dance
Kai Whitcomb is the Chairperson of the Council for Thai Culture Canada & the Director of Thai Dance Ottawa. Born in Bangkok, Thailand, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, married to Dr. Ed Whitcomb, immigrated to Canada, and founded the Thai Dance Ottawa in 1987. Kai has two daughters: Denise and Diana. Thai Dance Ottawa is one of the leading Thai performing arts groups in Canada. It is committed to the creation, development, and promotion of Thai classical and folk drama, music, and dance. The Troupe performed at numerous events in Ontario, Quebec, the USA, Italy, Trinidad, Jamaica, Indonesia, India, Myanmar, and Korea. Kai choreographed a 3-minute piece for Michael Jackson the Immortal World Tour 2011 with Cirque du Soleil. Kai is the first Asian-Canadian to win first prize in Step Dancing at the Stratford Step Dancing Competition. Kai is also the founder of the Thai Dance Troupe in Jakarta, New Delhi, Miami, and recently in Calgary.
Representing Indonesian Traditional Dance
Eko Nurcahyo is a traditional dancer and choreographer who was born in Yogyakarta in Indonesia. He graduated from the Institute of Art, Indonesia Yogyakarta, majoring in art performance, with expertise in mask dance, Yogyakarta style. Prior to coming to Canada, he was involved in many overseas performances including the Asia Helsinki Festival, Mundial Festival Tilburg Netherlands and Gangneung Festival in South Korea. Currently, he works as an Indonesian traditional dance instructor and choreographer at the Embassy of Indonesia in Ottawa.
Representing Traditional Korean Dance
Yeonji Hong is an award-winning Korean dance artist who received her PhD from the Sejong University in Seoul, South Korea in 2017. She has performed many classical repertoires such as “the Fan Dance”, “Taepyeongmu” and “Salpuri”. Dr. Hong was awarded the prestigious Presidential Award at the 22nd National Dance Festival in 2013. At the 28nd National University Dance Competition in 2010, she was awarded the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award for her solo work “Chungsan Gaja”. Dr. Hong combines traditional dance vocabularies with a modern perspective to express the deepest emotion and essence of beauty in Korean dance aesthetic. Since her arrival in Canada in 2018, she has performed in different venues across Ontario including Ottawa City Hall, Carleton Place in Lanark County, and the City of Brockville. She has also been teaching both dancing and drumming at the Korean Cultural Centre in Ottawa since 2019. Click to see a sample of the elegance of Korean Dance
THE STORIES
Autumn River (a bilingual Peking opera)
William Lau as the nun / Laura Astwood as the boatman / Percussion by Marjolaine Fournier
This is a story concerning the love between a young scholar and a beautiful Buddhist nun. This excerpt depicts the young nun hailing a passing boat at the riverbank to chase her lover who has suddenly left. The humorous boatman teases the nun with jokes while rowing hard in order that she may be reunited with her lover. There is no need for surtitles as this excerpt is a Mandarin and English bilingual interpretation with numerous contemporary references. On stage, there is no boat and no river but through the performers’ pantomime and with the audience’s imagination, we can witness the imaginary tiny boat navigating the river. For this repertoire, we have incorporated a live music percussion accompaniment which enhances and accentuates the movements.
Klana Topeng Sewandono
A dance that depicts King Sewandana who is in love with queen Galuh's Candrakirana from Kediri Kingdom. The story was taken from Cerita Panji, a Javanese classical story of love and heroism. Klana Topeng Sewandono Dance was created in 1586 by Sunan Kalijaga, one of the nine of Islamic missionaries on Java Island, who had a keen interest in arts.
At the beginning, the dance was very popular among the lower-class people, but then, In the 18th century, Sultan Hamengkubuwono I of the Palace of Yogyakarta developed the dance, and made the dance became as a Tari Kraton (Royal Court Dance). Klana means to wander, Topeng means mask, and Sewandono is the name of the king of Bhantarangin Kingdom, Prabu Sewandono. The story was taken from Cerita Panji, a Javanese classical story of love and heroism.
The Capture of Benjagai
Benjagai is one of a character in the Epic Ramakien, derived from the Hindu Epic Ramayana. She has ability to transform herself into any magical and powerful creature. Her beauty mesmerizes everyone and prompt them to surrender to her charm.
Benjagai disguised herself as Sida, King Rama's wife. Pretended to be dead and floated along the river where Rama and his army were resting. Rama saw the floating body and thought it was his wife Sida. Hanuman suspected that this Sida must be the demon in disguise since the corpse was not decaying and was floating against the current. Hanuman proposed to burn the body to determine if this was the real Sida. Rama agreed to set up the cremation site. Benjagai could not withstand the fire and escaped. Hanuman went after Benjagai to capture her for the crime she had committed.
Samgomu
Samgomu, also known as Sambuk, is a Korean traditional dance. Representing the spirit of Korean dance with its sophisticated and united movements, Samgomu has each performer surrounded by three beautiful drums. Dancers hold two drumsticks to play various, complex rhythms, which are artfully balanced by wonderful dance movements to create an exciting performance. Samgomu exemplifies the dynamics of Korean dance with its synchronized movements
Buchaechum
Buchaechum, called fan dance, is a Korean fan dance originating from various traditional and religious Korean dances. Buchaechum was created in 1954 by dancer Kim Baek-bong, who drew influences from both Korean shamanic ritual dances and traditional Joseon court and folk dances. Dancers use large fans painted with pink peony blossoms to create various formations that represent images such as birds, flowers, butterflies, dragons and waves. The dance is known for showcasing the elegant and graceful aspects of classical technique in a format suitable for modern audiences.
Rainbow Pass (Peking opera)
William Lau as the widow / Justin Lui as the young general
This excerpt depicts a widow who just lost her husband and is chasing the killer, seeking revenge. However, when she meets the handsome general who killed her husband, the widow is attracted by his good looks and has second thoughts and a change of heart. She begins to flirt with the young man, compares him to various historical heroes, expresses her love of his gorgeousness and finally proposes marriage to him! The handsome general however, does not give in easily and they enter a combat. Let's see who will win this battle and if the widow will get her wish at the end! One special aspect of this performance is the “lotus shoes” worn by the widow. A technique rarely seen on the current stage, these theatrical shoes represent the bound feet that were the beauty standard of the time.
THIS AFTERNOON IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE GRACIOUS SUPPORT OF