Turning Point Ensemble & Wen Wei Dance Present The Premiere Of FLYING WHITE

Experience two of Vancouver's most extraordinarily talented companies in the world of music and dance, Turning Point Ensemble and Wen Wei Dance combine their artistic talents in creating a new signature piece, Flying white - 飞白, premiering at the SFU Fei & Milton Wong Experimental Theatre for three performances only - Jan. 31 & Feb. 1st at 7:30pm and Feb. 2nd at 2pm.

"Flying white" is a rare and extraordinary form of Chinese calligraphy that jumps and leaps on the paper surface in graceful beautiful strokes, the black ink revealing a white background. The motion and aesthetic of this calligraphy and the philosophy of the elements-wood, fire, earth, metal, and water- are the foundations for the artistic vision of Flying white - 飞白. Mobile and delicate, flying white is like meteors passing through the sky, or hair fluttering in the wind. The piece explores the space between black and white, inhale and exhale, east and west, and sound and movement.

Turning Point Ensemble and Wen Wei Dance are collaborating in this new signature project that will integrate six dancers and an intercultural ensemble of twelve musicians. The new work has newly composed music by Dorothy Chang and Owen Underhill, played by an intercultural ensemble of western and Chinese traditional instruments drawn from the Turning Point Ensemble and Taipei's Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra. The ensemble of 12 musicians will interact on stage with the dancers and with representations of elements including rice, paper, water, silk, and ink.

Both Wen Wei Wang and Owen Underhill had a similar vision of their collaboration. "It will not be a traditional dance piece with musical accompaniment" stated Wang and Underhill. "Rather it will be a layered work where the music and dance are interweaved and on equal footing, realizing a music and dance of common innovation. We will strive to be meaningful and different from the norm, unlocking for the audience a deeper relationship between music and dance, and exploring common feelings encompassing both art forms. The work will explore the cross-cultural links that are especially rich in the cultural ecology of Vancouver and are imbedded in unique ways in the work of the individual artists."

The concept endorsed and proposed by Wen Wei is to have the musicians on stage so that they will be integrated visually and to some extent choreographically into the work. His choreography will reflect his Chinese heritage and his new Canadian culture, including elements of Tai Chi, Martial Arts, Peking Opera and contemporary dance technique.

This is an opportunity to awaken your senses to the beauty of the art forms dance and music in a truly unique way.

For tickets & information visit https://pushfestival.ca/shows/flying-white-

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