Interview: Theatre Life with Edwaard Liang

As fall finally starts to arrive here in DC, the Kennedy Center's dance season kicks into high gear bringing you dance companies from all over the country and the world.

One of our country's more famous ones, the San Francisco Ballet, will be performing two programs at the Kennedy Center's Opera House from October 23rd to the 28th. The programs consist of selected works from the company's Unbound: A Festival of New Works and are all East Coast premieres. One of the pieces, The Infinite Ocean, is choreographed by today's subject Edwaard Liang. Here we have a gentleman who has performed with and choreographed for companies all over the world. You might also have seen him in the PBS showing of the Broadway musical Fosse.

Mr. Liang was born in Taipei, Taiwan and raised in Marin County, California. He began his dance training at the age of five at Marin Ballet. In 1989, Mr. Liang entered the School of American Ballet. He joined New York City Ballet (NYCB) in the spring of 1993, and that same year, was a medal winner at the Prix de Lausanne International Ballet Competition and the Mae L. Wien Award. He was promoted to Soloist in 1998. In 2001, Edwaard joined the Tony Award-winning Broadway cast of Fosse, performing a leading principle role. In 2002, he was invited by Jiri Kylian to become a member of the acclaimed Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) 1. Dancing with NDT 1 is where he discovered his passion and love for choreography. After returning from Holland, Edwaard again danced with the New York City Ballet from 2004-2007.

He began his choreographic career with the NDT 1 workshop and his piece, Flight of Angels, has since been performed by various companies around the world. He was then invited to participate in the prestigious 2004 New York Choreographic Institute. That same year, Distant Cries, danced by NYCB Principal Dancers Peter Boal and Wendy Whelan, premiered to rave reviews from the New York Times and had performances at the Joyce Theatre, NYCB, and City Center.

Since establishing himself as a freelance choreographer, numerous companies around the world are performing his ballets. Some recent ones include Mariinsky Ballet, New York City Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, Shanghai Ballet, Washington Ballet, Hubbard Street 2. Singapore Dance Theatre, Dortmund Ballet, and the National Theatre in Beijing. In 2006, Edwaard was named one of the "TOP 25 to Watch" by Dance Magazine for choreography.

He was the winner of the 2006 National Choreographic Competition, and invited to be a part of the 2007 National Choreographers Initiative. Mr. Liang was also one of the winners of the Prince Prize Grant for Choreography and the Choo San Goh Award for Choreography. In 2008 and 2010, he was nominated for the Golden Mask Award in Russia for best new production and best choreographer.

Edwaard is also been featured in the New York City Ballet Workout book and its accompanying video and Richard Corman's book of photographs entitled Glory.

He is currently the Artistic Director for BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio.

San Francisco Ballet is one of the countries' best. To have a choreographer like Edwaard Liang represented as part of one of their programs shows you how the company never settles for second best.

With his extensive repertoire as a dancer and choreographer, it's easy to see how Edwaard Liang is living his theatre/dance life to the fullest.

At what age did you see your first ballet and what was it?

The first ballet my parents took me to was a performance by the Joffrey Ballet in San Francisco in 1982. The only piece that I remember from the program was Light Rain.

Of all the forms of dance that one can go into, why did you choose ballet?

It was a mutual choosing. I chose it and it also chose me. I love the challenge of it with the blending of athleticism and artistry. I knew I could develop things that others couldn't do.

Which of your teachers during had the biggest influence on you?

There were a bunch but the biggest would be Stanley Williams at School of American Ballet. His teaching me not only about technique, but also nuances, musicality, and the smallest movements were invaluable. His teaching wasn't only about how to do it, but to how do it at a high caliber. He was brilliant.

Can you please tell us about your piece, The Infinite Ocean, that San Francisco Ballet will be performing at Kennedy Center?

First of all, I was lucky enough to get Oliver Davis to compose the music for it. It's a new work about crossing over. It started because I was so inspired by one of Olofson's light photos. It looked like God's train station. It made me think that the stage is the in between [between Earth and Heaven] and the back of it is the great beyond. It's also a love poem to my dad who passed away before he could ever see the piece performed.

How do you best describe the music style of the piece?

It's pulsing, moving, and heartfelt. Oliver Davis has such a unique voice. Think of it as a blend of minimalist and Baroque - but it's his own blend of John Adams and Vivaldi. He is a great talent of the craft.

Was choreography something you always wanted to do or was it something that you fell into after becoming a dancer?

I fell into it but I fell in love with it. It was a dare.

You were part of the Broadway musical Fosse. What are some of the differences between putting a ballet and a Broadway show together?

The biggest difference was that I had five days to learn the show, which included my put in. Ann Reinking had seen me dance and offered me the job even though they knew the show was closing. It was going to be filmed for PBS and they needed to fill the slot. My big feature was "Percussion IV" from Dancin.

Here is the video of Edwaard Liang performing "Percussion IV" in Fosse as aired on PBS.

If possible, can you please pick a few of your favorite works as a dancer and as a choreographer?

As a dancer, Balanchine's Midsummer Night's Dream dancing Oberon, anything by Christopher Wheeldon, and, of course, Bill Forsythe's work. There are so many though. My career has taken me from Broadway to classical and I've performed the work of many great choreographers.

As a choreographer, it's always the piece I am working on at the time.

Special thanks to Kennedy Center's dance publicist Brittany Laeger for her assistance in coordinating this interview.

Additional assistance was provided by Edwaard Liang's assistant Rebecca Mix.

Theatre life logo designed by Kevin Laughon.

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