Variations in a Foreign Land V by David Lipfert

Variations in a Foreign Land III by Henry Baumgartner

New Works Deal With Alienation And Tiananmen by Jack Anderson

A Curiosity Shop of Sound and Motion by Jack Anderson

©2002 by David Lipfert
Yangtze Repertory Theatre continues to keep us current on new choreography by Chinese and Chinese-American artists. The latest installment at Pace University's Schimmel Center in May included works by Cha-Lee Chan and YiLing Li. The audience at the performance I attended would be the envy of many a dance company. Extended families from toddlers to grandparents were in attendance to give an enthusiastic reception to the works, which combined traditional themes with updated aesthetics.
        Cha-Lee Chan has been actively choreographing in New York for the past decade after studies here and in Hong Kong. She has also contributed to earlier editions of Variations in a Foreign Land and stage productions like the much-loved Eternal Garne as Yangtze Rep's resident choreographer. In Rhythms for four women Chan explored traditional gesture and body placement while progressing from simple to complex movements. Don't think that this was a simple lecture-demo, because Chan favored a small flourish to conclude each gesture. Shifting weight from side to side was the basis for elegant posturing first seated then standing. Unison movement, that bane of Chinese spectacles for Western audiences, was frequently parsed with counterpoint-like alternating sequences. Eight women combined forces for Mountain Flowers, an exploration of varied fan usage to traditional folk music. The most adventurous piece was Romance of the Handkerchief, for five women in white beginning with red handkerchiefs covering their heads. After individuals traverse the stage, interactions among the dancers involve peering out from under the head covers and manipulating the handkerchiefs. At times Chan's modernist schema for this last piece reminded this viewer of Guangdong Modern Dance Company's stark but intriguing works. Dana Sterling contributed the excellent lighting.

New York Dance Fax, December 2000

Review

Performed at Pace Downtown Theater Reviewed on 9/9/00 by Henry Baumgartner Translated by Akiko Nishijima

Dance

Chan's "Young Heart--Revisited" starts out with a bunch of old people hobbling about with canes. Suddenly the music comes on--a Mozart symphony played by a koto ensemble, of all things--and the people throw away their heavy coats and canes, grab teddy bears, and turn into little kids. But at the end, alas, they're old again.

THE NEW YORK TIMES THE ARTS SATURDAY MARCH 2, 1991

New Works Deal With Alienation And Tiananmen

By JACK ANDERSON

The sixth annual Morningside Dance Festival opened Monday night at the Theater of the Riverside Church. The program was a jumble. Yet it c did include a f ew solidly crafted pieces.

The festival, which is under the artistic direction of of Nancy Brooks Schmitz, is sponsored by the Program in Dance and Dance Education of Teachers College of Columbia University, and it gives creative opportunities to both new and experienced choreographers. The results over the years have varied wildly In quality.

The opening bill's most striking work was Cha-lee Chan's "3:45 A.M. at the Square." in which seven dancers marched bravely into the night to confront the forces of oppression. The work was obviously inspired by the student protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. But it was also a tribute to people anywhere who struggle to bring light out of darkness.

Dances on social or political issues are sometimes disparagingly called choreographic equivalents of poster art. But that term should not be use only in censure. There can be well-designed posters supporting noble causes. This dance was poster art of that kind.

Reviews/Dance

A Curiosity Shop Of Sound and Motion

By JACK ANDERSON

Festivals, by definition, ought to be special events. But on Wednesday night at the Horace Mann Theater, Festival Showcase II only intermittently looked special. As a result, this program -- a presentation of the Morningside Dance Festival of Columbia University Teachers College -- was a showcase that had far too many trinkets on display.

Among the dances that did hold the attention was "Last Night," choreographed and performed by Cha-Lee Chan. Sitting in a chair, lost in thought, she slowly raised a hand to her forehead, then got up and danced with an invisible partner to music by Zhi Yuan Chen. If it was impossible to say precisely what experience was being recalled, the solo's intensity suggested that it was a meaningful one.