With sincerity and professional quality, dancers from a New York City company did more than just perform Saturday in Ryan Family Auditorium – they taught and inspired.
A group from H.T. Chen and Dancers, a New York City-based dance company directed by H.T. Chen, performed “Bamboo Oracle,” an hourlong program of dances and lecture-demonstrations that explore the qualities and virtues of bamboo in Chinese culture.
As a choreographer, Chen is known for his ability to mix the aspects of modern dance, an American concept, with Chinese culture. He said the combination can be challenging, but it’s a good way to introduce both elements to an audience.
The diversity in Saturday’s audience was “amazing,” said Peggy Su Chung, programming chairwoman of the Asian American Advisory Board, which sponsored the event. About 100 people attended the event.
“It was young people, old people, families, people of different backgrounds,” Chung said of the audience.
During the show, Chen invited a group of nine Northwestern students, including Chung, to join him onstage to demonstrate movements.
“He made you feel like you could dance,” said Chung, a Weinberg junior.
The other eight members of the company also brought energy to the stage with a program focused on performance and education. Showcasing the company’s rich Chinese heritage, the dancers wore traditional and modern costumes and used traditional and modern props.
“It was interesting to see the fusion of martial arts and dance,” said Weinberg senior Kevin Su, a member of AAAB’s executive board.
The lecture-demonstrations brought the audience to its feet to participate in exercises on flexibility and balance. More volunteers also climbed onstage to experiment with bamboo props.
Evanston resident Sona Wang said she saw posters in town about the event and decided to bring her two young daughters. The girls bounded to the stage for several of the lecture-demonstrations. Wang said she enjoyed the show because of its high quality and educational aspects.
Another audience member, Alex Yu, waited until after the show to speak with Chen, whom he had met during the company’s residency at Columbia Dance Center in Chicago. Yu said he consulted Chen when volunteering to form Riksha, a Chicago-based Asian-American arts and literature group.
“It’s a great program,” Yu said of Chen’s company.
The company spends its weekends with young people – usually working with about 250 people each weekend – and often holds weeklong residencies with schools, said Yula Chin, one of the dancers who narrated the show. The longer stays allow the group to focus on more community building, she said.
