Asia's leading contemporary dance company performs the American premiere of Wild Cursive/Final Chapter of Cursive: A Trilogy, co-commissioned by The Dance Center, the last section of Lin Hwai-min's much-acclaimed trilogy inspired by calligraphy. Performances are scheduled for Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Harris Theater for Music and Danc, 205 E. Randolph. Tickets are $18-$48, with discounts available for Columbia students.
This astonishing new work is influenced by kuang chao (wild calligraphy), considered the pinnacle of Chinese cursive aesthetics, in which all rules are broken and the characters freed from any set form. Giant cascading scrolls of rice paper are the sole set decoration, as black ink seeps slowly onto the paper creating wild abstract patterns. The subtle slow motions and dynamite attacks of the dancers, whose training includes modern dance, classical ballet, meditation, martial arts, and tai chi tao yin, echo the serpentine lines creating spellbinding movements and lyrical flows within a forest of ink. DanceMasters Class with Associate Artistic Director Lee Ching-Chun Wednesday, October 11, 6:00 - 8:00 Dance Studio at The Cultural Center (DCA) Pre-Performance Talks Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m.