PEKING OPERA MATINÉE 2022
A CELEBRATION OF ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH
SUNDAY MAY 22, 2022
Academic Hall, Univeristy of Ottawa
2022 PROGRAM
The program featured “The Romance of the Western Chamber” a fusion of Yue and Peking Opera (William Lau, Wei Meng, Catherine Chen and Emma Qian) and two excerpts of Peking Opera: “Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers” (William Lau and the Little Pear Garden Dance Company), and “Mulan Joins the Army” (William Lau). The Little Pear Garden Dance company also performed two additional dance works “Caiwei” and “The Fair Ladies”. The program also showcased musicians Patty Chan and Marjolaine Fournier who performed a selection of Chinese music on various instruments.
Master of Ceremony Marjolaine Fournier.
THE PERFORMERS
William Lau is a graduate of York University’s Master of Fine Arts program in dance. A refined performer, he was trained in both Chinese traditional dance and Western classical ballet and now specializes in the Dan (female roles) in Chinese opera. William has been an ambassador for Chinese performing arts for the past 25 years, conducting workshops, lectures and demonstrations at various academic institutions and artistic companies as well as museums and cultural organizations and has shared the richness of Chinese dance and opera with a wide range of audiences nationally and internationally. He has pushed the boundaries of traditional art practices by collaborating with professional artists of different artistic disciplines and diverse cultural backgrounds.
Laura Astwood is a creator and performer of original theatre works as well as a coach and teacher of physical theatre skills. She has led numerous stilt workshops in Ottawa and elsewhere, specializing in teaching the use of stilts as a theatrical tool. She was the Artistic Director of the Ottawa Stilt Union for 9 years. With the OSU she was involved in the creation of 20 original performances and performance events. In Ottawa, Laura has also collaborated with Zoopyra Productions to create Six: at Home, a site-specific work that won two Rideaux Awards, and with Two Little Birds on and then it happens, which appeared in the 2012 Undercurrents Festival. In 2013 Laura directed Occupy Me, a play by Bronwyn Steinberg & Sarah Waiswisz which was performed at the Ottawa Fringe Festival, the Hamilton Fringe Festival and various other venues in Canada and the US. Laura collaborated with Sarah Conn on Split, produced by STO Union for the 2015 SubDevision Festival.
Representing Chinese Operatic Dance
Justin Lui was born in Toronto and began dancing at age 13, learning Chinese classical and folk dance at Norman Dance Company. He has since trained in a variety of Chinese ethnic dances, classical ballet, and street dance styles. He has performed with the Little Pear Garden Dance Company under Artistic Director Emily Cheung and Toronto International Ballet Theatre under Artistic Director Tatiana Stepanova. Justin has a Master of Public Health degree from Western University and works as a program evaluator in the not-for-profit sector.
Marjolaine Fournier A graduate of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec, Marjolaine has been a member of the double bass section of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1991. Long-time cohost of the podcast “Explore the Symphony”, she enjoys studying and playing music of times and places other than her own and is always ready to adopt a new sound. She is a member of the Toronto Chinese Orchestra and the children’s concert duo “Les Marjo”, dedicated to creating original kids’ musical adventures.
Representing Traditional Thai Dance
Kai Whitcomb is the Chairperson of the Council for Thai Culture Canada & the Director of Thai Dance Ottawa. Born in Bangkok, Thailand, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, married to Dr. Ed Whitcomb, immigrated to Canada, and founded the Thai Dance Ottawa in 1987. Kai has two daughters: Denise and Diana. Thai Dance Ottawa is one of the leading Thai performing arts groups in Canada. It is committed to the creation, development, and promotion of Thai classical and folk drama, music, and dance. The Troupe performed at numerous events in Ontario, Quebec, the USA, Italy, Trinidad, Jamaica, Indonesia, India, Myanmar, and Korea. Kai choreographed a 3-minute piece for Michael Jackson the Immortal World Tour 2011 with Cirque du Soleil. Kai is the first Asian-Canadian to win first prize in Step Dancing at the Stratford Step Dancing Competition. Kai is also the founder of the Thai Dance Troupe in Jakarta, New Delhi, Miami, and recently in Calgary.
Representing Indonesian Traditional Dance
Eko Nurcahyo is a traditional dancer and choreographer who was born in Yogyakarta in Indonesia. He graduated from the Institute of Art, Indonesia Yogyakarta, majoring in art performance, with expertise in mask dance, Yogyakarta style. Prior to coming to Canada, he was involved in many overseas performances including the Asia Helsinki Festival, Mundial Festival Tilburg Netherlands and Gangneung Festival in South Korea. Currently, he works as an Indonesian traditional dance instructor and choreographer at the Embassy of Indonesia in Ottawa.
Representing Traditional Korean Dance
Yeonji Hong is an award-winning Korean dance artist who received her PhD from the Sejong University in Seoul, South Korea in 2017. She has performed many classical repertoires such as “the Fan Dance”, “Taepyeongmu” and “Salpuri”. Dr. Hong was awarded the prestigious Presidential Award at the 22nd National Dance Festival in 2013. At the 28nd National University Dance Competition in 2010, she was awarded the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award for her solo work “Chungsan Gaja”. Dr. Hong combines traditional dance vocabularies with a modern perspective to express the deepest emotion and essence of beauty in Korean dance aesthetic. Since her arrival in Canada in 2018, she has performed in different venues across Ontario including Ottawa City Hall, Carleton Place in Lanark County, and the City of Brockville. She has also been teaching both dancing and drumming at the Korean Cultural Centre in Ottawa since 2019. Click to see a sample of the elegance of Korean Dance
THIS AFTERNOON IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE GRACIOUS SUPPORT OF