Contemporary dance artist Wayson Poon has been carrying out his on-going movement research based on Qi, Liquid Body and 5 Rhythms(R) starting from 2016. He attempts to develop his own language and dynamics. In the past two months, he travelled between the rehearsal room and nature, trying to translate the energies and senses that connect his body and environment into a unique bodily language. Nourished by the elements “water” and “earth”, he aspires to sharpen a performer’s mind and body in the moment.

In Breathed a Sigh of Relief sharing, Poon will present his research of the past two months. While live audiences can attend in person to converse with the research team, they are invited to take or leave their seats freely and experience the research at their own pace. Additional content like the text and visual records by the researcher and observers will be available online to reveal the research progress. Audience can also choose to join the sharing via live streaming and share their thoughts with the team from home.

*Key image credit to Percy Mak

Research Team

Researcher: Wayson Poon
Mover: Kingsan Lo
Observers: Percy Mak, Ivy Tsui
Producer: Carrol Ho @KALOSProductionsHK
Videographer and Editor: Vvzela Kook
Sound Artist: Paul Yip
Acknowledgement: Asian Cultural Council, Wing Lai, Luk Wai Shan, Vivian

** This project has been supported by Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts in 2020

Background

Hong Kong contemporary dance artist Wayson Poon was awarded the Asian Cultural Council Fellowship to conduct a three-month cultural and arts training and research in Jogjakarta and Solo (Indonesia) from late November 2019 to early February 2020. Upon his return to Hong Kong, Poon continued the research and applied what he learnt from Indonesia to the natural environment of Hong Kong. With a focus on the elements and landscape of nature, he explores the relationship between indigenous culture and bodily movement, and is aspired to construct training based on this concept and content.

“The Body acts,  and I extend movement research to my creative works, I left a better world for the future with passionately. ”   —— Wayson Poon 11/2018

I have been starting my Movement Research since September 2016. It explores, develops and builds a movement language are unique to everyone’s body, guided by the “Qi” from Taoist scriptures, the Liquid System and the Five Rhythms. The first Journey of Movement Research includes the elements of Qi, Tao Te Ching and nature practice. I hope to proceed to the next stage of Movement research — the Liquid System.

Travelling and Research Plan:

1, Indonesia: AMERTA MOVEMENT in Padepokan Lemah Putih

2, United States:

– Learning the Fluid system with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen

– Hiking in the Rocky Mountains

 

 

The Asian Cultural Council Fellowship Program

Since 1963, the ACC has operated a program of long-term, immersive fellowships and shorter-term grants for individual artists, scholars, and arts and humanities professionals who wish to pursue specialized training not available in their home countries; find new creative inspiration through travel, research, and exploration; or pursue targeted research projects. The Asian Cultural Council makes grants to support international travel and cultural exchange between Asia and the U.S., and among the countries/ regions in Asia. The large majority of grants are awarded directly to individuals. Organizations that will facilitate a cultural exchange opportunity for our targeted professionals may also apply on behalf of the individual project participants.

ACC supports activities in line with its mission in promoting international understanding that involve cultural immersion; meaningful cross-cultural engagement; and relationship building, collaboration, or exchange of best practices among peers. Our priority is to support cultural exchange projects that focus on process rather than production. Examples of process-focused activities are research, study, and exploration. By contrast, proposals for touring, performance, exhibition, or any activity focused on the production of work or audience-driven outcomes are not a priority and will only be considered where there is an exceptional contribution to furthering international understanding. In addition to funding, ACC offers logistical and programmatic support such as mentoring and personal introductions to its grant recipients. The kind of support varies by grant type and destination country, and is tailored to each individual. It may include recommendations of sites to visit or activities to participate in; personal introductions to relevant contacts in the field; and visa sponsorship for individuals traveling to the U.S.

ACC has supported exchanges for nearly 4,000 individuals and 6,000 grants to date. By its unique combination of supports, ACC’s program builds relationships that deepen cross-cultural ties beyond the duration of the grant. The signature feature of ACC’s program is access to this international network of alumni and other partners – a community of institutional leaders and emerging and established practitioners throughout Asia and the U.S. who help advise current grant recipients. Such community helps maintaining close connections with alumni and creates ongoing opportunities for engagement from within.

 

DANCE NUCLEUS
ELEMENT#4: Improvisation Technologies

Introduction
Recent developments in choreographic practice has mostly turned towards movement
approaches that allow for the live negotiation of sensorial data. This ostensibly augments the
experience of spectatorship, whereby the relationship between the performer and the viewer
becomes more open to contingencies and open relationality. In ELEMENT#4: Improvisation
Technologies, Nik Haffner shares with us his experience in co-developing the Improvisation
Technology of William Forsythe, as well as other tools and techniques of choreographers that he
has worked with in recent years. Through these “technologies”, we apply practical strategies for
negotiating movement in dance in order to discover new knowledge that is produced by, through
or for the body.

New Works Forum: Multimedia and Dance Dialogue – Hiroaki Umeda

Multimedia Theatre, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong , 25.06.2016

The use of multimedia in dance allows artists to push the boundaries of creativity and introduce audiences to a wider artistic vision. To take productive advantage of new developments, it is crucial for dancers, choreographers and media artists to understand the relation between dance and technology.

This year, we are hosting two New Works Forums for dance and multimedia. For the first, in June, we have invited internationally renowned Japanese choreographer/multidisciplinary artist Hiroaki Umeda to share his unique method of mixing digital technology and dance with local dance practitioners and multimedia artists.

As a multidisciplinary artist, Umeda is not just a talented contemporary dancer; he is also an artist skilled in choreography, composition, visual, sound and lighting design.

Having majored in photography at university he has a background in visual culture that complements his training in ballet and street dance.

Umeda began creating his own choreographic works at the age of 20. Since being honoured at the International Choreographic Encounters Paris Seine- Saint-Denis he has transfixed audiences with performances at major festivals and theatres worldwide. His aesthetic choreographic style mixes physical, optical, sensory and spatiotemporal elements, breaking the rules of traditional performance and demonstrating the fragility and isolation of contemporary urban life.

During a 5-day workshop, local dance and multimedia artists will work together to experience Umeda’s unique choreographic process, explore the relationship of dance and multimedia technology in the artistic creation and generate ideas for the development of future works.

On 25 June, Umeda will share his views on the way forward for multimedia dance performance in a free public forum. Workshop participants will also share their experience of the collaboration and their creative works in progress.

About New Works Forum

In the run-up to the opening of the West Kowloon performing arts facilities, the first of which will be completed in 2018, ‘New Works Forum’ acts as a platform for cross-disciplinary artists eager to expand their practices into new areas and explore innovative ways of creating, presenting and discussing topics around contemporary performance.

Public Forum – What’s next in multimedia dance performance?

Date:
25 June 2016 (Sat)

Time:
3pm – 6pm

Venue:
Multimedia Theatre, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong (G/F , Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, 18 Tat Hong Avenue, Kowloon Tong)

Speaker:
Hiroaki Umeda (Japan)

Respondents:
Anna CY Chan (HK) – Head of Artistic Development (Dance), WKCDA
Chris Cheung (honhim) (HK) – Multimedia artist
Koala Yip (HK) – Instructor, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong

Moderator:
Dick Wong (HK) – Independent artist

Language:
English, with Mandarin / Cantonese simultaneous interpretation

Online registration is now closed. Walk-in registrations will be allowed depending on the availability of seats on the day.

Enquiries:
2200-0801 (Ms Yu), grace.yu@wkcda.hk

Adverse Weather Arrangement:
The programme will be cancelled if a black rainstorm warning or a typhoon signal no. 8 or above is in force after 1pm on the afternoon of the event.

*The organiser reserves the right to change the programme content and speakers. All changes will be announced on the website.

New Works Forum: Multimedia and Dance Dialogue – Su Wen-Chi & Wu Chi-Tsung

HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity & Project Site Office, West Kowloon Cultural District , 04.10.2016 to 08.10.2016

The use of multimedia in dance allows artists to push the boundaries of creativity and introduce audiences to a wider artistic vision. To take productive advantage of new developments, it is crucial for dancers, choreographers and media artists to understand the relationship between dance and new media.

Following the success of our New Works Forum with renowned Japanese choreographer Hiroaki Umeda in June, a new edition was held from October 4–8, featuring choreographer and new media artist Su Wen-Chi and visual artist Wu Chi-Tsung, both from Taiwan. The event brought together local choreographers, dancers, new media artists, art critics, filmmakers and students, etc. to explore the interplay between dance and new media.

During a five-day specially designed workshops of different themes, participating artists looked at questions such as “How does the role of corporeality transform in the application of new media?” and “Does new media augment the body expression?”. Playing with Wu Chi-Tsung’s installation Dust, which explores the trajectories of dust particles, participating artists attempted to dance with the dust motes in the air, and to observe the particle movement through scientific experiment. They also made pin-hole cameras to observe the body movement under the sunlight, and pondered the medium of light, its texture, weight, distance and colour.

The forum also included an interactive outdoor ‘staging’ of Su Wen-Chi’s 2012 multimedia work Off the Map on the rooftop of the West Kowloon Project Site Office. Participating dance artists improvised to the readings recited by Su Wen-Chi and dance on the skyline drawn on the insulation film. Interacting in an outdoor environment aroused participants a new perspective on the dynamic between technological innovation and the ever-changing city and re-examined the relationship between space and self.

The forum concluded with a reading session, which gave a closer insight on what a performer is thinking and feeling in virtual space, and how this physical intelligence enriches our understanding in living/working/performing with new media. Su Wen-Chi also shared her residency experience and research at Arts@CERN, and introduced her scientific approach to artistic pursuit.

Click here to see highlights from the workshop.

About New Works Forum

In the run-up to the opening of the West Kowloon performing arts facilities, the first of which will be completed in 2018, ‘New Works Forum’ acts as a platform for cross-disciplinary artists eager to expand their practices into new areas and explore innovative ways of creating, presenting and discussing topics around contemporary performance.

Date:
4–8 October 2016 (Tue–Sat)

Venue:
HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity
Project Site Office, West Kowloon Cultural District

Workshop Leaders:
Su Wen-Chi (Taiwan)
Wu Chi-Tsung (Taiwan)

Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM]

RAM CAMP in Kyoto 2017 Work in Progress Presentation

October 29, 2017   North Hall, ROHM Theatre Kyoto

Programming evolves dance

As an exchange program within “Culture City of East Asia 2017 Kyoto,” Kyoto Experiment brings together dancers, choreographers and programmers from China, South Korea and Japan for a five-day intensive workshop. Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] has directed the Reactor for Awareness in Motion (RAM) R&D project since 2010, exploring new ways to make choreography through the use of virtual dance environments. Employing the toolkit developed by YCAM, the participants will devise original forms of dance through a process of learning about and understanding each other’s creative methods. The final day of the workshop will feature presentations of the results to the general public.

Culture City of East Asia 2017 Kyoto Exchange Program

“Through this programme we hope to foster the creativity and vision of local artists, and promote the creation of original works with an international perspective. The programme will also enable us to take Hong Kong dance to an international stage in anticipation of future collaborations between the West Kowloon Dancehouse in the Lyric Theatre Complex and our dance counterparts in other regions,” Anna CY Chan, Head of Dance, Performing Arts, West Kowloon

Recently launched, West Kowloon’s new dance exchange programme “Creative Meeting Point: Hong Kong x Finland” is a collaborative project with three Finnish dance institutions: Dance Info Finland, Zodiak – Centre for New Dance and Dance House Helsinki. The three-year programme gives three artists from Hong Kong and three from Finland the opportunity to take part in six residency exchanges for artistic research and dialogue with international dance practitioners in their home regions. The first residency exchange has just begun, with three Hong Kong dance artists – Ivy Tsui Yik-chit, Justyne Li Sze-yeung and Wayson Poon Wai-shun – travelling to Denmark and Finland to explore the dance and performing art scene in Northern Europe. The three artists will first participate in “ICE HOT”, an international dance festival in Copenhagen, and then take up their residencies at the Zodiak – Centre for New Dance in Helsinki.

“Creative Meeting Point: Hong Kong x Finland” is the first joint effort between West Kowloon and international dance institutions and aims to promote work-in-progress development and help realise possible co-productions between Hong Kong and Finland. We are currently working to establish further collaboration and exchange agreements with art institutions in Australia and the United Kingdom.

 

Hong Kong artists on their exchange journey to northern Europe No.1

West Kowloon’s new dance exchange programme “Creative Meeting Point: Hong Kong x Finland” launched recently with three local dance artists, Ivy Tsui Yik-chit, Justyne Li Sze-yeung and Wayson Poon Wai-shun embarking on an exchange and learning journey to northern Europe. The first stop of their trip was “ICE HOT”, an international dance festival in Copenhagen, where they had a packed schedule watching performances from around the world and meeting with artists and producers from various fields. The diverse range of performances induced them to raise questions about content and form; how would the same performance be received when put into the context of Asia; and the dynamics between the body and propositions.

The next stop was Helsinki, Finland where Ivy, Justyne and Wayson took up their residencies at Cable Factory, a large-scale arts and cultural centre. Hosted by the Helsinki International Artist Programme, the Hong Kong and Finnish artists began their creative research and exercises at the studio of Zodiak – Centre for New Dance. They also took the opportunity to visit a school in countryside to learn more about the dance and choreographic projects of choreographer Sari Palmgren, one of their fellow Finnish artists in the programme, and shared their creative works to the students there.

The school was actually in Huittinen which is quite far from Helsinki. A round trip from Helsinki to Huittinen took at least 6 hours and therefore the expedition involved a very early morning call with just 5 minutes to get a breakfast! Yet everyone agreed that being able to experience the countryside of Finland – and getting to try a typical Finnish sauna – made it all worth it! For more highlights of the exchange, please stay tuned for more updates!

 

Second residency of West Kowloon’s ‘Creative Meeting Point: Hong Kong x Finland’

“During this three-year exchange, I hope to find new ways of creating, thinking and innovating, instead of just bringing our work to perform in Finland and other places.” Local dance artist Ivy Tsui Yik-chit.

In the recently completed second residency of West Kowloon’s ‘Creative Meeting Point: Hong Kong x Finland’, three Finnish dance artists Carl Knif, Sari Palmgren and Linda Martikainen visited Hong Kong to work with local artists Ivy Tsui Yik-chit, Justyne Li Sze-yeung and Wayson Poon Wai-shun. When they weren’t in the rehearsal room, they were out watching local dance performances and exploring Peng Chau and Lantau Island. To give them a holistic experience of Hong Kong, Wayson took them to the Big Buddha, for a vegetarian lunch at Ling Yan Monastery and a taste of Buddhist culture. “Productive communication doesn’t just take place while you’re rehearsing, but also while you’re hiking or on an outing. It’s the same with creative inspiration: it doesn’t just occur in the rehearsal room, our daily lives and surroundings can also inspire us.

‘Creative Meeting Point’ is not a project that requires artists to spend time in a rehearsal room practising or devising new choreography. It’s about connecting artists in their home regions and giving them time and space to learn about the local arts ecosystem and get to know each other’s creative methods and practice.

As in the first phase, the six artists took part in an exchange session to share thoughts on dance and life. Ivy accompanied the artists to Peng Chau and Lantau Island. “It felt like we were on a roller coaster – from being strangers to getting to know each other. We may not all be interested in the same things, but what’s important is to stay curious and open-minded.” Ivy described their interaction is like “dancing a tango” – gradually getting to know each other, and hoping for more sparks in the future.

Launched in November 2016, ‘Creative Meeting Point: Hong Kong x Finland’ is a three-year collaborative exchange programme between West Kowloon and three Finnish dance institutions: Dance Info Finland, Zodiak – Centre for New Dance and Dance House Helsinki. The programme offers dance artists opportunities for artistic dialogue with international dance practitioners in their home regions.

Hong Kong dance artists return from Finland for the 3rd residency exchange

West Kowloon Cultural District collaborates with three Finnish dance institutions to launch a residency exchange programme named “Creative Meeting Point: Hong Kong x Finland”.

This July, three Hong Kong dance artists, Wayson Poon, Justyne Li and Ivy Tsui, took part in their 3rd residency exchange in Finland, where they met up with the Finnish dance artists, Sari Palmgren, Carl Knif and Linda Martikainen, attended masterclasses, and watched a lot of performances, including Sari’s new work.

Besides rehearsals and research work, one of the highlights of their trip was taking part in the Full Moon Dance Festival, where Wayson had the opportunity to perform in the Opening Gala – an experience that helped him connect with artists from around the world.

“When I first visited Finland I felt like a guest and wasn’t really able to communicate or have deeper exchanges with our new friends. This time, I’m really happy to be able to show my work and my research-in-progress and get feedback from other artists. It was a very positive exchange experience,” Wayson said.

The theme of this year’s Full Moon Dance Festival was “A good life”, with most performances related to life issues and how to improve society. While the style was mostly not particularly heavy, a lot of them used text and dialogue, so the language barrier was a problem. But talking with the creators after the show helped our dancers get a better understanding of the work and context.

First held in 1992, the Full Moon Dance Festival takes place in Pyhäjärvi. As one of Finland’s leading arts and cultural events, it’s a place where almost every iconic Finnish contemporary dance artist has performed or taught.

 

 

2015
Melbourne, Australia

Background
International arts festivals are as much about facilitating artistic development and creative collaborations across the industry as they are about connecting artists with audiences.
Special Combination—an invitation–only choreographic and performance workshop—will bring together a cohort of artists from Asia and Australia to explore working processes and exchange first–hand experiences with special guest choreographers and directors.
​
Arts Centre Melbourne’s Asian Arts Program and Melbourne Festival have invited choreographer Gideon Obarzanek to facilitate Special Combination, which will also focus on connections: connecting participants and workshop artists with each other and with the Festival’s invited artists, producers and presenters.

(External webpage)

Hidden Connection
ASIA Superposition Showcase – Collaboration Project of Asia Dance Company

Overview
The Office for Hub City of Asian Culture at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is carrying out various internationally cooperative projects to establish Gwangju as the Hub City of Asian Culture. ‘: Collaboration Project of Asia Dance Company’ is proceeded as a part of the International Exchange Network Project of the Office for Hub City of Asian Culture that seeks to create an international network of art communities in Asia. Since 2011, this project has looked for specific ways to collaborate with Asian artists and presented showcases as results each year. This year, the project has expanded to a six week residency, carried out by dancers from 14 Asian countries, and a double bill of performances, which will be presented to the public for the first time in connection to Asia Culture Center in Gwangju. Its world premieres, choreographed by Japan’s Hiroaki Umeda and Korea’s Hwang Soohyun, generate questions of what Asian contemporary dance is, and whether a common cultural identity exists in Asian dances. The audience will come to identify that the various dances of Asian performers are not as precisely divided into either ethnic, traditional, modern, contemporary, Eastern or Western dance as they may have thought. ‘ project’ reveals Asian dance in its superposed state, unable to be defined in one word. It is not an overlap of dance categories, but a superposition of states. The choreographers of Korea and Japan attempt to explore the realm of Asian dances, which was unable to be classified by the existing cognitive frame.