Multimedia 'City of Paper' Coming to Pillow
BECKET, Mass. — New York-based choreographer Yin Mei returns to Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival Aug. 4 through 8 in an evening-length contemporary dance-theatre work that merges sensual movement, paper and ink, and video projections with live and recorded music. The work is inspired by the choreographer’s childhood during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.“In addition to lots of beautiful, evocative dancing, City of Paper is a multimedia experience that keeps us engaged with light, music, digital scenic design, and other surprising visual effects. At one point, the dancers “paint” the set with their bodies, evoking the art of Chinese calligraphy in a completely new way,” said Ella Baff, Jacob’s Pillow Executive Director.
In "City of Paper," four performers dance and interact with a digitally enhanced set designed by Mei, in a series of dreamlike vignettes. The performance is set to an original score by noted composer Richard Marriott, performed live by Stephanie Griffin, as well as music by experimental American composer Bora Yoon and French bossa nova singer/songwriter Camille.
Dancers Kota Yamazaki, Dai Jian, Kanako Yokota and Mei come from diverse backgrounds: Yamazaki and Yokota are Butoh artists, and Jian performed with Shen Wei Dance Arts before joining the Trisha Brown Dance Company. Mei's original training includes classical Chinese dance and for the past two decades she has been a contemporary dance choreographer and performance artist. Other collaborators include Peter Critchell, who provides text, and Tennessee Rice Dixon, who designed the digital projections.
Mei was a principal dancer with Henan Song and Dance Troupe and the Hong Kong Dance Company before founding Yin Mei Dance in 1995. In 2004 she was named a Choreography Fellow of the New York Foundation for the Arts, and in 2005 she received a Guggenheim Fellowship in Choreography. Yin Mei received her B.A. and M.F.A. from New York University and presently is Professor of Dance at Queens College.
While at Jacob’s Pillow, artistic personnel from Yin Mei Dance will lead a Master Class on Sunday, Aug. 8, 10 to 11:30am. Sunday Master Classes are open to intermediate/advanced dancers and advance registration is required; call 413-243-9919, ext.5. Master Classes are $15 per class or $8 for dance instructors with proper identification. Observation is free and open to the public.
On Wednesday, Aug. 4, Jacob’s Pillow will host “Gallery Night,” a free gallery mixer following the opening of Yin Mei Dance. Visual and performing artists and the public are welcome to gather and mingle in Blake’s Barn where the exhibits are devoted to the photography of Lois Greenfield and the drawings and watercolors of Jules Feiffer. Refreshments will be provided.
