Verb Ballets
Works of Chung-Fu Chang and Richard Dickinson
Breen Center for the Performing Arts
2008 West 30th St.
Cleveland, OH 44113
February 23, 2013
8:00 p.m.
Wine and desert reception following performance at the new West side art gallery, Transformer Station, located at 1460 West 29th Street Cleveland, OH 44113 (cost is $15 and RSVP is required)
Chung-Fu Chang entered the dance world at the relatively very late age of seventeen. Growing up in Taiwan, his original dream was to be a painter and illustrator which he had been doing from the age of five to seventeen by majoring in Fine Arts and Commercial Arts Designs Schools. Once he realized his passion for dance, he quickly immersed himself in the art form by joining the prestigious Cloud Gate Dance Theatre and Kaohsiung Contemporary Dance Company.
Eleven years ago, he embarked on a solo career which has seen his various works showcased nationally and internationally. He has received the Solo Finalist Placement Award at the2004 Palm Desert Dance Under The Stars Choreography Festival at McCallum Theatre in California, has been a special guest at the Grand Prix de Argentina in Buenos Aries, Argentina, featured at the Tempo Dance Festival in Auckland, New Zealand and performed at the JTEN Festival in Toykyo, Japan. His work has been seen not only in the United States but Argentina, Cyprus, England, Greece, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Taiwan. He has also had an evening of work presented at the Festival Internacional de Danza Contemporanea Avant Garde in 2008 and 2009 in Merida.
On Saturday, February 23, 2013, Verb Ballets will be returning to the Breen Center for the Performing Arts to dance an evening of work by Chung-Fu Chang. During a recent post rehearsal interview, Chung spoke about his teaching techniques with Verb Ballets. “I am basically teaching them a foreign dance language with less curved fluidity of the traditional ballet schools and a more straight rigid structure as is taught in the Orient. The dancers then take this new language and translate it into their own personal dialect, thus making it their own.”
"Last year I was impressed by the visually stunning, The Lily. I enjoyed how he utilized the stage as an artist would to paint canvas. His return to Verb offers the opportunity to present a collection of work to showcase his unique style and range," said Director, Dr. Margaret Carlson.
The show will feature three of Chung-Fu Chang’s Works, The Lily, Pheasant’s Writing (his solo piece) and Borrowing Winds (a work in three parts: Cave of Winds, Kites and Pleating Waters) as well as a world premiere of Four Last Songs by Richard Dickinson based on the music of the same name by Richard Strauss.
The Lily, a visually stunning work created especially for Verb Ballets last year, will be revived. This full company work depicts a love story based on an ancient Taiwanese tale of passion and destiny.
Chang will perform on the program in a new solo, called Pheasant's Writing. The solo is inspired from one of the poems of the Shijing, the Classic of Poetry, a collection of songs and poems from the Zhou Dynasty (10th-7th century BC) of ancient China.
The third Chang piece is Borrowing Winds and is based on his observation that one sees the effects of wind in its movement, dynamics, path, speed, shape and emotion and is a fusion of Eastern and Western conceptions that shows both views of the wind’s power and hidden potential.
Rounding out the program will be Richard Dickenson’s ballet Four Last Songs that deal with loss and longing. It is based on the Strauss’ music as well as on the poetry of Hermann Hesse and Joseph von Eichendorff. From Spring, through to Fall and into Winter, Dickinson’s work explores the emotions of hope, love, fading light and darkness.
Immediately following the performance will be a wine and dessert reception at the new West side art gallery, Transformer Station, located at 1460 West 29th Street Cleveland, OH 44113. The Transformer Station is a project of Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Foundation that is designed to bring original contemporary art exhibitions, events and programming from around the world to the west side of Cleveland. Be one of the first to experience the collection of contemporary photography and photo-based art. Mingle with the dancers and talk with choreographer, Chung-Fu Chang, at the renovated transit substation. Tickets to the reception are $15 and require a reservation by calling 216.397.3757.
This show gives the audience a chance to see an emerging choreographer and discover a new side of Verb Ballets. Single tickets ($28-$10) are available by calling the Verb Ballets office at 216-397-3757 or online at verbballets.org. The Breen Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2008 W. 30th St. Cleveland, OH 44113. For more information visit www.verbballets.org.
About Verb Ballets
Verb Ballets ignites audience passion and participation in contemporary dance. Under the leadership of Director, Dr. Margaret Carlson, Verb strives to support and foster emerging talent, to present excellence in contemporary choreographers, and to revive and honor modern dance classics. The company strives to be a thought leader in cultivating dance appreciation and support through education and outreach programs. In growing audience appreciation for dance Verb Ballets helps make northeast Ohio a national destination for the arts.
Verb Ballets' season is made possible thanks to the generous support of: Akron Community Foundation, AHS Foundation, The Bascom Little Fund, Bike Cleveland, Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, The City of Shaker Heights, The Cleveland Foundation, Findley Davies, Inc., Gay Community Endowment Fund of The Akron Community Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, Kulas Foundation, The Laub Foundation, Lubrizol Foundation, The McGregor Foundation, John P. Murphy Foundation, The Ohio Arts Council, Omnova Solutions Foundation, Shah Capital Management, Individual Contributors including Millie L. Carlson, Alan Miles Ruben, Jeri Chaikin, Chuck and Ann Ennis, Frederick Lautzenheiser, Kenneth Milder, David R. Pierce, Robert M. Shwab and Members of the Verb Ballets Board of Trustees.
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