When stage performances are no longer simply differentiated by labelling of genre such as dance, drama or opera, what kind of quality should be developed to be a “good” performer and what is to be expected? When the technicality of a dancer is not the only requirement for contemporary stage performance, what else does a choreographer or a director look at?

In the dialogue, two guests from CCDC’s upcoming stage performance Stream of Dust are going to share with us how they envision a contemporary stage performer. Sang Jijia, the choreographer, will share what he sees as the essential quality of a dancer and how he defines individuality and unity on the stage. Alex Cheung for the featured performance will share his methodology of physical acting training as a lecturer at drama school, also his interpretation of body and mind as a physical actor.

Speakers:
Sang Jijia, CCDC Resident Choreographer

Alex Cheung, Lecturer (Directing / Movement) 

Moderator:
Prof. Anna CY Chan, Dean of the School of Dance, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

About Sang Jijia
Sang Jijia had received numerous international dance awards and the Asian Cultural Council Fellowship to study in the US. In 2002, he was selected by the ‘Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative’ to study choreography under William Forsythe in Germany and joined the Ballet Frankfurt and Forsythe Company as Assistant Choreographer and Dancer, respectively. Sang Jijia returned to China in 2006 and has choreographed for CCDC, BeijingDance/LDTX and Guangdong Modern Dance Company. He is also commissioned by famous dance companies around the world, including Ballet Frankfurt (Germany), Spellbound Contemporary Ballet (Italy), Carte Blanche (Norway) and GöteborgsOperans Danskompani (Sweden).

Sang Jijia is celebrated for his extremely physical and emotional movement language and his use of electronic music to interpret abstract concepts. Recent choreographies include: As If To Nothing (2009), Fragile Beauty (2016), Mr Blank (2018), Re-mark (2019), Pa | Ethos (2022) and Meeting In-between Time (2022).

About Alex Cheung
Alex Cheung graduated from the Academy’s School of Drama in 1994 with a Professional Diploma, majoring in Directing. After graduation, he involved in many productions as director or actor for different local theatre groups such as the Theatre Ensemble, Prospects Theatre Company, Exploration Theater, Sand and Bricks, to name a few.

Alex has been living and working in Taiwan for ten years as an actor and a stage director.
Since 1996, he joined the international renowned U Theatre in Taiwan as a full-time professional performer, devoting himself to strict training which includes martial arts, meditation, percussion practice, dance, Tai Chi and training modeled along the lines of the great Polish director Jerzy Grotowski.

Alex is the founder and Artistic Director of the theatre group Mobius Strip in Taiwan, and the manager of Performing Arts School 36 (an arts school run by the U Culture and Arts Foundation). He is currently also a student of the Master of Arts Degree at the Fo Guang University, Taiwan. He is now a full-time instructor of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

Registration: https://forms.gle/1K5RDThXTZ4W2DN79

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