Danscross: dancing in a shaking world. The Danscross papers, Beijing 2009

This collaborative, six month project was co-directed by Christopher Bannerman, Head of ResCen Research Centre and Xu Rui, Associate Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Dance Studies at the Beijing Dance Academy (BDA). It focused on the creation of eight dance works by western and Chinese choreographers which were created to a specific brief, testing Stravinsky's proposition that the imposition of rules sets the artist free. The creative processes were observed by teams of academics from the BDA; the China National Academy for Arts Research; University of California at Los Angeles, Center for World Arts and Cultures; University College Falmouth, Dartington College; Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts; National University of Singapore; International Institute for Education and Research in Theatre and Film Arts, Waseda University; University of Washington. The researchers contributed to an online record of the project as well as presenting papers at the subsequent conference and for publication. The project's premise was that the empathetic, catalytic space of creative practice offers a unique way of encountering and understanding the other. The examination by international and Chinese academics of the creative strategies of UK and Chinese choreographers, each working with dancers trained in Classical Chinese Dance and/or Asian Folk Dance, provided a metaphor for other acts of translation and adaption. While key challenges today (the pervasiveness of climate change, financial instability and viral infections), are unconfined by national boundaries, the research premise tested the hypothesis that by examining the particular, the panoramic becomes open to speculative enquiry

Detritus.

Detritus is a 7 minute dance work by Shobana Jeyasingh, made for 6 dancers of the Beijing Dance Academy Company on the theme "Dancing in a Shaking World". It used existing music by Ryoji Ikeda and Andy Cowton. Detritus was commissioned as part of Danscross, a collaborative research project between ResCen Research Centre at Middlesex University and the Beijing Dance Academy. It was presented in a professional context at one of Beijing's leading theatres

Danscross: dancing in a shaking world

This collaborative, six month project was co-directed by Christopher Bannerman, Head of ResCen Research Centre and Xu Rui, Associate Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Dance Studies at the Beijing Dance Academy (BDA). It focused on the creation of eight dance works by western and Chinese choreographers which were created to a specific brief, testing Stravinsky's proposition that the imposition of rules sets the artist free. The creative processes were observed by teams of academics from the BDA; the China National Academy for Arts Research; University of California at Los Angeles, Center for World Arts and Cultures; University College Falmouth, Dartington College; Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts; National University of Singapore; International Institute for Education and Research in Theatre and Film Arts, Waseda University; University of Washington. The researchers contributed to an online record of the project as well as presenting papers at the subsequent conference and for publication. The project's premise was that the empathetic, catalytic space of creative practice offers a unique way of encountering and understanding the other. The examination by international and Chinese academics of the creative strategies of UK and Chinese choreographers, each working with dancers trained in Classical Chinese Dance and/or Asian Folk Dance, provided a metaphor for other acts of translation and adaption. While key challenges today (the pervasiveness of climate change, financial instability and viral infections), are unconfined by national boundaries, the research premise tested the hypothesis that by examining the particular, the panoramic becomes open to speculative enquiry

ArtsCross Beijing 2012: light and water

A large scale international exchange project. The two distinct mediums in the theme of Light and Water offered an opportunity to create a ‘cultural feeling’ with new meanings and images. Choreographers from Beijing, Taipei, and Europe each produced a dance work responding to the theme from their different perspectives and individual styles, resulting in a series of brand new stage performances. Our focus in the research project is on the working environment and practices of the artists. We examine the particular to see the panoramic, and the resulting performances, conference debates and writings contribute to the ways we understand each other across national and other borders, and to the creation of a unique comparative study