ASU’s Herberger Mainstage Dance series opens with September Concert

TEMPE, Ariz. – September Concert, the first dance production in ASU’s 2003-2004 Herberger Mainstage Season, is an exciting fusion of Asian cultures and modern dance that combines talents and traditions into a synthesis of beautiful movement. It features the choreography of four international students – Ying Yang, Min Kim, Siew Kong Wong, and Yeongwen Lee from China, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. They have developed seven contemporary and traditional dances that highlight cultural foundations, spiritual awareness and modern influences.

Ying Yang is an internationally recognized Chinese fan dancer who was named by the China Dancer’s Association as one of the top 20 young dancers in China. A graduate of the Beijing Dance Academy, Yang’s work combines the graceful movement of Chinese folk dance with the dynamics of modern dance. Yang will perform her piece “Phoenix and Peony,” which uses modern choreography to represent the Chinese Han nationality dance style. Yang also choreographed and set “Sketch” on four student dancers who will perform the piece to Mongolian folk music.

Min Kim, a Korean graduate student and recent recipient of an Arizona Choreography Competition award, will perform her “Broken Woman II,” a piece about a grieving woman. A trained ballet dancer and teacher, Kim’s work gracefully combines the traditional elements of ballet and the experimental movement of modern dance. Kim’s duet “Variation” expresses the harmony of two different movements displayed on the upper body.

Siew Kong Wong, of Malaysia, is a first-year graduate student in dance and technology and a research assistant at Herberger College’s Institute for Studies in the Arts, where he focuses on computer-mediated performance art. Wong will include video in his solo performance piece, “The Grand Enigma,” an age-old tale told to a spiritual druid seeking an answer about the destruction of the universe.

Yeongwen Lee, a junior choreography student from Singapore, received support from the Singapore National Arts council to attend the Herberger College to purse his dream of studying dance. An internationally experienced and athletic dancer, Lee will perform his piece “Lost” in four sections. “Lost” is inspired by Lee’s current experience in America. He also will premiere the sextet “Three,” a complex and intriguing work of great beauty and spirituality.

The Department of Dance in the ASU Herberger College of Fine Arts is nationally ranked in the top 10 by Dance Teacher magazine. Its graduate program is ranked fifth and its undergraduate program is ranked ninth. The ARCO Performance Arts College Guide calls the department one of the “most highly recommended programs” in the country. To learn more about the Department of Dance, visithttp://dance.asu.edu.

Media Contact:
Denise Tanguay 
480.965.7144
denise.tanguay@asu.edu