Fame or Famine

One of the sorrowful parts of my whirlwind trip to Milwaukee last weekend was not getting to stay long enough to see my friend Li Chiao-Ping dance with her company at Danceworks. She has been first a teacher, then a colleague, and now a friend, and I also have done work with her partner Doug Rosenberg (who has been something of a mentor in my own dance work).

She did a fine job, apparently. If you get a chance to see her on tour, here’s what you can expect:

“Her unique vocabulary, tinged with Asian martial arts, fits her compact body like a second skin. From her knees to her shoulders, she seems to be a single muscle. You can sense impulse to motion flowing through her torso. Movement starts in the hips and moves up or down in slow undulations or whiplash snaps, or outward with final expression in turns, kicks and potent combinations of both” — Tom Strini

I grew more as a dancer in her “movement conditioning” class in college more than any other single source of training. She was always uncompromising both in what she demanded of her students and what she gave them in support – and I came to learn that this was reflected in how she expressed herself through dance. She is not one who will go out to please the audience – rather, she reaches deep within herself and tears out pieces to share with the audience in paroxysms of beauty.

I realize that sounds a bit melodramatic…but trust me, if you see her work, you’ll see what I mean. It is of a personal nature that keeps you engaged long after you leave the theatre.

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