Equinox and Solstice is a movement research project that combines Chinese Classical dance and Modern dance to create my unique aesthetic. It is also a collaboration project with my designers, dancers and production team. It is an after-life world following the theory of the circle of life in Chinese Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. It starts from death and follows the soul after death through the journey to start a new life again. There are four main sections that follow the seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter in terms to design elements, with the Equinox and Solstice representing the lightest and darkest days of the year. The five elements from Chinese Fengshui theory, water, fire, wood, gold and earth, are used to highlight the Chineseness in this piece.

Length 70 minutes
Choreographer/Costume Designer: Allen Chunhui Xing
Scenic Designers: Ryan Fox, Grace Guarniere
Lighting Designer: Brandi Martin
Sound Designer: Jeffrey Dorfman
Projection Designer: Dylan Uremovich
Stage Manager: Sydney Ziegler
Dancers: Emily Ames, Laurie Dodge, Conmay Rose Du ,Amanda T. Fair, Reyna Fox, Erin Lenahan, Daria Mozolina, Katie Nerud, Rose Xinran Qi, Shawn Stone, Olivia Xia, Allen Chunhui Xing, Huiwang Zhang

Seleted pieces from Equinox and Solstice have been seleted and invited to perform at the 2018 Maryland Campaign, 2018 Washington DC Global Perspectives Festival, 2019 Beijing Dance Festival, 2019 The Kennedy Center China Spring New Year Festival Gala, 2019 Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, 2020 Japan SAI International Dance Festival, 2019 City Dance Festival Choreography Showcase -Taiyuan, 2020 Shanxi Modern Dance Exhibition of New Works China and Dance Place 2020 Season Washington DC.

As a young child, my father taught me to swim. I enjoy swimming and go diving often. The feeling of weightlessness and lightness in the water removes pressure found on land and allows my inner-self to explore. I look to the sun through the surface, deep under water in awe. I am a good swimmer, but also afraid of the water. The silence below the surface; the danger lurking beyond sight; the seclusion; combining to create a sense of exhilaration, of anticipation. The inspiration of Shape in Water was from the image I had of a man falling to the bottom of the ocean. The subconscious thinking process that he had lingering between life and death. It embodies the memory of my sense of water and the conflict between desire and fear.

Shape in Water has been selected and invited to perform at 2018 Beijing Dance Festival, 2018 Maryland Dance Festival, 2019 Richmond Dance Festival, 2019 Japan SAI International Dance Festival, 2019 Detroit City Dance Festival, 2019 Seoul choreography International Festival South Korea, 2019 Dance Gallery Festival New York City, 2020 Joy of Dance OY Finland, 2020 Mexico City International Contemporary Dance Festival, 2020 contemporary of Ballet Asia South Korea, 2020 Shanxi Modern Dance Exhibition of New Works China.
 

However, Tony is living a lie. He is in love with a man. His wife longs for his attention; their marriage was to con-form to societal and family norms. Tony struggles. He wants to be a good person. He loves his wife. They are friends, but he be can’t be the person she wants. He be-comes introspective, searching within and looking around. He realizes that everyone has their own struggles. Those who appear on the outside to have everything just right, might just be fighting internally.

Tony then opens his eyes to see another side of those around him. His wife, his family, his co-workers, and friends. This awareness provides both strength and more questions. Society today is more educated, more enlightened, and more connected than any before, but why do people still feel the need to conform when conformity challenges the fabric of oneself.

Interactions are often defined by our outward persona. Sometimes there is a gap between how one is perceived and how one perceives oneself. Our own personal journeys often involve balancing where we are internally and externally. How do we perceive ourselves? How do others perceive us? There may be conflicts rooted deep emotions of happiness, sadness, hope, hopelessness, love, hate, honesty, deception, involvement, isolation, comfort, uneasiness. For all, it is a personal journey... 

Emotions
Every day, people deal with emotions; expressing these emotions, hiding, exploring, changing. 

Memory
Even if it has always been fake, Tony hoped the marriage would go well and feelings would develop. He reflects on the good memories when they first dated. 

Withered
Truth agonizes, especially when Lily accepts the life she knows is based on a lie. Her life is like the falling leaves, withering as they hit the ground. She missed both true love and as a result part of her youthful life. 

Shadows
Tony is afraid that people will find out he is gay. Hiding and living in the shadows, he begins to realize that everyone has their own struggles. Those who appear on the outside to have everything just right, often fight with their own insecurities and challenges. He lives in the shadows, and his life is passing him by. 

Desire
Desire is in the body, burning beneath the surface. It hurts. 

Keep Distance
Society is conflicting. Tony keeps himself at distance with the society, alone. 

Dancing in the Closet
This is the realization that life has to be continue. It might be painful, not just for him, but also for his wife and child. However, life has to continue… 

Choreography: Allen Chunhui Xing
Lighting Design: Dylan Uremovich
Performers: Terra Bergamy, Suzanne Creedon, Gabriella Di Giuseppe, Lauie Dodge,
Reyna Fox, Billy Griffis, Erin Lenahan, Rose Xinran Qi, Allen Chunhui Xing

Duplicity

We live in the modern world, and our lives are impacted by the environment. The environment around us is multi-faceted with each having may vehicles to embrace or influence. As people of a society, a country, a world, we face many different challenges. We have our own evaluation system holding us true, but the living environment often forces us to hide the true value of what we believe; or to pretend to be someone that is not truly who we are and hide the inner self. We are afraid of other people's judgments; we fear receiving labels and being ourselves. Duplicity tells a story of the conflict between a person's outward-facing persona and internal voices.

Choreographer: Allen Chunhui Xing
Dancer: Klinskiy Igor, Salogub Egor, Fomin Egor, Chemilevskaya Diana, Kulakovskaya Maria

Music: Original composition by Svyatoslav Melik
Lighting Design: Allen Chunhui Xing
Video: Paul Jackson 
Photo: iskhakov.jpg, Nina N_D_image 
 

Choreographer: Allen Chunhui Xing

Dancers:  Laurie Dodge, Amanda T. Fair, Shawn Stone, Allen Xing, Huiwang Zhang
Projection Designer: Dylan Uremovich
Scenic Designer: Ryan Fox, Grace Guarniere
Music: Cristobal
Video: Paul Jackson 
​​Photo:  Jonathan Hsu