Regional Dance Company of the Week: Lily Cai Chinese Dance Co., CA!

Elegant, sensual, and captivating, the Lily Cai Chinese Dance Company melds ancient Chinese forms with modern dance in an artistic and inventive marriage of styles. The Company bridges the continuum from past to contemporary - from spectacular court dances of Chinese dynasties to contemporary works fusing classical Chinese movement, modern dance, and ballet, complemented by dazzling costumes, original music, and innovative staging.

Established in 1988 by Lily Cai, the Company of Chinese and Chinese-American women tours extensively, performing for theater, festivals, and special event audiences and conducting residencies for universities and communities.

Lily Cai and her dancers have received accolades from presenting venues, audiences, and the
media throughout North America, from Hawaii, Mexico, and the West Coast to New York, the Virgin Islands, and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

In recognition of the Company's performance artistry and community outreach, presenting venues have received support for the Lily Cai tours from the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, the Western States Arts Federation, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, Arts Midwest, the Southern Arts Federation, and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation.

The Lily Cai Chinese Dance Company is known for introducing exciting new work, often created in collaboration with music, dance, video, and visual artists, including Chanticleer with the Women's Philharmonic, the Alexander String Quartet, the New Century Chamber Orchestra, Composer Gang Situ, and Calligrapher Lampo Leong.

The Company has performed for an eclectic selection of special events, from the opening of a Grateful Dead concert at the Coliseum in Oakland, California, and the Goldman Environmental Prize Awards in San Francisco, to corporate incentive events in Mexico.

The Company repertory features innovative dance works, all choreographed by Lily Cai, each revealing the complexity and inner beauty of the Chinese woman. Signature works include "Candelas," a work performed with lit candles, the "Strings Calligraphy" suite for dance, string quartet and erhu, adorned with backdrops of traditional and contemporary calligraphy, "Silk Cascade," a vibrant tour of traditional and contemporary ribbon dance, and "Red Typhoon," a powerful, stunning evening-length dance exploration of the impact of the Cultural Revolution on the women of China.

The Company dancers all train in the Lily Cai Dance technique, giving themselves the focused strength, power, and gracefulness to bring the audience a beautiful, meaningful, and memorable performance.

To learn more about the Lily Cai Chinese Dance Company, click here

Photo and info courtesy Lily Cai Co.