UC Berkeley Restages Award-Winning Multimedia Experience WITHIN THESE WALLS By Lenora Lee Dance

The UC Berkeley Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) is re-staging the award-winning multimedia work Within These Walls by Lenora Lee Dance. A cast of 14 UC Berkeley students will perform the work for Berkeley Dance Project, the annual TDPS dance concert, Feb. 23-26 at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Playhouse.

Within These Walls is inspired by the experiences of the approximately 170,000 Chinese immigrants who were processed, interrogated, and/or detained at the Angel Island Immigration Station between 1910 and 1940. Featuring contemporary dance, poetry, video projections, and original music, the work serves as a meditation on healing, resilience, and compassion.

"Since its creation in 2017, Within These Walls has had an impact far beyond what we could have imagined," said artistic director Lenora Lee. "It has moved people to tears across the country, and adds to the discussion on immigration policy in the United States. We are deeply grateful for this opportunity to re-stage Within These Walls through Berkeley Dance Project 2023, extending the legacy of our signature, award-winning work to the next generation."

TDPS will host a conversation with Lee following the performance on Friday, Feb. 24, as well as dramaturgy presentations before the evening performance on Feb. 25 and the matinee performance on Feb. 26.

TDPS is presenting Within These Walls in conjunction with A Year On Angel Island, a series of music and dance performances, exhibitions, public conversations, and courses sponsored by the Future Histories Lab and Arts+Design Initiative at UC Berkeley. The series uses Angel Island's immigration station as a jumping-off point for discussion about race in America, global migration, and architectures of incarceration.

As part of a community-wide commemoration of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, Lenora Lee Dance premiered Within These Walls as a site-specific experience on Angel Island in 2017. The company received a Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Production by the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee.

Production Details:

The UC Berkeley Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies presents Berkeley Dance Project 2023: Within These Walls by Lenora Lee Dance, performed at Zellerbach Playhouse on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m.; Friday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are available for $10-18 at tickets.berkeley.edu or at the Zellerbach Playhouse box office beginning one hour before each performance.

Within These Walls features artistic direction by Lenora Lee, choreography by Lenora Lee Dance (created in collaboration with the cast), production coordination by SanSan Kwan, rehearsal assistance by Lynn Huang and Johnny Huy Nguyen, stage management by Keanu Marquez, scenic design by Peet Cocke, costume design by Wendy Sparks, lighting design by Ray Oppenheimer, music composition by Francis Wong and Tatsu Aoki, poetry and text by Genny Lim, and projection design by Olivia Ting.

The student cast includes Victoria Amador, Cristopher Avila, Kimberly Fong, Jingwen (Caitlin) Han, Verena Lee, Teo Lin-Bianco, Emma Lowe, Gilberto Martinez Martinez, Liam Quinn, Noah Ryang, Jiho Seo, Tatianna Steiner, Eika Tokunaga, and Erin Yoon.

Lenora Lee Dance (LLD) is a San Francisco-based company that integrates contemporary dance, film, music, and research and has gained increasing attention for its sustained pursuit of issues related to immigration, incarceration, and global conflict. The company creates works that are set in public and private spaces, intimate and large-scale, inspired by individual stories as well as community strength, at times crafted for the proscenium or underwater, and at times site-responsive, immersive, and interactive. For 15 years LLD's work has grown to encompass the creation and presentation of films, museum and gallery installations, civic engagement, and educational programming. Learn more at lenoraleedance.com

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