Gin Dance

Gin Presents Legend of The White Snake at Capital One Hall

shuchen — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 16:00:51 +0000

When:

November 9, 2024
Doors open: 6:30 PM
Performance: 7:30 PM
What:

This production features two original pieces, each with distinct meanings, cultural influences, and styles. The title work, Legend of The White Snake, is a brand-new original piece with live music accompaniment by Chinese dulcimer musician Chao Tian. This work reimagines the classic Chinese folktale, which dates back to the Tang Dynasty. Although set during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor in the Qing Dynasty, the story has been retold in various forms over the centuries, including novels, operas, shadow plays, and movies. Our production puts a modern twist on this timeless love story, which follows an ordinary boy who falls in love with a beautiful woman who becomes his devoted wife. There’s only one catch: the beautiful and devoted wife is not human. She is, in fact, a thousand-year-old snake that has acquired the ability to transform into a human through centuries of Taoist training. With rich Chinese cultural influences and a touch of modern dance, our choreographer, Shu-Chen, brings this romantic story to life.

The second piece, Insight, is an original work inspired by the quote, “When an old

person dies, a library burns down.” This powerful statement reminds us of the

immense wealth of knowledge and experience that older generations possess.

Through her choreography, Shu-Chen expresses the awakening message that we

should respect and care more for our seniors, appreciating all they have done to

shape the world that younger generations will inherit. We need to hear their stories

and learn their lessons so that we can benefit and grow from the wisdom they have

to share.

This production is supported by Virginia Commission for the Arts, ArtsFairfax, and National Endowment for the Arts.

Tickets:
Click Here for Tickets

Audition!! Searching for Senior Performers!

shuchen — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 05:36:11 +0000

ATTENTION!! Searching for Senior Performers!!

When:
Sunday, March 26, 2023
– 9:45 a.m. Check In (Pre-Registration Required)
– 10:00 a.m. Audition
What:
GDC is casting male and female roles, ages 60+ to join Shu-Chen’s innovative and meaningful production “Insight” for our 2023 – 2024 season. Performances include our full evening production at Capital One Hall on November 11, 2023, and additional upcoming performances in spring/summer 2024. Some dance and acting experience is preferred. Audition includes learning simple choreography and an improvisation portion. Please wear something comfortable that you can dance in.

Rehearsals are from 10:00 – 11:00 am on Sundays at BalletNova Center for Dance starting May 6 with some additional evening rehearsals on Wednesdays in September, October, and November.
Please note: this is an unpaid performance opportunity.
Where:
BalletNova Center for Dance
3443 Carlin Springs RDFalls Church, VA 22041
Pre-Registration:
Pre-Registration Online Form: https://gindance.com/audition_registration
Questions:
Contact us: info@gindance.com

Special Guest Performer in The Company Project: Higher Ground

shuchen — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 01:35:48 +0000

Shu-Chen will be guest performing in Metropolitan School of the Arts’ (MSA) The Company Project: Higher Ground which features innovative choreography for this one-night-only event. Join MSA pre-professional dance companies, Impulse, MYTE, and dynaMYTE along with special guest performers, as they explore the ways in which we can level up!

Guest Performers also include Malik Dope Drummer (America’s Got Talent) and Luke Spring (The Ellen DeGeneres Show)

Come join us!

When:

March 12, 2023
– 5:00 p.m. Pre-Show Reception Sponsored by Burtons Grill & Bar of Alexandria.

– 6:00 p.m. Performance.
Where:

Ernst Community Cultural Center

8333 Little River Turnpike

Annandale, VA 22003
Tickets:
Click Here for Tickets

GDC Presents “I Am Here” at the Capital One Hall

shuchen — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 17:35:23 +0000

“I Am Here” will be comprised of three World Premier pieces choreographed by GDC Artistic Director, Shu-Chen Cuff. First, the title piece, “I Am Here” in which Shu-Chen, as a 1st generation immigrant from Taiwan to the U.S., delves into her personal experience of the desire, dreams, struggles, opportunities, and celebration of immigrating to the United States. “For this work, while it tells my story, I also wanted our patrons to have an opportunity to hear the stories of other 1st generation immigrants from different countries. So we included the words and stories of other immigrants and weaved them into a multi-discipline collaboration with renowned and innovative kinetic sculpture artist and educator, Kevin Reese who currently has over 190 sculpture installations in 30 states throughout the country.” says GDC Artistic Director Shu-Chen Cuff. Second, “A Cup of Tea” is an Asian culturally influenced work with live music accompaniment by Chinese Dulcimer musician, Chao Tian in which Shu-Chen delves into the culture and philosophy of the Chinese tea ceremony and reveals that the tea ceremonies and rituals contain an adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday life, as well as refinement, an inner spiritual content, humility, restraint and simplicity through dance. Third, “A New Day”, a contemporary ballet with a fun, light-hearted ode to Mozart’s humor and playful score to encourage, inspire, and motivate everyone to have a positive attitude and energy to face whatever the challenges come at us. Come join us for a special celebration and a unique cultural experience!

This production is supported by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, and ArtsFairfax.

When:
November 12 — 7:30 p.m.
Where:
Capital One Hall

7750 Capital One Tower RD

Tysons, VA 22102
Tickets:
Click Here for tickets

GDC Outreach Performance for A Gala Benefit Concert for World Central Kitchen

shuchen — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 17:30:40 +0000

Shu-Chen will be doing a solo performance among an impressive array of accomplished musicians and singers/vocalists for World Central Kitchen – feeding people in need on the front lines of hurricanes, floods, droughts, wild fires, famine, earthquakes, poverty and war. Join us!

When:
November 13 — 5:00 p.m.
Where:
Annunciation Catholic Church

3810 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.

Washington, DC 20016
Tickets:
It’s a FREE event!

Please Support our 7-8-9 Fundraising Drive! Together! We can keep the Curtain Up!

shuchen — Sat, 30 Jul 2022 16:12:21 +0000

We need your help raising $7,000 by 8/9… Thus, 7-8-9!

It’s been a very busy and exciting 2021 – 2022 season at GDC… We’ve completed some wonderful performances including our season opening production “Perfect 10 +” in which we collaborated with FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology, NY) at the Capital One Hall. We presented “Look Beyond” at the Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival. We were thrilled and honored to create and perform “Aspire” for A Celebration of “Buoyant Force”, a magnificent 50 foot tall steel sculpture created by Sue Wribcan which is installed at the Reston Town Square Park. We were especially proud to perform at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the first two adorable pandas arrival in DC.

In addition to these great events and more, we had the absolute pleasure of bringing our “The Golden Time” to the Reston Multicultural Festival and Taiwanese Association of America Greater Washington Chapter’s Gala.

At GDC, we pour our heart and soul into every production. We create to impact, inspire, and brighten lives. We have a tremendous passion and love for what we do. We are excited to announce that we will be returning to Capital One Hall to open our 2022 – 2023 season. At this very special evening, we will share a full evening length innovative production of “Emergence” in which we will have the privilege of collaborating with world renowned mobile sculpture artist, Kevin Reese in sharing with the audience our brand new work “I Am Here” – we use this unique collaboration of kinetic sculptures and dance to delve into immigrants’ experience of the desire, dreams, struggles, opportunities, and celebration of their immigration to this country. We are also extremely excited to announce our collaboration with acclaimed musician, Chao Tian, who will create and perform an original score for the new work, “A Cup of Tea”, part of our “Emergence”production.

The funds raised during our 7-8-9 Funding Drive ($7,000 by 8/9) will help us cover the production costs of our exciting 2022-2023 season, keeping our artists working and creating to bring excellence in performing arts to the community. We humbly ask for your help in raising the funds needed for this exciting and ambitious production with your tax-deductible contribution. You can help us achieve our goal of raising the needed funds with your tax-deductible contribution.

Please give whatever you can … Every dollar donated will bring us closer to our goal.
TOGETHER, we can keep the curtain up!

You can donate at by clicking the button below…

Note: If you prefer to make a contribution by check, please make check payable to Gin Dance Company and mail it to:

Gin Dance Company
1818 Library ST, Suite 500
Reston, VA 20190

Audition for Gin Dance Company!

shuchen — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 15:24:13 +0000

Gin Dance Company is seeking male and female dancers with a strong background in ballet and modern technique along with performance experience and a great passion and eagerness to grow. The audition is by invitation only. If interested, please send your resume, dance photos, and a dance video if it’s available to info@gindance.com

Gin Dance Company (GDC) is a Metropolitan DC/Northern VA based performing arts modern dance company. GDC was founded in 2011 to provide a professional environment for artists to learn, grow, and express themselves and to bring refreshing and vitalizing works of Artistic Director Shu-Chen Cuff to the community. Each of GDC’s works uniquely reflects Shu-Chen’s rich Asian Dance heritage and Eastern philosophy blended with Western fluidity of movement and culture that touch the soul through visuals arts and movement. GDC’s works have been recognized and named finalists at the Dance Metro DC Awards in the categories of Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Individual Performer. GDC has also been selected and invited to several prestigious events and performances reaching out to thousands of people including presenting our ‘Perfect 10 +’ at the Capital One Hall, ‘Deep eMotion’ production at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, The 30^th Annual DC Mayor’s Arts Awards at the Lincoln Theatre, The Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relation between China and the United states at the Embassy of The People’s Republic of China, DUMBO Dance Festival at the Gelsey Kirkland Arts Center and SoloDuo Dance Festival at the Dixon Place in New York, Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, VelocityDC Dance Festival at the Sidney Harman Hall, ‘Yes! Dance Invitational’ at the Dogtown Dance Theatre in Richmond, Taiwan Night Concert at the Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center, Professional Touring Artists Series at the Reston CenterStage, and the Reston Multicultural Festival, Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival.

We are guided by the philosophy that by spreading the amazing art form of dance, we are building a stronger and closer community. Applying that in practice, GDC has performed and supported many great charitable causes through our Outreach Performance Program including the American Diabetes Association, Child Rescue Center, Benefit Habitat for Humanity, The Angel Fund’s Remembrance Cabaret, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Catholic Charities U.S.A. Hurricane Relief, Life After Domestic Violence, Benefit Concert for Wounded Warriors and many others.

Our mission is both to provide a professional environment for artists to learn, grow, and express themselves and to bring refreshing and vitalizing works to the community. Each of Shu-Chen’s works uniquely reflects her rich Asian Dance heritage and Eastern philosophy blended with Western fluidity of movement and culture. We are guided by the philosophy that by spreading the amazing art form of dance, we build a stronger and closer community ~ Enriching lives through Dance. www.gindance.org

Celebrating 50th Pandaversary at the Smithsonian National Zoo!

shuchen — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 15:24:47 +0000

We were thrilled to perform for The Smithsonian National Zoo’s Pandaversary in celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the first two adorable pandas’ arrival in DC on April 16, at 11:00 am and 1:40 pm. We also got to share the stage with talented musicians Huai-En Tsai and Shu-Ting Yao. They performed a series of beautiful duo music. We performed “The Golden Time” choreographed by Shu-Chen Cuff, an Asian/culturally influenced work combining Chinese Opera movements and modern dance in exploring the golden time of Shanghai in the 1920s and the role women played during that era in China. It was such a fun day. Many people came to the zoo and many animals came out to enjoy this gorgeous weather! It was so great seeing some of our family and friends at our performance at the Smithsonian National Zoo this past Saturday! We are so happy and so grateful ❤️ Big thanks to JJ&T Entertainment and Dan Pierron and his team at the zoo for such a wonderful and fun experience.

Here are some great pictures!
: Gary Cuff
“The Golden Time” choreographed by Shu-Chen Cuff

We are Featured in The Georgetowner!

shuchen — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 17:17:11 +0000

“We were devastated watching what has happened in Ukraine a week before our performance at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. We wanted to pay a little tribute to show our support and respect of the Ukrainian people. We reached out to Carpathia Folk Dance Ensemble…”
Shu-Chen Cuff stated. Article and photos by Jeff Malet, The Georgetowner.
We are featured in The Georgetowner! Read all about it! Here is the article: https://georgetowner.com/articles/2022/03/12/gin-dance-companys-look-beyond-at-atlas-intersections-photos/.

We are Featured in Washington City Paper!

shuchen — Sat, 26 Feb 2022 15:55:22 +0000

“Gin Dance Company returns to INTERSECTIONS on March 5 with Look Beyond, a program of new dances by the troupe’s founder Shu-Chen Cuff” GDC’s “Look Beyond” Production Featured in Washington City Paper! Article by Rebecca Ritzel : Ruth Judson
Read all about it! https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/549787/city-lights-locals-take-the-stage-at-intersections-festival/

Come join us!! .

When:
March 5, 2022 — 8:00 p.m.

What:
This year we are thrilled to be presenting our full evening production ‘Look Beyond’ at the 2022 Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival! Join us and see all original works of GDC Artistic Director, Shu-Chen Cuff featuring uplifting and motivational works, ‘Aspire’ and ‘When the Wind Blows’ that delve into the importances of overcoming obstacles and circumstances outside of our control to achieve a fulfilled life and, ‘The Golden Time’ an Asian/culturally influenced work combining Chinese Opera movements and modern dance in exploring the golden time of Shanghai in the 1920s and the role women played during that era in China. Come join us for a special celebration and a unique cultural experience!

Where:
Atlas Performing Arts Center
Lang Theater
1333 H St. NE
Washington, DC 20002

Tickets:
Get your tickets HERE