Counting down to 2015 in Taiwan!! Woo hoo!! Wish our family and friends in Taiwan a fantastic New Year!! 新年快樂!!
Photo by Ruth Judson
Shu-Chen Cuff in ‘The Core’
Counting Down
December 31, 2014 By
Master Class at Virginia Tech
November 17, 2014 By
I had a great time teaching at The Remembrance Through Arts Workshop at Virginia Tech at 1 pm on Sunday, November 16. This special workshop is to dedicate and celebrate the vibrant life of Reema Samaha through dance.
Grand Opening of the Fredgren Studio Theater
September 22, 2014 By
September 21, 2014, a beautiful sunday afternoon. It was a very special and important day… BalletNova Center for Dance in Falls Church, where Gin Dance Company has been calling home since our inception, was having a Grand Opening of the Fredgren Studio Theater. We were so honored and thrilled to be performing at such a special event. After several years of fundraising and building out the space, the theater is finally open!! This theater (Fredgren Studio Theater) was dedicated to the founders of BalletNova Center for Dance (formerly Arlington Center for Dance), Mr. and Mrs. Fredgren(Ken & Kathy) who first hired me as a faculty member and brought me into this wonderful family 12 years ago. The solid foundation that Ken and Kathy laid is what the BalletNova we all know today is built upon as it continues to grow and blossom. I’m truly grateful for all they have done along with the entire staff at BalletNova and it’s supporters to make this happen. The Fredgren Studio Theater will provide a space for the artists and dance companies like us to have a place to present our works as we continue to grow. We are looking forward to sharing our work and creating memories with this wonderful community at the Fredgren Studio Theater. Here is an interview: http://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2014/09/23/moment-interview-fredgren-studio-theater/
Ribbon cutting in style! Well done, Mr. and Mrs. Fredgren!
Ribbon cutting in style! Well done, Mr. and Mrs. Fredgren!
Ribbon cutting in style! Well done, Mr. and Mrs. Fredgren!
Performing at Grand Opening of the Fredgren Studio Theater.
Candy and Jim Performing a tap duet
Did they cut the ribbon yet?
With the coolest Mr. and Mrs. Fredgren
Jane and Mr. Fredgren
Happily celebrating with our BalletNova family!
Just One
August 28, 2014 By
We are so thrilled and excited about GDC’s very own dancer Elizabeth Lucrezio is creating a breathtaking new piece called ‘Just One’ which explores the impact a simple, seemingly insignificant act can have… an act that may not change the world, but may mean the world to Just One. The new work will premier at our ‘East Meets West’ evening on October 25 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center!! Here are some photos from our rehearsal yesterday which is one of the section that Elizabeth and I doing a duet.
From Taiwan to the U.S. …
July 14, 2014 By
Years ago, I was freshman in college and was studying dance in Miami. I went home to spend the summer with family in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. I went back to my high school, Tsoying High School and met Shari there. She was teaching and choreographing for the students. I was so fortunate to take her classes everyday for the month in Taiwan. I learned and loved her class so much that I wrote her a letter when I got back to the U.S. I was so inspired by her. She gave amazing classes and she was patience, energetic, and loving. We lost contact for years. I can’t believe when I saw her again at Arlington Center For Dance which is now BalletNova Center for Dance a few summers ago. It turns out Nancie, Artistic Director of BalletNova, was used to dance with Shari and her husband David in Dulles Ballet. Nancie brought both of them to the school as guest teachers for the Summer Intensive Ballet Workshop. I was so thrilled to see them!! Nancie brought them here again this year. This past Friday (July 11, 2014) was their last day in DC. Carmen who is the faculty of BalletNova was also danced together with Shari and David and invited all of us to her home for dinner. It was such a special evening! We had too much fun chatting away… family, kids, house, food, and of course, most of time we talked about Dance! We all enjoyed so much catching up. Thank you for the delicious dinner and sharing your warm and charming home with us, Carmen!!
What a special evening! Had too much fun chatting away… Thank you for sharing your warm and charming home with us, Ms. Perez!!
Years ago, you taught me great dance method in Taiwan… So grateful that years later we meet again in DC and had the opportunity to keep learning and being inspired by you.
The Amazing 2014 Remembrance Cabaret
June 15, 2014 By
Thank you for having us at The 2014 Remembrance Cabaret… It was such a fun and electric night! The Producers, The Dillard’s Sister Ashley and Phoebe, brought in so many talented artists and companies to participate this special event. I was thrilled to be part of it and performed the solo work ‘Unchain’. It’s good to see everyone!! Great job!!
Always a pleasure seeing The Samaha’s family!
The Lovely Mrs. Samaha
The Amazing and Beautiful Dillard Sisters, Ashely and Phoebe
My Student Samara
The Wonderful Posbic’s Family
The Energetic and Humorous Hosts
Final Bow
What an Event! Taiwan Night 2014 Concert
May 28, 2014 By
May 24, 2014, Saturday, we arrived at the Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center at 4 pm and were anxious to get on the stage to start our tech rehearsal. We hung the Chinese lantern, set up the benches and other got the other props into position. We worked with technicians to get the projector video set while the dancers were in the dressing room getting into costumes and warming up. We got things rolling quickly! We proceeded to set all the lighting cues and complete the sound checks. Then moved straight into a dress rehearsal. By 6 pm we had finished tech and the dress rehearsal and were ready! Other performers were starting to arrive and began taking turns to get on stage for their rehearsals & sound checks. We headed back to the dressing room where there were sushi dinner boxes waiting for us. What a treat!
At 6:30 pm the House opened… and it’s a Full House!! Soon, it was curtain time (7 pm)! We were the opening act for the evening. Before the curtain opened, the Chairman/President of Taiwan Culture Center of Greater Washington (TCC), Tai L Huang made his opening remarks. He thanked the event sponsors and gave a warm welcome to all the guests. Then the curtain opened and it was show time!! GDC performed ‘The Teller’, it was well received by an enthusiastic audience. Following ‘The Teller’ (Act I), there was a 15 minute intermission. Before the 2nd Act started, TCC presented the Taiwanese American Community Scholarship Awards (TACSA) to 11 award recipients (note, these awards are open to high school Seniors from all ethnic groups). Big congrats to all the winners!! Then the curtain opened for Act II. The 2nd Act was filled with incredibly talented musicians including world renowned leading violist Hsin-Yun Huang, violinist Shu-Ting Yao, Soprano solo Lucy Lu-Hsuan Chen, pianist Yi-Fang Huang, and The Greater Washington Taiwanese American Chorus. It was an exquisite musical performance, one after the other.
After the show, we joined many of the performers for a post performance snack at Clyde’s Tower Oaks Lodge (Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae for me!). We celebrated the success of this special evening and shared our life long journey of pursuing our dreams as artists. We talked about our busy lives, we even talked about some of our funny performance experiences. We chatted the remainder of the evening away! Well after midnight, the party finally came to an end. What a memorable evening! Gary and I truly cherished this moment and are so grateful for Tai, Huai-En, and everyone at TCC for brining us together. Big congrats to TCC and all the performers for this spectacular performance and a great success! Bravo!!
Taiwan Night 2014 Concert Program
Shu-Chen Working with Lighting Designer for The Teller
Sushi for Dinner
GDC Dancers Getter Ready
Tai Huang, Chairman/President of Taiwan Culture Center of Greater Washington
The 2014 Taiwanese American Community Scholarship Award Recipients
Violist Hsin-Yun Huang
Violist Hsin-Yun Huang and Pianist Yi-Fang Huang
Violist Hsin-Yun Huang and Violinist Shu-Ting Yao
Performers with Composer Sarana Chou on the far left
Post Performance Celebration at Clyde’s Tower Oaks Lodge
From ‘Paquita’ to ‘The Teller’
May 5, 2014 By
What a spectacular weekend! Thank you for having us, BalletNova Center for Dance!! This year, BalletNova’s Artistic Director Nancie Woods re-staged the classical ballet, ‘Paquita’ and her original work, ‘ Grande Tarantelle’. Choreographer Constance Walsh premiered her newest work, ‘Sígame’. At Gin Dance Company, we brought our original work excerpts from ‘The Teller’. It was such a fun, eclectic, and energized program. Big congrats to choreographer Constance Walsh, all dancers, and most importantly BalletNova’s Artistic Director Nancie Woods and Executive Director Caroline Warren for such a magnificent production! Bravo, everyone!!
LADV (Life After Domestic Violence)’s Gala and Fashion Show, “Phoenix Rising”
April 28, 2014 By
What a beautiful event at the LADV (Life After Domestic Violence)’s Gala and Fashion Show, “Phoenix Rising” this past Friday, April 25! The event was held at TriVision Studio. The event setting was modern, trendy, and elegant. The Gala performance started at 7:40 pm with a welcome note from the emcee and then opened the show with my solo work ‘Unchain’. The program also included belly dancing by Um-Neeya Dance Company and hip hop by ONE UNIT. The energy was running high. The show closed with GDC’s ‘The Core’. After the performance, the fashion show started with Apoorva McIntosh’s latex collection – Phoenix Rising. Apoorva is a talented, accomplished and award winning Fashion Designer who is also the Founder of the LADV Foundation. Her designs were fun and chic. At the end, Apoorva shared her very personal experiences in sexual and domestic abuse and how she decided to form the organization so she can reach out to many and help create awareness of the domestic abuse epidemic in society and help survivors of domestic abuse. We are truly grateful for Apoorva McIntosh for having us. It was a privilege to be a part of it. Also, great thanks to Abla Doku with Eventstagers for organizing such a great party and TriVision Studio for the beautiful space. 
Cherry Blossom in DC
April 11, 2014 By
The cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin teemed with visitors as the National Park Service declared Washington’s famous Japanese cherry trees at peak bloom. It breathtakingly beautiful! Go check it out!!
