Dumb Instrument Dance / Ziyian Kwan
Made In Voyage
Dancer: Ziyian Kwan Photo credits: David Cooper Photography
Dumb Instrument Dance / Ziyian Kwan
Dumb Instrument Dance provides environments for the research, creation and performance of contemporary dance and by extension, contemporary art. Through the Artistic Direction of Ziyian Kwan, our work ranges from gritty on the ground advocacy to polished choreographic productions. We aspire to artfully challenge the status quo and to connect with audiences by celebrating the vast richness of human experience. Stemming from collaborative exchange, we produce works that are collages of text, imagery and movement poetics. ‘ I am my heart’s dumb instrument ’.
Made In Voyage
Made In Voyage is a suite of 7 solos that pays homage to the performers’ grandmothers. Culling from this collection of kinetic and text-based works, Dumb Instrument seeks to tour 3 solos that counter historic erasure by highlighting the life stories of womxn of colour. Portrayed through the memories of their grandchildren, the work juxtaposes delightful familial anecdotes with the recounting of dramas related to diaspora, war and peace. Expect an undulating collage that reflects on identity, nurturing and resilience.
The Made In Voyage solos available for tour feature Ziyian Kwan, Justin Calvadores and Shion Skye Carter. 3 solos can be performed together to form a full show. Or, a 20-minute solo can be programmed individually. An additional community engaged option is to tour two of the already created solos and to commission Ziyian to choreograph a third with a dance artist/performer at the touring location.
Dancer: Justin Calvadores Photo credits: David Cooper Photography
Performance History of Made In Voyage
PREMIERE:
Made In Voyage premiered in fall 2020, via 54 micro-performances across 3 weeks, at Dumb Instrument’s cultural space Morrow, on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaɬ First Nations. Six 20-minute solos were collaboratively created and performed by Shion Skye Carter, Marisa Gold, Alexa Mardon, Zahra Shahab, Rianne Svelnis and Ziyian Kwan. The solos were performed in groupings of 3 to comprise a 1hr show.
SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENTS AND PERFORMANCES:
In October 2021, Ziyian created a 7th Made In Voyage solo in collaboration with performer Justin Calvadores. It premiered at The Scotia Bank Dance Centre’s Open House in the Faris theatre.
November 23 – December 4th 2021, The Dance Centre and Dance In Vancouver present 3 of the solos (danced by Justin Calvadores, Shion Sky Carter and Ziyian Kwan) for a 2 week run of 16 performances at Morrow.
Link to other video footage of the work:
Project Details
Conjured by Ziyian Kwan in collaboration with performers Justin Calvadores and Shion Skye Carter
Key Collaborators: Justin Calvadores, Shion Skye Carter, Ziyian Kwan
Audience: General Audiences
Length in minutes: Each solo is 20 minutes. The three solos can be performed together to comprise a 60-minute show. Optionally, each solo can stand alone and be performed independently on a mixed bill or festival program.
Space required: The work is built for live performance in a theatre, gallery, studio or other indoor environment and is adaptable to intimate or larger venues.
Preparation required: For a full-length presentation, we request 2 – 3 days for technical and staging preparation at the venue. If only one solo is presented, we request 3-6 hrs tech time, depending on whether we are using microphones and also on venue capacity.
General technical requirements: Sound: depending on the size of space the performance may require microphones that the company provides. Music is run by our own SM on QLAB via our own laptop. Staging: The work can be presented with or without wings. Props: the work tours with several small props and a chair. Floor: We are able to adapt to floor surfaces with advance notice. Stage Area: We can adapt to smaller or larger dimensions with advance notice. Lighting: The work can be performed in a studio or gallery without stage lighting, or on a proscenium stage supported by full tech.
Availability: July 2022 onwards.
Number of performers on tour including choreographer:
Three for the full-length presentation of 3 solos.
Two for a shared bill/festival where only 1 solo is presented.
Number of support staff on tour: Stage Manager and when appropriate, Lighting Designer
Community Engagement Activities
1. WORKSHOPS: We would be pleased to offer community level improvisation workshops as well as dance classes for pre-professional and professional dance artists, taught by touring artists.
2. DISCOURSE: We would love to meet and talk with people in the locales where Made In Voyage tours. The work explores themes that are at once personal and universal and we find that sharing information about grandmothers is a generative starting point for talking amongst friends and strangers.
a) Pre-show: We would open conversation to audiences around the source material and content of Made In Voyage, which orbits memories of, and experiences with grandmothers. Usually, people are interested in talking about what they know or don’t know about their matrilineage and how these relationships influence their identity.
b) Post-show: Post-performance chats would include a discussion guideline prepared by a Critical Response Facilitator - so that artists and audiences can engage in respectful and generative discourse.
3. CREATION: If a presenter is interested in commissioning a 20 minute solo to be created with a local dancer, we would require a 3-week creation period for choreographer Ziyian Kwan and the local performer.
Contact: Dumb Instrument Dance / Ziyian Kwan, dumbinstrumentdance@gmail.com
Website: dumbinstrumentdance.com
Facebook: dumbinstrumentdance
Instagram: dumbinstrumentdance