“That’s the thing about Liang’s work: Those legs, those feet, all so visually beautiful – and we’re sure to see more of him” – Washington Post

From two outstanding Asian choreographers, Edwaard Liang and Xing Liang, come two brand new works for this double bill.

Liang was formerly with the New York City Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater I, while Xing is currently resident artist of City Contemporary Dance Company in Hong Kong. Both have received numerous accolades for their dancing and have been steadily gaining international recognition for their choreography. Named one of the “Top 25 to Watch” in 2006 by Dance Magazine for choreography, Liang has created works for his previous companies and others such as the Kirov Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet, the Shanghai Ballet and the Washington Ballet. Xing’s first full-length work with his company in 2006, Nijinsky, met with enthusiastic reception. His solo piece, Existence, at Dance Salad 2009 was applauded by Dance Europe for its “simplicity of form and conceptual depth…structured in amazingly fluid movements punctuated by finely detailed gestures”.

The works they have created for Refractions draw from Asian philosophies in distinctive ways. As Above, So Below by Liang is loosely based on the Buddhist notion of ‘bardo’, the world in between heaven and earth. Hauntingly beautiful and ethereal, it expands on an idea that was first explored in Distant Cries, a pas de deux he created for the New York City Ballet in 2005. Xing’s Nameless is inspired by Lao Tzu’s classic Tao Te Ching. It embraces the freedom and openness of creativity in a choreography that is imbued with an unbridled sense of curiosity and interactivity. Refractions is a collaboration between Singapore Dance Theatre and Esplanade.

For more information and video clips, please visit www.dansfestival.com