Dancer Jin-Wen Yu performs Mar. 18-20

Dancer/choreographer Jin-Wen Yu will present new and recent works in a concert employing multimedia technology. “Interphase” runs March 18-20, starting at 8 p.m. in Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space, Lathrop Hall, 1050 University Ave. Tickets are available at the Wisconsin Union Theater Box Office or at the door. Prices: $12 general public, $8 students and seniors. Parking is available at Grainger Hall or in Lot 20, three blocks west of Lathrop Hall on University Avenue, between Orchard and Randall Street.

Dancer/choreographer Jin-Wen Yu will present new and recent works in an extraordinarily diverse concert March 18, 19 and 20 at 8 p.m. in the Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space in Lathrop Hall, 1050 University Avenue. Entitled Interphase, the concert will highlight guest artists and state-of-the-art multi-media technology.

Guest artists Billbob Brown, Jan Erkert, Joseph Koykkar and Heidi Olivares along with videographers Wendy Woodson and Ting-Yi Lin are featured in the concert which includes three solos, two duets and one group dance.

In Yu’s work, emotional charges are seen in both explosive and subtle movements. He creatively integrates Tai Chi, Chinese opera dance and ballet with modern dance. (See program details below.)

In his second year as assistant professor in the UW-Madison Dance Program, Yu has already gained a following locally as well as nationally and internationally. With a headline that reads “Irresistible Yu Captivates Audience,” the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says of Yu, “He makes even the slightest movement powerful, beautiful and significant. Incredible…” According to the Dallas Morning News, “…magnificently fluent Jin-Wen Yu lingers in the memory.”

Yu will also give a free lecture and demonstration for K-12 students and their parents Saturday, March 20 from 2-3 p.m. in the Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space. The event coincides with the UW–Madison Dance Program’s annual High School Dance Workshop which is taught by faculty and held throughout the day in Lathrop Hall.

Concert tickets are available at the Wisconsin Union Theater Box Office (262-2201), 800 Langdon St. or at the door. Prices are $12 for the general public and $8 for students and seniors.

Parking is available at Grainger Hall on Brooks Street between University Avenue and Johnson Street or in Lot 20, three blocks west of Lathrop Hall on University Avenue between Orchard and Randall Streets. Call the dance program at (608) 262-1691 or 262-1640 for more information.

Interphase program highlights
Water Series, a premiere solo, focuses on water imagery such as raindrops, drifting bodies, floating ice and fish in a tank to reveal the growth and maturity of life with seasonal shifts.

Terpsichores of Wind, a female duet , is a contemporary rendition of Chinese long-sleeved dance to explore feminine quality and energy.

Duet #1 is an intense and dynamic male duet with guest artist Billbob Brown.

Love Poems, choreographed by Jan Erkert, is an intimate solo expressing Japanese love poems through dance movements and videography.

Come To Be Tangos, a ballet solo set on guest artist Heidi Olivares with intricate designs of ballet footwork and modern dance.

First Fall, a dance inspired by New England fall foliage and the Chinese saying “One Falling Leaf, Autumn Everywhere,” an exuberant group dance that orchestrates the symphony of autumn falling leaves.

Annual High School Dance Workshop on March 20
Master classes with faculty, an Interarts and Technology presentation and a lecture and demonstration with internationally renowned dancer/choreographer Jin-Wen Yu are some of the highlights of the upcoming UW Dance Program’s annual High School Dance Workshop on March 20. Any high school student with dance experience may register and attend. The workshop is free.

Classes will be held throughout the day in historic Lathrop Hall, 1050 University Avenue, on the UW–Madison campus. In addition to attending master classes in ballet, modern technique and African, participants will be treated to a special hour-long lecture and demonstration conducted by professor Jin-Wen Yu in the new Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space beginning at 2 p.m. At day’s end, students will be given a tour of Lathrop Hall, a recently renovated state-of-the-art facility.

Following the workshop, participants are invited to attend Jin-Wen Yu’s evening concert, Interphase, beginning at 8 p.m. in the Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space. Special vouchers entitling those attending the high school workshop to purchase concert tickets for $5 are being offered.

For more information about the workshop and how to register, please call the UW–Madison Dance Program offices at (608) 262-1691 or e-mail: kmhellen@soemadison.wisc.edu.