Where and When
Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street, N.E., Washington, DC. Performance: Oct. 25, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: Adult: $28, Child (12&Under): $22. Call: 202-399-7993 or visit atlasarts.org and gindance.org/GinDan….
"Through dance, we deliver our ideas, stories and emotions across without saying a word," said Shu-Chen Cuff, artistic director of the Reston-based Gin Dance Company. "Regardless what country you are from and what language you speak, the audience can hear your voice by watching the body movements expressing with a different rhythm, different energy and different dynamic. "
Founded in 2011, Gin Dance has taken leaps and bounds in the area's professional dance scene. Gin Dance has performed at the Reston Multicultural Festival, at benefits such as the "Angel's Fund" held at Westfield High School and for the Child Rescue Centre at George Mason University's TheaterSpace as well as at Reston's CenterStage and the VelocityDC Dance Festival in Harmon Hall to name a few.
Gin Dance Company's choreography reflects Cuff's Asian heritage blended with contemporary Western dance; a graceful artistic fusion. Born in Taiwan, she now resides in Reston.
Describing Gin Dance, Board member Liza Eller, of Springfield, noted that "Shu-Chen works in such detail and with such passion and commitment".
Why the name "Gin"? The pronunciation of "Gin" means "real," "truthful," "sincere" in Mandarin.
Next for Gin Dance will be a full evening at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in D.C. called "East Meets West." The performance will take the audience on a journey from a fortuneteller in Taiwan to "to the American pop culture scene where an addiction to technology is changing the way we interact," said Cuff.
The event includes a new work by Gin company member Elizabeth Lucrezio.
"Music is such an important element of choreography. It’s an invisible art form in dance, but yet the imagination and emotions seems so close and clear..."
The recorded musical pieces "enhance the story, idea, and emotion for the piece." For "East Meets West" the dancers "will don modern costumes with an Asian flair, a colorful contemporary edgy look, and whimsical black and white contrast."
"Watching dance is a great way to unplug for a couple of hours and lose ourselves in the moment; a moment filled with beautiful and intricate movement set to music that touches our soul," said Cuff.