Sat, May 17
|Highways
Jingqiu Guan - Where Are We Going Now?
Visceral + cinematic, this double bill from choreographer Guan digs into the Chinese diaspora through movement, memory & myth. A solo lights up a translucent cube with poetry from Angel Island; the other rides rails across continents as an ensemble dances through dislocation and generational echoes
Time & Location
May 17, 2025, 8:00 PM
Highways, 1651 18th St, Santa Monica, CA 90404, USA
About The Event
Choreographer and award-winning filmmaker Jingqiu Guan presents an evening of multimedia dance exploring migration, memory, and resilience—especially within the Chinese diaspora. Blending motion capture, projection, original score, and live performance, these two works trace journeys across time and geography while asking: Where are we going now, together?
PROGRAM
Room: A Corporeal Dialogue Across Time - Set within a glowing translucent cube, this solo performance is inspired by poems etched into the walls by Chinese immigrants detained at San Francisco’s Angel Island (1910–1940). As the dancer moves, motion-capture technology triggers projected visuals, creating a live dialogue between body, history, and image. The work explores how we listen to our past—with openness, vulnerability, and evolving tools.
Tales of Railroad (Work-in-Progress) - An ensemble work tracing migration through vignettes of train travel—across 20th-century China, wartime Germany, and 19th-century America. This first chapter of a larger piece draws on personal stories, literature, and archival research to illuminate displacement, trauma, and the enduring hope for a more humane future.
ABOUT THE ARTISTOriginally from Chengdu, China, Jingqiu Guan is a choreographer, filmmaker, scholar, and dancer whose work centers the voices of women, immigrants, and communities of color. She creates both live performance and dance films that explore cultural identity, motherhood, and social justice through bold interdisciplinary methods. Guan holds a PhD in Culture and Performance from UCLA and an MFA in Dance Performance from the University of Iowa. She is currently an Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Dance Program at Duke University.
COLLABORATORS
Dramaturg and Research Advisor: Eileen Chow
Interactive Media Technologist: Augustus Wendell
Projection Designer: Todd Winkler
Composer: Karam Salem
Lighting Designer: Darren Carter
Dancers: Natalia Cervantes, Indigo Cook, Jingqiu Guan, Shelly Han, Rongna Su, Amari Swierc
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Jingqiu Guan is a recipient of the EWCAA Arts Grant. Where We Are Going Now? is made possible through the generous support of:
Duke Arts Presents
Duke University Dance Program
East West Cultural Association of America (EWCAA)
Tickets
Admission
From $20.00 to $25.00
$25.00
+$0.63 ticket service fee
$20.00
+$0.50 ticket service fee
Total
$0.00