DanceHouse, in partnership with Lamondance, is happy to offer a unique Workshop opportunity with Hung Dance| Masterclass
BIRDY
HUNG DANCE (TAIWAN)
Presented with community partner Asian-Canadian Special Events Association
Creatures of a feather dance together in Birdy, Hung Dance’s call to the wild.
Employing a head piece called “Ling Zi” that incorporates pheasant tail feathers worn in traditional Chinese opera to represent warrior’s power and skill, Birdy offers up a magpie creation, concretizing bright bursts of freedom against the weighted cage of history.
Founded in 2017 by choreographer Lai Hung-Chung, Hung Dance’s choreographic vocabulary is drawn from martial arts, Peking opera, and traditional cultural symbols. Through the prism of performance, Taiwan’s complex history and political status metamorphize into a thrilling new dance language.
The calligraphic eloquence of four-feet long feathers moves from gentleness to violence, transforming into spears, whips, and a blade drawn sharply across the throat. Whether extending the body into space, wriggling in earnest writing, or offering a gossamer caress, the feathers function as a form of punctuation, leading and echoing movement phrases with the expressive vitality of living things.
As the dancers flock together in rippling patterns of conformity and divergence, rituals of behaviour gleaned from the non-human world, find their choreographic counterparts. Group think meets the defiance of individual identity, as self-policing roots out any opposition. What emerges in the tightrope struggle is a universal cry for freedom.
November 28 & 29, 2025 | 8pm
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Tickets available at https://dancehouse.caHung Dance is a Taiwanese contemporary dance company founded in 2017 by artistic director and choreographer Lai Hung-chung. Inspired by the word “hung (翃),” the company’s name reflects its aspiration to soar. Focusing on annual productions, international collaboration, and tours, Hung Dance also organizes the Stray Birds Dance Platform to foster choreographers’ creativity and connect them to global resources.
The company has earned numerous awards for its exceptional choreographic pieces “Watcher” and “Birdy” in renowned competitions and festivals worldwide. It has also embarked on an extensive international tour, captivating audiences across Europe, Asia, America, and Africa with over two hundred mesmerizing performances.
Hung Dance’s performances are a unique blend of traditional and contemporary elements, inviting audiences to interpret, imagine, and embrace dance’s timeless beauty. Lai Hung-chung’s choreography delves into human emotions and the connection between culture and nature. By seamlessly blending elements of Chinese opera, mythology, and Tai Chi with contemporary concepts, he has created a unique dance vocabulary and training system that is sure to intrigue and captivate.