2019 International Youth Arts Festival Macauhttps://merakidancecollective.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/International_Youth_Arts_Festival_Macau_2019_53.jpg20481365Meraki Dance CollectiveMeraki Dance Collectivehttps://merakidancecollective.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/International_Youth_Arts_Festival_Macau_2019_53.jpg
This was the second time Meraki Dance Collective was invited to join the crew of the International Youth Arts Festival.
This magnificent 2019 edition was held in various locations throughout Macau. It was an honor for us to be part of the festival once again. A special thanks to Rebecca Yang from Rebecca Art to invite us.
Besides judging the dance contestants, we also provided a masterclass and did a unique improvisation performance with a selection of the other judges.
Watch the snippet below and check out the pictures to gain a taste of the festivities.
MDC Celebrating the 70 year foundation of the New China with a contemporary Cross-Cultural performancehttps://merakidancecollective.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Nanning_70_performance.jpg980489Meraki Dance CollectiveMeraki Dance Collectivehttps://merakidancecollective.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Nanning_70_performance.jpg
Something out of the ordinary but hella fun! Performing with Nanning Contemporary Dance Company (GuGuWu) on one of the biggest stages we’ve both ever performed on!
To celebrate the 70-year foundation of the New China, Meraki Dance Collective was invited to perform together with duo Wu Qian & Zhu Borui.
The performance was on a famous Chinese song which translated means ”Vine and Tree”. The moral of the lyrics of the song portrays how a couple, like vines and trees, are always intertwined and not separated.
Here at MDC, we love the cross-cultural working environment. It stimulates us to be even more creative in terms of communication, and it challenges us to create something we equally understand. Sharing the stage was a lovely experience and a true celebration of cross-cultural art.
The stage was phenomenal, stretching (at least 30 meters) over the local mingehu lake. Everyone was welcome to come and watch the show (which consisted of multiple cross-cultural programs), and it was live-broadcasted on the internet.
Meraki Dances Anywhere and Everywherehttps://merakidancecollective.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_7287.jpg39992666Meraki Dance CollectiveMeraki Dance Collectivehttps://merakidancecollective.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_7287.jpg
Meraki believes the magic of dance is not just limited to the traditional space of a theatre or dance studio. Truly, you can dance anywhere and everywhere. Consciously involving the surroundings in your art can certainly make the whole more meaningful and more interesting, or at least, in Liam and Loura’s vision.
So it’s only natural, that when Sunny Xie – Manager or Nanning’s Local Modern Dance Company GuGuWu – invited Meraki Dance Collective to join them in an hour site-specific improvisation performance as part of the city’s 1st ”One Day Dance Dance Festival”, they were more than thrilled.
The location of the improvisation performance was the underground section of a popular shopping mall in the buzzing center of the city named Sheng Tian Di. Amidst shops, some props, and mall-visitors was the stage.
The improvisation was musically guided by Hong-Kongnese Soundscape Artist and Experimental Musician Paul Yip. Amongst the group of dancers were various Chinese contemporary dance groups as well as Chilean Dance Artist Samuel Morales Abarza.
The whole experience was a very special one. Many mall visitors went out of their way to catch a glimpse of this unique and unpredictable event.
Once again was Meraki able to experience the universal language of dance… How it connects the artists who were first strangers of one another, and how it connects the performers with the audience who might have never seen contemporary dance before.
Liam and Loura are grateful for the opportunity to dance with such a dedicated group of artists and together share their art at an interesting location.
Would you like to experience Meraki perform at your next dance festival? Or teach at your dance intensive? That’s possible! Get in touch, there is nothing too crazy for us.
