On the eve of Qixi Festival -- Chinese Valentine's Day -- four dance performance acts choreographed by Aly Rose, Assistant Professor of Dance at NYU Shanghai, set the tone for a romantic night at the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall.
Bitter, Sweet, Sour and Spicy were the performance motifs -- dancers depicted alienation and loneliness in smart-phone driven society, the sweetness of a first love, celebration and complexity of pregnancy and the laughable craze of family dysfunction. It was a rollercoaster of life’s emotions packed into a one-hour show.
From the US, China, and Ukraine, each performer brought their own unique dance background to this first time collaboration.
“We had ten days together and I am very pleased with our pieces,” concluded Aly Rose.
