AN ASIAN AMERICAN DANCE JOURNEY – Program B
In honor of Asian American Heritage Month, Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company (DTSBDC) triumphantly returns to Woolly Mammoth with their signature grace in storytelling.
Exploring the inner emotional terrain of humanity, the world-renowned Company presents beloved pieces from their 33-year history repertoire with a special emphasis on the Asian American experience. The Company will perform the world premiere of “Drawing in Space” – a dance homage to the inveterate artist, Ruth Asawa.
The Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company creates and performs modern dances that explore diverse perspectives, histories, and traditions. The result is a shared audience understanding and empathy that attest to the transformative power of dance. It’s why the Company has been hailed by The Washington Post as “Not only a Washington prize, but a national dance treasure” and has been voted “Best Dance Company in DC” by Washington City Paper readers in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
More information and tickets here.
PROGRAM A
April 24-26 (Fri. 7:30pm, Sat. 7:30pm and 2:00pm, Sun 2:00pm)
Meditations (2008)
Originally choreographed by Burgess for Ballet Memphis, Meditations is a full-company work that celebrates the Asian American community through sublime phrasing and breathtaking elegance of movement set to music by Lou Harrison. 13 minutes
Drawing in Space (2026) ***A World Premiere***
Paying tribute to the artistry and life of Japanese American artist, Ruth Asawa (1926-2013), Burgess draws inspiration for the new piece from the looped wire-metal works Asawa herself described as “drawings in space.” 10 minutes
Khaybet-The Shadow (1999)
It was the people like shadows darting from doorway to doorway that intrigued Burgess when he visited the tribal borderlands between Afghanistan and Pakistan on a cultural US State Department tour. Now a signature work of the Company with music by Philip Glass, this solo focuses on a woman approaching death; she revisits images from her life and ultimately comes to terms with her mortality. 6 minutes
Sudden Snow (2025)
A full-company work inspired by the paintings of abstract expressionist Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011), set to a montage of romantic era classical scores that Frankenthaler herself listened to while she painted. This multi-media work includes an interactive video design by Felipe Oyarzun Moltedo and costumes by Taos Pueblo fashion designer Patricia Michaels. Sudden Snow was commissioned by the University of New Mexico Art Museum. 30 minutes