FLIGHT: torn like a rose

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Fernando Sandaval

Choreographer Peggy Choy, in conjunction with the UW-Madison Dance Department and Department of Asian American Studies, is presenting the Madison premiere of FLIGHT: torn like a rose. This work, described as dance-theater, explores a 12th century Sufi poem. It premiered in New York City in 2017 and just had another run there this fall. Expect a diverse ensemble of dancers with training in an eclectic array of disciplines including Asian and Afro-Caribbean martial arts, ballet, contemporary dance and urban vernacular dance.

press release: Thursday, Oct. 31-Friday, Nov. 1, 8 pm; Saturday, Nov. 2, 2:30 pm, Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space, Lathrop Hall, 1050 University Avenue, UW-Madison

Tickets available in September 2019 through Campus Arts Ticketing. Tickets are $22, $16 for students/seniors. Tickets can be purchased online at artsticketing.wisc.edu, by phone at 608-265-ARTS, and in person at the Memorial Union, 800 Langdon Street. (If you pay cash in person anytime at Campus Arts Ticketing or at Lathrop Hall one hour before the show, you will not have to pay additional facility fee)

“FLIGHT: torn like a rose”, presented by the innovative dance company Peggy Choy Dance, is inspired by a celebrated 12th century Sufi literary work, “Conference of the Birds,” and is told with masterful technique through Afro-Asian dance fusion.

Peggy Choy Dance premiered “FLIGHT” in Brooklyn, NY at Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts in 2017. The Kumble is recognized for showcasing vibrant and diverse performances and has invited the Company back to perform again this fall (October 20-22, 2019).

 Now FLIGHT returns home to the Madison stage October 31-November 2,2019, at the Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space, UW Madison. Peggy Choy, Professor of Dance and Asian American Studies at the UW-Madison, has created a masterful production of FLIGHT with world-class dancers trained in Asian and Afro-Caribbean martial arts, urban vernacular dance and contemporary dance.

About FLIGHT

Inspired by the revered 12th century Persian poet Farid ud-Din Attar’s masterpiece, “Conference of the Birds”, Peggy Choy Dance brings to life an allegorical tale of the world’s birds embarking on a dangerous journey in search of the Wondrous Rose of Love.  The few birds that survive make a surprising and transformative discovery.  At a time when the West is anxious about the Middle East, “FLIGHT” challenges us to ask, Can we live in a state of deep love in a time of chaos and violence?  The birds spring to life through a diverse company of world-class dancers, from New York and Madison.  

The music, composed by New York-based Graham Haynes (the son of the renowned jazz drummer, Roy Haynes), was specially commissioned for “FLIGHT”, reflecting Haynes’ jazz roots, electronic music expertise, and his knowledge of African music.  He has traveled to Morocco where he has jammed with Moroccan Sufi musicians.  The libretto is by poet and playwright Ruth Margraff (School of the Art Institute of Chicago), vocals are by Persian-American Haleh Abghari, and costumes are by Andrew Jordan, and video collage is by Andrew Jordan and Grant Worth (both of NY).

About Peggy Choy Dance

Crossing boundaries through dance has been the signature of the Peggy Choy Dance Company.  Peggy Choy links cultural roots and histories through dance, often highlighting Asian American and African American intersections.  Since the 1990s, she has toured internationally from New York to Jakarta--at New York’s Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church, La MaMa Theater, Aaron Davis Hall, at DC’s Kennedy Center and Dance Place, Seoul Art Center, Prague’s Baráčnická Rychta Theater, Danza Teatro Retazos in Havana, and Jakarta’s Utan Kayu.

Choy, grew up in Hawai‘i, and has a foundation in Korean and Javanese dance, Asian martial arts, and is a certified teacher of Dayan Qigong (Wild Goose Qigong)—a 1,700 year-old vital energy force practice from China.  A gifted soloist, Choy has unearthed controversial and little-known stories, such as “Comfort Woman”--her signature work about sex slaves exploited by the Japanese military during World War II.  Choy’s “Sea Solos” series highlights the endangered lifestyle of the Korean diving women (haenyeo) of Jeju Island, Korea, touring to LA, Berlin, New York, Prague and Vancouver in 2011-2013.  “Wild Rice”--performed in Madison, Chicago, Prague and Havana (2014-2015)—is inspired by the wild rice that is central to the culture of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe. The wild rice is threatened with extinction if a mine is built nearby that will pollute the river’s water.  “Inside-Outside” explores the balance of ki (inner life-force energy or breath) and improvisation that is at the root of Korean culture.

Peggy Choy Dance, founded in 2010, explores provocative themes, including the solitary confinement of the Cuban Five in “Beyond Walls” (performed at Ailey Studios in NY, and in Havana), the uprising of African American guano miners in the late 1800s on the Caribbean island of Navassa in “THIRST” (Galapagos Art Space, Brooklyn).  “THE GREATEST! Hip Dance Homage to Muhammad Ali” premiered at Brooklyn’s Gleason’s Gym (where Ali himself had trained) in 2013.

Choy’s awards include NEA/Atlantic Center for the Arts fellowship, Wisconsin Dance Council and the Wisconsin Arts Board.  She has received commissions from Princeton and Cornell universities, Danspace Project’s Commissioning Initiative (New York), Bella Gaia (New York), Afro Yaqui Music Collective (Pittsburgh, PA), Kintari Foundation (Prague, Czech Republic), Seoul Selection and Café Antarsia Ensemble (Chicago, Illinois).

An associate professor of dance and Asian American studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Choy teaches her Ki-Flow™ dance technique, and has innovated courses, including Asian American Movement, and Afro-Asian Improv: From Hip Hop to Martial Arts Fusion. Choy was awarded a Fall Research Competition grant (2018), and the 2019 Emily Mead Baldwin Award in the Creative Arts.

Sponsor: Asian American Studies Program, UW-Madison

Co-Sponsors: Asian Languages & Cultures, UW Dance Department, Department of Afro-American Studies, Department of Theatre & Drama, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies