Choreographer and dancer Ziyian Kwan’s newest project, Tendrils, was inspired by two posthumous gifts from renowned Canadian dance artist Tedd Robinson. Prior to his death in 2022, Robinson expressed a wish that artifacts from his works be distributed to close acquaintances. Kwan, artistic director of Odd Meridian Arts, received her bequests while preparing a previous work called Crone.
“I opened them and felt immediately as though Tedd, my friend who passed away, was reaching out and letting me know that I was seen and appreciated—and that he was still there with me,” Kwan tells Pancouver by phone.
One gift was some little, bouncy golden balls that Robinson had included in his production of Trust: A Requiem for Wood and Stone. The other was a sheepskin hat that exudes a certain kookiness, in part because of the tendrils.
“I felt Ted was saying, ‘Just be kooky; don’t feel you have to be normal. Be off, be weird, and that’s good. That’s enough,’ ” the Vancouver dance artist relates.
She decided to choreograph a solo that includes these gifts. Her performance also features poetry. Plus, Kwan’s recorded voice reads out loud a letter from Robinson, who spent most of his life in Ontario and Quebec.
“The piece developed from this moment of feeling that from beyond, there was somebody there to feel cherished by,” Kwan says, “and who was helping me to believe in myself and my work from far away.”
Tendrils is not about Robinson
As she created the work over two months, she asked herself what story she wants to share. And she thought about the gifts that she can give as an artist who has been dancing for 37 years and choreographing her own works for 10 years. In addition, she thought about the gifts that she receives.
“It’s not about Tedd,” Kwan emphasizes. “Tedd doesn’t need anybody to create something about him. He has his own body of work of his art.”
Rather, Tendrils reflects the influence that people can have on one another through gestures while they’re still alive.
“It was really, literally, about a week ago where I understood this entire piece is about the giving, receiving, and observations of the gifts that are right here with us and that we can share with each other, in particular as creative human beings,” she states.
Tendrils and Croquis paired at Dance in Vancouver
The Dance Centre will present the world premiere of Tendrils at Scotiabank Dance Centre on Thursday (November 21) in a double bill with Vancouver choreographer Ralph Escamillan’s Croquis solo. These performances are part of Dance in Vancouver 2024.
According to the Dance Centre, the shape-shifting Kwan’s 30-minute piece is “the first in a series of works that are odes to artists whose inspirational writings, teachings, and practices are living toolkits for survival and hope”.
The 14th biennial Dance in Vancouver runs from Wednesday (November 20) to Sunday (November 24) at various venues. They include Morrow, which Kwan initially created as a three-month pop-up cultural hub in July 2020. But it had staying power, remaining at its original location until December 2021.
Now, Morrow is a 1,270-square-foot studio, gallery, and work area at 910 Richards Street. With theatrical lighting, surround masking, and a sound system, it can host a variety of performances.
“We have literally had hundreds of artists coming through,” Kwan says. “We’ve just programmed so many events.”
The Dance Centre will present the world premiere of Odd Meridian’s Tendrils at Scotiabank Dance Centre on Thursday (November 21). It’s in a double bill with Vancouver choreographer Ralph Escamillan’s Croquis. These performances are part of Dance in Vancouver 2024, which runs from Wednesday (November 20) to Sunday (November 24).
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