Edwaard Liang
Encyclopedia
Edwaard Liang is a Tawanese-American dancer and choreographer
. He grew up in Marin County, California
.
.
in the spring of 1993 and was promoted to soloist in 1998. In 2001, Liang joined the Broadway cast of Fosse
in a principal role. In 2002, he was invited by Jiri Kylian
to become a member of the Nederlands Dans Theater 1, where he began his career as choreographer. Returning from Holland, Liang again danced with the NYCB from 2004-2007.
His piece Flight of Angels, has been performed by various companies around the world. He was invited to participate in the 2004 New York Choreographic Institute. That same year, Distant Cries, danced by NYCB principal dancers Peter Boal
and Wendy Whelan
, was premiered to excellent reviews from the New York Times and had performances at the Joyce Theatre, New York City Ballet, and City Center. Since establishing himself as a freelance choreographer, numerous companies have performed his ballets Some of the recent companies that have performed his works include New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet
, Pacific Northwest Ballet
, Hamburg Ballet
, Shanghai
Ballet, Washington Ballet
, Hubbard Street 2
, National Ballet of Novosibirsk
, Colorado Ballet
, Guggenheim's
Works and Process and Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company
.
Edwaard Liang has recently made works for the Joffrey
and Washington Ballets and has upcoming creations for the San Francisco and Tulsa Tulsa Ballet
s, his first full-length production, Romeo and Juliet.
International Ballet Competition and the Mae L. Wien Award.
In 2006, Liang was named one of the "TOP 25 to Watch" by Dance Magazine for choreography. He was also the winner of the 2006 National Choreographic Competition, and was also invited to be apart of the 2007 National Choreographers Initiative. In 2008, Liang was invited to create a new work for the Joffrey Ballet. The resulting ballet, AGE OF INNOCENCE, with costumes by Maria Pinto, was deemed " a newly minted masterpiece" by the Chicago Sun Times.
Liang has also been featured in the New York City Ballet Workout book and it's accompanying video and Richard Corman's book of photographs "Glory". His television appearances include the nationally televised PBS Great Performances broadcast "Dance in America: From Broadway: Fosse," which has subsequently been made into a DVD. He is one of the winners of the Prince Prize Grant for Choreography and the Choo San Goh Award for Choreography. In 2008, he was also nominated for the Golden Mask Award for WHISPERS IN THE DARK in Russia.
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
. He grew up in Marin County, California
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
.
Training
He began dance training at the age of five at Marin Ballet. In 1989, Liang entered the School of American BalletSchool of American Ballet
The School of American Ballet is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the...
.
Career
He joined New York City BalletNew York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
in the spring of 1993 and was promoted to soloist in 1998. In 2001, Liang joined the Broadway cast of Fosse
Fosse
Fosse is a three-act musical revue showcasing the choreography of Bob Fosse. After 21 previews, the original Broadway production, conceived and directed by Richard Maltby, Jr...
in a principal role. In 2002, he was invited by Jiri Kylian
Jiří Kylián
Jiří Kylián is a Czech dance choreographer.Kylián studied in Prague and, at the age of 20, won a scholarship at the Royal Ballet School in London. He joined the Stuttgart Ballet in 1968 and worked under John Cranko, where he began to choreograph. Kylián became Artistic Director of Nederlands Dans...
to become a member of the Nederlands Dans Theater 1, where he began his career as choreographer. Returning from Holland, Liang again danced with the NYCB from 2004-2007.
His piece Flight of Angels, has been performed by various companies around the world. He was invited to participate in the 2004 New York Choreographic Institute. That same year, Distant Cries, danced by NYCB principal dancers Peter Boal
Peter Boal
Peter Boal is artistic director of Pacific Northwest Ballet and director of its affiliated school in Seattle, Washington. He was born in Bedford, New York, in 1965 and began studies at the School of American Ballet at age nine.Mr...
and Wendy Whelan
Wendy Whelan
Wendy Whelan is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and guest artist with Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company.-Early life:A native of Louisville, Kentucky , she began her dance training with local teacher Virginia Wooton at the age of three...
, was premiered to excellent reviews from the New York Times and had performances at the Joyce Theatre, New York City Ballet, and City Center. Since establishing himself as a freelance choreographer, numerous companies have performed his ballets Some of the recent companies that have performed his works include New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet
The San Francisco Ballet is a ballet company, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. SFB is the first professional ballet company in the United States...
, Pacific Northwest Ballet
Pacific Northwest Ballet
Pacific Northwest Ballet is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington in the United States. Founded in 1972 as part of the Seattle Opera and named the Pacific Northwest Dance Association, it broke away from the Opera in 1977 and took its current name in 1978. It is said to have the highest per...
, Hamburg Ballet
Hamburg Ballet
Hamburg Ballet, also known as the Hamburg State Opera Ballet, is an internationally acclaimed ballet company located in Hamburg, Germany. Since 1973 it is directed by the American dancer and choreographer John Neumeier....
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
Ballet, Washington Ballet
Washington Ballet
The Washington Ballet is an ensemble of professional athletic classical ballet dancers. It was founded in 1976 by American ballet pioneer Mary Day, and has been under the artistic directorship of Septime Webre since 1999.-The Mary Day years :...
, Hubbard Street 2
Hubbard Street
Hubbard Street is a road in Chicago, Illinois named for early settler Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard. Where Hubbard Street passes over the Kennedy Expressway, the Expressway enters a tunnel made up of surface streets known colloquially as "Hubbard's Cave." Hubbard Street has three distinct sections....
, National Ballet of Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
, Colorado Ballet
Colorado Ballet
Colorado Ballet is a classical ballet company based in Denver, Colorado. Comprising two academies as well as a company, Colorado Ballet serves more than 110,000 patrons each year. The main performance venue is Ellie Caukins Opera House in downtown Denver....
, Guggenheim's
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
Works and Process and Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company
Christopher Wheeldon
Christopher Wheeldon is an international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Born in Somerset, England, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at the age of 8. He attended the Royal Ballet School between the ages of 11 and 18...
.
Edwaard Liang has recently made works for the Joffrey
Joffrey Ballet
The Joffrey Ballet is a dance company in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1956. From 1995 to 2004, the company was known as The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. The company regularly performs classical ballets including Romeo & Juliet and The Nutcracker, while balancing those classics with pioneering modern...
and Washington Ballets and has upcoming creations for the San Francisco and Tulsa Tulsa Ballet
Tulsa Ballet
Tulsa Ballet is a professional American Ballet company located in Tulsa, OK. The artistic mission of Tulsa Ballet is "To preserve the tradition of classical ballet, promote the appreciation of contemporary dance, create works of superior and enduring quality, and educate through exemplary...
s, his first full-length production, Romeo and Juliet.
Awards
1993 medal winner at the Prix de LausannePrix de Lausanne
The Prix de Lausanne is an International dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition are now leading stars with major ballet companies...
International Ballet Competition and the Mae L. Wien Award.
In 2006, Liang was named one of the "TOP 25 to Watch" by Dance Magazine for choreography. He was also the winner of the 2006 National Choreographic Competition, and was also invited to be apart of the 2007 National Choreographers Initiative. In 2008, Liang was invited to create a new work for the Joffrey Ballet. The resulting ballet, AGE OF INNOCENCE, with costumes by Maria Pinto, was deemed " a newly minted masterpiece" by the Chicago Sun Times.
Liang has also been featured in the New York City Ballet Workout book and it's accompanying video and Richard Corman's book of photographs "Glory". His television appearances include the nationally televised PBS Great Performances broadcast "Dance in America: From Broadway: Fosse," which has subsequently been made into a DVD. He is one of the winners of the Prince Prize Grant for Choreography and the Choo San Goh Award for Choreography. In 2008, he was also nominated for the Golden Mask Award for WHISPERS IN THE DARK in Russia.