Since this year is the last year of Culturama for me, I decided to become a leader. I wanted to lead China, as I have always been dancing Chinese dance since I was young.

This year’s theme is “our stories”, therefore me and my friend decided to choreography a piece which consists of three different sections that represents different time period in the Chinese history. The three time periods that we chose are representative of the Chinese history. Our dance takes on a narrative of traveling throughout the history of China. Inspired by a poem written by Du Fu in the most prosperous time of China – the Tang Dynasty. Our dance explores the elegance and beauty that he describes of women at the time, celebrating the richful culture and timelessness of beauty. As our dance progresses, the time frame depicts the classic Shanghai life that people lived in the 20th century. In a time of unrest and war, the dance portrays the lavish lifestyle as western influences are introduced. The qipao worn for the dance is symbolic of beauty at the time, through which we explore the stories of women collectively. Lastly, the audience is presented with a contemporary fusion piece whereby the modern times of China is represented. The piece is titled “饕餮” which is a mythical monster dated back to 200 BC. The fusion between its historical origin and the stylistic choreography allows us to integrate the past and the present, through which we present to you the timelessness of history.