Health & Fitness
Watch and Learn: Experience Touch and Identity with MFA Thesis Choreographies
An MFA Thesis performance by choreographers Jarrell Iu-Hui Chua and Christine Germain at UC Davis.
UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance is proud to present MFA Thesis Choreographies: “Liglio,” choreographed by Jarrell Iu-Hui Chua in collaboration with Bobby August Jr., and “Transmutation,” choreographed by Christine Germain in collaboration with Andrea del Moral and Deirdre Morris. “Liglio” travels through the worlds of memories, dreams and present realities to investigate touch and its effects on relationships, while “Transmutation” examines questions of personal identity and identity shifts. The production runs from Thursday, Feb. 21 to Sunday, March 3 and is rated R for nudity and adult language. Tickets are $17 in advance or $19 at the door, and are available through the Mondavi Center.
Chua’s “Liglio,” which means “link” in Esperanto, explores her feelings toward her own cultural heritage. Chua and August Jr. both identify as “Hapa,” or of half-Asian heritage, and their experiences growing up “Hapa” in America are a major theme of the production.
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“Liglio” deals with rebuffed attempts to fit in and the back-and-forth between rejection and self-rejection. Its outlook, however, is optimistic; “Esperanto,” which means “the one who hopes,” was intended to symbolize peace among those of different cultures. Above all, “Ligilo” explores the healing nature of touch through erotic love, humor, tenderness and other interactions.
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“Transmutation” also has an autobiographical base in the lives of Germain, del Moral and Morris, including Germain’s experiences as a French-Canadian immigrant in the United States as well as other countries. The three women of “Transmutation” respond to tweaks in identity in different ways, including relearning who they are in their relationships to others, space and the world.
“Transmutation” was largely inspired by Germain’s study of the Feldenkrais method, a system providing tools to increase self-awareness and improve habitual physical patterns. The audience is invited to join in on these exercises, giving them an opportunity to see and feel elements of identity in new ways.
For more information including ticket sales, visit: theatredance.ucdavis.edu
