DYNASTY SUITE (1993)
Choreography: Lily Cai
Music: Gang Situ & Gary Schwantes
Lighting Design: Novella Smith

The Dynasty Suite is Cai's enchanting interpretation of four classical Chinese dances from dynasties beginning in 770 BC to the present. Beginning with Basket Girls - Dance from Zhou (770-221 BC), dancers in long elegant blue dresses carry long slender poles with dangling baskets make beautiful visual designs and patterns across the

stage. From there courtly dancers throw breathtaking high arches with their red silk ribbons in the Dance from Tang (618-907 BC) depicting timeless graceful goddesses. In the Dance from Qing (1644-1911 AD), a row of dancers dressed in richly embroidered Chinese attire and headdresses walk on high platform shoes with royal grace and charm. Lastly, the Straw Hat Girl features a mysterious sensual soloist in a modern Dai dance style. All four dynasties are briefly re-visited with a Dynasty Quartet-- a combination of Zhou, Tang, Qing and Dai dynasty soloists.

PRESS QUOTES

• “Cai’s seven lithe female dancers shifted into curving postures or glided across the stage with the self-contained languor of models who seem to have secrets....There were remnants of coy maidens of old -- tiny steps, a sweet settling into S-curves, gently wreathing arms. But there were also jutting hips, shoulder isolations and knowing gazes.”
~ Jennifer Fisher, Los Angeles Times

• "The groupings are a fluid as the phrasing, which was consistently lovely. The dancers moved from the Tang Dynasty's ribbon dances to the surprisingly sexy promenade on wooden platform shoes evoking the Qing era. A solo, Straw Hat Girl, pointed to her curiosity as much as to her solid ballet training at the Shanghai Opera. The finale, a parade of rich costumes and richer smiles, was stunning."
~ Octavio Roca, The San Francisco Chronicle