DanceHouse: Hung Dance’s “Birdy”

PRESS RELEASE

DanceHouse Presents Taiwan’s Internationally Acclaimed
Hung Dance with the Vancouver Premiere of
– Birdy –

Anticipated performance marks the first time DanceHouse will present a Taiwanese work, with Hung Dance’s captivating cry for freedom

Vancouver, BC — DanceHouse presents the Vancouver premiere of Taiwan’s award-winning Hung Dance’s striking interplay of freedom and restraint in Birdy, on stage November 28 & 29, 2025 at 8pm at the Vancouver Playhouse. Employing an exquisite head piece called “Ling Zi” that incorporates four-foot long pheasant tail feathers worn in traditional Chinese opera to represent a warrior’s power and skill, Birdy embodies bright bursts of freedom against the weighted cage of history. 

“It has been a personal, longtime goal to present work from Taiwan to our DanceHouse audiences, both to recognize the vibrant Taiwanese community in Greater Vancouver — the largest in Canada — and to highlight Taiwan’s important role in cultural diplomacy,” says Jim Smith, Artistic and Executive Director of DanceHouse. “Taiwan has become a hotbed for contemporary artistic expression, particularly in dance, where innovation and tradition meet with arresting originality. By presenting Hung Dance, we aim to celebrate Taiwan’s evolving cultural identity while sharing its powerful artistic voice with Vancouver audiences.”

Set to an eclectic mix of electronica and Chinese classical music, Birdy reinterprets percussion and seamlessly blends Tai-chi with contemporary dance. It portrays the journey from tradition to modernity, conveying a powerful message of society’s newfound ability to redefine class, freedom, and limitations, while seeking balance and identity. 

The calligraphic eloquence of the Ling Zi’s four-foot long feathers moves from gentleness to violence, transforming into spears, whips, and a blade drawn sharply across the throat. Whether extending the body into space, wriggling in earnest writing, or offering a gossamer caress, the feathers function as a form of punctuation, leading and echoing movement phrases with the expressive vitality of living things. As the dancers flock together in rippling patterns of conformity and divergence, group think meets the defiance of individual identity. What emerges is a universal cry for freedom.

Founded in 2017 by choreographer Lai Hung-Chung, Hung Dance’s choreographic vocabulary is drawn from martial arts, Peking opera, and traditional cultural symbols. Through the prism of performance, Taiwan’s complex history and political status transform into a thrilling new dance language. “In Birdy, Lai Hung-Chung explores the limits of our desires and our sense of freedom” (Zone Critique).

In addition to performances in Vancouver, Birdy will tour across North America in 2025, including Victoria and in Washington, Colorado, Texas, Utah, and Arizona. 

DanceHouse’s presentation of Birdy will also feature a pre-show talk at 7:15pm each evening, and a post-show reception following Friday’s performance in the Salon.

For tickets and further information, visit: dancehouse.ca

About DanceHouse (dancehouse.ca)

DanceHouse connects Vancouver audiences, and the local arts community, to the international world of dance by presenting exceptional companies that are recognized for their excellence, innovation, and international reputation. Since 2008, DanceHouse has presented vibrant and inspiring companies from Canada and around the world. In addition to the performances on stage, DanceHouse offers a suite of engagement opportunities and a chance for the general public and local artistic community to engage with the presented artists and their work.

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Lai Hung-chung

Angela Poon
apoon@mpmgarts.com
604.569.5343

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