Bring erhu to
new audiences
via creative collaborations.
Our mission is to explore the creative potential of erhu across different disciplines, from theatre to film to print, and anywhere in between.
Edinburgh festival fringe
Liminal is our erhu dance physical theatre show for Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024
What if stars held memories from the future? Set at a pivotal time in history, Liminal combines star myths with astronomy. In this story of an astronomer lost in the Longitude Problem, we discover there is more to stars than just lights.
Contemporary dance and traditional erhu music traverse East-West boundaries, travelling an epic journey, following the path of the only star in our solar system to rise in the East and settle in the West. Inspired by migration and identity, Liminal delves into concepts of home and heritage, and how they are shaped by the movement of people.
Meet the Team
Chan Vi – Director
Vi is a British born scenographer and artistic director. She gained her MA in Scenography for Dance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. Vi was artist in residence in Rauma, Finland, has worked with the National Youth Theatre, and produced costumes for the Nottinghill Carnival. Vi has produced and worked on shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Vi has also designed for drama and contemporary dance shows in Shanghai and Hangzhou.
After founding Erhu Remix Project, Vi discovered that her late father used to play erhu before they emigrated to the UK.
Chen Xiyao – Musician
Chen Xiyao is a lecturer at the Arts Education Centre of Fudan University. She graduated from Shanghai Conservatory of Music with a major in Music. Chen recorded an album titled “Simple Erhu Warm Sketch Collection” and contributed to textbooks such as Erhu Ensemble, and Gu Guanren Ethnic Orchestral Works Collection. In 2022, Chen was a visiting scholar to the United States after receiving a scholarship from the China Scholarship Council. Chen has held special concerts in Finland, Luxembourg, and Germany to promote Chinese culture.
Cheng – Choreographer & Creative
Cheng is one of the jazz dancers from China who form the core members of Artjam, the only jazz group in China, spreading jazz dance culture in China. She has worked as a dancer and cooperated with Lulu Lemon, Nike and other brands in advertising arrangement and acting. The dance video created by Cheng has had over one million views on the Internet.
Cheng has taken on many roles and contributed greatly to the creative integrity of Liminal.
Creative Experimentation
Liminal started life as a series of creative experiments with erhu that utilised chance and live improvisation as tools for remixing music scores.
This project featured erhu musician Qingyi Gong and dancer Jinglin Liao.
The music score was printed on playing cards that were shuffled by Gong, the sequence recorded to create the first remix score of the new experimental format.
The music bars were also printed on 35mm slides, that were loaded into the slide projector following the same sequence of the remix score. During the live collaboration Liao improvised around the music, testing out different strategies to read the musician and connect with the music.
We will continue to develop this creative research project later in 2024.
