Naishi

Wang

work

Photo by Hans-Michael Lenz

Taking Breath

A solo dance performance

Photo by Francesca Chudnoff
Plastic waste. Climate change. Shortage of fossil fuels. Human consumption. Loss of biodiversity. Marine Life. These are often at the forefront in discussions regarding our impact on the environment. Even when we talk about air, we are concerned about carbon emissions and the consequences such as global warming, melting ice caps and the ozone. Seldom is clean breathable air discussed as it is. Will we run out of breathable air?
Breathing - an innate action of taking in air and expelling it from the lungs.“Taking Breath” brings the subconscious to the conscious, the passive to the active; questioning how we have taken breathing and the air we breathe, for granted. The piece is a choreographic inquiry exploring the multiple facets of breathing in our lives - What is it like without breathing? What is it like with too much breathing? How does breathing affect movement? How does breathing affect our thoughts? When does breathing start to mean something? When does breathing become communication? When does breathing start to matter? When will air start to matter to us?
Photo by Francesca Chudnoff
  • Concept and choreographer. Naishi Wang
  • Performer. Naishi Wang
  • Outside eye. Paul-André Fortier & Ginelle Chagnon
  • Dramaturgy. Francoise Hüsges & Ivy Wang
  • Light design. Ivy Wang
  • Management by. Dance Umbrella of Ontario

"Naishi Wang marries subconscious and conscious, passive and active, and challenges the way we take the air we breathe for granted."

Theatre.quebec

Performing Taking Breath, Naishi Wang received a 2018 Dora award nomination - Dance Division, for Outstanding Performance. Taking Breath acknowledges the support of Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Concil

Face to Face

A duet work, currently touring worldwide

Photo by Ivy Wang
In even the simplest face-to-face communication, a multitude of factors work in concert to deliver an intention - facial expressions, body movements/gestures, eye contact, tone of voice, silence, distance or sometimes even touch. Every moment is fleeting with layers of emotions hidden behind ephemeral thoughts and a constant flux of body language.
“Face to Face” is a conceptual dance/body theatre duet - also a form of communication. This project explores the complexity of human emotions during and behind communication. How do we identify an emotion? How deep do emotions go?
Photo by Ivy Wang
  • Concept, choreographer and performed. Naishi Wang
  • Created with & perform by. Naishi Wang & Lukas Malkowski
  • Concept, dramaturgy & video design. Ivy Wang
  • Assistant of video Design. Henry Mak
  • Music and sound design. Wen Yang Ho
  • Lighting design. Chris Malkowski
  • Outside eye. Ginelle Chagnon
  • Costume design. Adam X
  • Stage management. A.J. Morra
  • Associate lighting designer/Tech director. Emerson Kafarowski
  • Management. Dance Umbrella of Ontario

“A poem about communication and the countless pathways taken by our bodies to express ourselves, Face to Face draws inspiration from body language to create a gentle yet profoundly intense duet”

FTA - Festival TransAmériques

Face to face is a co-production by Festival TransAmériques, and CITADEL + COMPAGNIE. We acknowledge the support of Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Concil,

Eyes, wide open

Creation in progress

Photo by Jeremy Mimnagh
“Our eyes centre the visible world but we are limited to one perspective at a time”
Watching and being watched can be translated into a kinesthetic experience. Eyes, Wide Open is a work inspired by a book by art critic John Berger "Ways Of Seeing" and the changing landscape of the usage of surveillance cameras. The work asks the question How To Open Up The Realm Of Perception?
Photo by Jeremy Mimnagh
  • Concept and choreography. Naishi Wang
  • In collaboration with. Judy Luo, Sonja Boretski, Ann Trépanier & Clarke Blair
  • Sound design. Omar David Rivero
  • Video Design. Ivy Wang & Henry Mak
  • Lighting Design. Emerson Kafarowski
  • Tech director & production management Eric Chen
  • Management by. Dance Umbrella of Ontario
Eyes, wide open has development support from TO Live, and CITADEL + COMPAGNIE. We acknowledge the support of Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Concil & Laboratory of artistic intelligence

Stay tuned for more...

Deciphers

International collaboration, currently touring in Canada

Photo by Maya Yoncali
Deciphers is a compelling physical performance bringing together elements of Chinese Folk Dance, Brazilian dance styles, spoken word, breath, and ink on paper to explore translation. The various mediums create and question complexities of communication through the lens of understanding and misunderstanding.
Co-performers and choreographers, Naishi Wang and Jean Abreu, use the stage as their blank canvas highlighting the body as a primal source for communication and carrier of meaning. Deciphers addresses translation as a linguistic phenomenon centering the immigrant experience.
Photo by Maya Yoncali
  • Choreography and Performed. Naishi Wang & Jean Abreu
  • Lighting Design. Lucie Bazzo
  • Visual Design. Ivy Wang
  • Composer. Olesia Onykiienko
  • Dramaturgic Advice. Guy Cools
  • Rehearsal Director. Xing Bang Fu
  • Outside Eye. Ginelle Chagnon
  • Voice Coach. Fides Krucker
  • Access Consultant. Zed Lightheart
  • Techical Director. (Canada) Emerson Kafarowski
  • Techical Director. (UK) Cath Cullinane
  • Stage Manager/Technical Assistant. A.J. Morra
  • PR and Marketing. Diagonal Dance
  • Management. (Canada) Robert Sauvey - Dance Umbrella of Ontario
  • Management. (UK) Michael Peter Johnson - Jean Abreu Dance

Partners in Canada: The CanDance Network (Toronto) + National Arts Centre (Ottawa) + Harbourfront Centre (Toronto) + MAI Montréal, Arts interculturels (Montréal) + PuSh Festival (Vancouver) + DanceWorks (Toronto) + New Works (Vancouver) + Citadel (Toronto)

Partners in UK: Fabric Dance (Birmingham & Nottingham) + Dance City (Newcastle) + Brighton Dome (Brighton) + South East Dance (Brighton) + Towner Gallery (Eastbourne)

Deciphers is supported and funded by: the National Arts Centre (NAC) Visiting Dance Artist programme + The Candance Network small-scale creation fund + Canada Council for the Arts + Performing Arts Technical Residency programme at Harbourfront Center, Toronto + PuSh walk special podcast + Toronto Arts Council + Ontario Arts Council + Arts Council England + Canadian High Commission UK