From August 11th to 16th, BeijingDance / LDTX (new name) is back to present a week of thrilling performances, Summer Selections, which features two different programs: Trailing the Sun (11th, 13th and 15th), a cutting-edge contemporary premier, and BeijingDance / LDTX Classics (12th, 14th and 16th), an evening of choreography from its internationally acclaimed repertoire.

As a founding dancer of LDTX, Xu Yiming, the choreographer of Trailing the Sun, is a familiar figure to the company’s regular audience. Xu has demonstrated his talents in his former works, Snail and Snail 2. This time, Xu is attempting to develop the possible limits of the dancer -- in Trailing the Sun, each dancer engages with a new style. One that defies individual movement: muscular becomes tender, fast becomes slow, and air-bound becomes grounded. By pushing the confines of the dancer and choreographer, Trailing the Sun is a uniquely innovative, challenging and contemporary work.

BeijingDance / LDTX Classics is a collection of 4 different works, which demonstrate LDTX’s true scope of perspective and technique. The Cold Dagger excerpt is a climactic 10-minute version of the full-evening work set to a beautiful score by Gorecki. The Eagle, featuring 4 male dancers, is choreographed by a native of Inner-Mongolian. The mesmerizing piece investigates the mystical province of China fraught with history and tradition.

The final piece of BeijingDance / LDTX Classics is set to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring premiered in 1933, signifying the dawn of a new era in music. This music has inspired many western choreographers, and now, BeijingDance / LDTX’s Chinese choreographers offer their unique version, All River Red. The work reflects how contemporary dance has been developing in 20th century in China against all odds. All River Red shows not so much a comfortable fusion of East-meets-West, but a direct and violent confrontation between those adhering to tradition and those aspiring to innovation.

The birth of Beijing LDTX Modern Dance Company (LDTX) in September 2005 not only caught international attention, but also captured the imagination of many artists in China. LDTX (Lei Dong Tian Xia , literally, thunder moves under the sky) was born out of a controversial and exciting time in which China underwent rapid cultural change, LDTX is China’s first non-governmental and independent professional dance company.

Founded by veteran choreographers and a new generation of dancers in China , LDTX is a platform for both contemporary relevant and innovative creations. Under the artistic direction of Willy Tsao, China’s foremost figure in Modern dance, and deputy artistic Li Hanzhong the company boasts an ensemble of 14 technically exquisite dancers and a diverse repertoire.

Since its creation in 2005, LDTX has traveled extensively throughout Mainland China, Hong Kong, Europe and North America. Through performance seasons, educational programs, technique classes, and outreach endeavors, LDTX attracts young aspiring dancers and artists to modern dance and serves as an important representative of modern Chinese thought and society.

Take a break from the sports scene and come see a week of cutting edge modern dance at the Oriental Pioneer Theater from August 11-16 starting at 7:30pm each night. RMB 60/150