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In the photo, Peter Chin’s arms are behind him, his knees are bent, his mouth is open and he seems… what? In a trance? About to orgasm? Fly? Possibly all of the above. In his newest piece, Bridge, Chin crosses the line between human and non-human, East and South, old and new. “There’s a lot of integration of things that might seem disparate or distant,” says Chin about the piece, which opens Friday (June 22). Bridging cultures and ideas is nothing new for Chin. Of Chinese background, he was raised in Jamaica and Canada, then spent a decade in Indonesia. He came to dance from music, visual arts and performance art. But even he admits that Bridge is a big show. “It’s been cooking for years,” he says about the piece, which features five dancers, four singers, three African percussionists and 12 members of an Indonesian gamelan orchestra. Oh yeah, there’s also video footage and a panel discussion. And about that photo? “I’m fascinated by shamanism and animal transformations,” he says. “I’m not only trying to mimic the way an animal moves but to get inside that movement. There’s a lot of biting in the piece.” Don’t worry. Audience participation isn’t required. For details, see listings, this page.
