Byron Au Yong

songs of dislocation
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Farewell: A Fantastical Contemplation on America's Relationship with China
voice, er-hu, cello, percussion, bicycle wheels, cassette tape players, soundtrack

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DESCRIPTION
Farewell: A Fantastical Contemplation on America's Relationship with China is a dance music theater work created by Donald Byrd and Spectrum Dance Theatre. Composer Byron Au Yong collaborated on this project as part of the initiative Beyond Dance: Promoting Awareness and Mutual Understanding.

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CREATIVE TEAM
choreography Donald Byrd
original music Byron Au Yong
lights and sets Jack Mehler
er-hu, voice, drums, soundtrack Byron Au Yong
drums, bicycle wheels, cassette Paul Kikuchi
cello, drums, bicycle wheels Tiffany Lin
additional voices Mike Au Yong, Ying Zhou
dancers Kelly Ann Barton, Ty Alexander Cheng, Geneva Jenkins, Kylie Lewallen, Vincent Lopez, Amber Nicole Mayberry, Joel Myers, Tory Peil, Patrick Pulkrabek, Marissa Quimby, Mia Monteabaro, Meaghan Sanford, Sarah Poppe

DETAILS
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Presented by Spectrum Dance Theatre in partnership with Seattle Theater Group
  • Premiered at The Moore, February 2010

AUDIO


RESOURCES


"Byron Au Yong, delivers not just a score but a bedlam-filled sound collage."
Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times

"... his memories of his father's recollections of playing form a powerful connection to a lost past, and composer Byron Au Yong incorporates them into the score to powerful effect."
Jeremy Barker, The Sunbreak

"The sound is a thick, almost impenetrable thicket, an onslaught you must cut your way through in order to pay the dancers any attention."
Marcie Sillman, artdish
"Au Yong brings more than music to this new work, confronting his own questions of freedom and justice."

"The hyper-frenetic sound score by Byron Au Yong used a mix of recorded sounds, including an onslaught of mostly unintelligible words in English and Chinese and the music of onstage performers."
Mary Murphin Bailey, City Arts Magazine
"The music alone is well worth it. Melodies are layered with live percussion, speech and bicycle wheels, punctuated by the sounds of the dancers."
"The instruments Au Yong incorporates include Chinese percussion -- drums, symbols and gong; Chinese fiddle; cello; and a bicycle wheel whose spokes are plucked and strummed."
Leslie Holleran, Seattle Dances