Sit, Eat and Chew 五味杂陈

Sit, Eat and Chew is a guided immersive dance tour through NYC’s Chinatown.  It uncovers five personal stories in secret sites, ranging from funny to outrageous, adventurous to traumatic, unfolding in public and private locations throughout Chinatown. The Chinese proverb – Wǔ Wèi Zá Chén 五味杂陈 – references the five traditional tastes of cooking (sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty) to describe the complex emotions in life’s ups and downs. These stories that have become the creative and emotional inspiration for the dance theater performance.

 

CREDITS:

Conceived and choreographed by: Mei-Yin Ng
Performers: Yahui Lu, Guang Lei, Summer Gan, Ayaka Kamei, Dita Karang, Mei-Yin Ng, Tsai Hsi Hung, Wu Bing Shao, Zhang Xiuping and the community dancers from the Lin Sing Manhattan Music and Dance Association Inc and the Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc.’s Chinatown Senior Citizen Center
Music/soundscapes by: Justin Simon
Musician: Justin Simon and Adale Mori

 

 

Co-conspirator and project consultant/writer: Jane Gabriels
NYC Chinatown project advisor: Amy Chin

Site Partners: Hair Toto Group, Fuleen Seafood Restaurant, The Peake Family, Museum of Chinese in America, NYC Parks Department.

This work was made possible in part with The MAP Fund, supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and public funds from LMCC Creative Engagement, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and individual supporters. 

 

Premiere: Oct 2017
Cast/Crew: 6 performers, 2 dance groups, 1 sound artist.
Length: 90 min

 

PERFORMANCE ARCHIVE:

2017  Site-specific performance in Chinatown

ARCHIVE:

Site #1 Kitchen (Photos) (Video) 

Site #2 Restaurant (Photos) (Video) 

Site #3 Park (Photos) (Video Seniors) (Video Teenages) 

Site #4 Hair Salon (Photos) (Video) 

Site #5 Sweatshop (Photos) (Video) 

 

REVIEW:
“A daring immersive dance tour”
NO PROSCENIUM, Kathryn Yu
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“Sit, Eat and Chew” is already a full menu of dance, but, when the dishes are this good, there is always room for another page in the menu.”
EXPLORE DANCE, Robert Abrams
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“The project is a welcome challenge and contribution to the growing conversation about how immigrant and Chinese American experiences are defined.”
HYPERALLERGIC, Heather J. Chin
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SUPPORTED BY:

 The MAP Fund  
 Doris Duke Charitable Foundation    
 The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation  Andrew W. Mellon Foundation    
lmcc-promo-logo  Lower Manhattan Cultural Council    
 Image result for New York City Department of Cultural Affairs logo  New York City Department of Cultural Affairs    
  New York City Council    
 Image result for new york state council on the arts logo  New York State Council on the Arts