Wo/我 Dance Film of a Chinese American Queer Artist

Wo/我

Virtual Premiere
7:00 PM, Dec 18th
Virtual Talk Back 7:30pm – 8:30pm (Zoom)

Online Screening: Dec 18 — Jan 3rd

Channel: Youtube/Artist Website
Tickets: donation based
(Suggested minimum donation: $5)

Email: jieminyang.art@gmail.com

Event link: www.jieminyang.art

New York­—Dec 1st, 2020—From Dec 18th, 2020 to Jan 3rd, 2021, Queens based cross-disciplinary artist Jiemin Yang will be virtually screening his self-directed and self-performed dance film titled Wo/我, or equivalent to I in English. In this short film, combining cinematic and movement art, he explores his personal story as a queer Chinese dance aritst who is also a son of an immigrant family that values Chinese traditional values. The viewers will enter his very personal world and embark on a visceral experience of his passions, struggles, and visions through vivid visuals and frank narrative. Long Island based musician and composer James Acampora and Brooklyn based audio engineer Jacob Psenicka together create the absorbing original score for the film. Brooklyn-based sought-after filmmaker Ellen Maynard leads as the director of photography and editor. Jiemin hopes this work will spark discussions and generate resonance with viewers who share similar experiences. On Dec 18th, after the premiere of the film at 7pm through Youtube and Jiemin’s website, there will be a talkback session with the artists over Zoom from 7:30pm to 8:30pm. All links will be posted on www.jieminyang.art.

Jiemin Yang (director, choreographer, performer)
Jiemin is a Chinese-American cross-disciplinary artist based in Queens. He holds a MA in Contemporary Dance from London Contemporary Dance School. He is one of the awardees of CUNY Dance Initiative Residency 2020-2021 and a recipient of 2020 New Works Grant from Queens Council on the Arts. He has performed in multiple cities in Europe, the UK, and the US. He was commissioned to create dance works for the Making Moves Dance Festival 2019 hosted by Jamaica Performing Arts Center (JPAC) and Emerging Choreographer Series’17 hosted by Mare Nostrum Elements and LaGuardia Performing Arts Center. He also presented his works at Ailey Citigroup Theatre, The Mark O’Donnell Theatre, Auditório do Parque da Devessa in Portugal. As a visual artist, he has collaborated and performed with Lane CoArts at 92nd Street Y, Kaatsbaan International Dance Center and Boston Center for the Arts He is currently a performer with Kinesis Project and has performed at Arts on Site, the Riverside Park and Snug Harbor Cultural Center with the company.

Ellen Maynard (Director of Photography & Editor)
Ellen Maynard is a filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY whose work in dance documentation and cinematography has led her to work with artists such as Bebe Miller, Nora Chipaumire, Faye Driscoll, Rennie Harris, Katrina Lenk, Emily Johnson, Ivy Baldwin, and hundreds of other artists. Her dance films have been shown at The Brooklyn Museum, New York Live Arts, SPRING/BREAK Art Show, and festivals including the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema, International 60 Seconds Dance Film Festival, the 9th International Screendance Festival, the Third Coast Dance Film Festival, and Dance Film Association screenings. Ellen spends her summers as a videographer at Bates Dance Festival and has also documented festivals such as FRESH Festival and Lion’s Jaw Performance and Dance Festival. She received a BFA in dance and video art from The Ohio State University.

James Acampora (Composer)
James Acampora is primarily a cellist, multi-instrumentalist, visual artist, and composer for film. His music has been featured in multiple films and web series, including the Huntington film festival where his score for “Breathe” won first prize. James studied with multiple classical teachers and theorists while in school and also studied architecture and design at New York Institute of Technology. James uses his well rounded experience in the arts to understand his audience and move those who listen. James is inspired by music ranging from Bach to Japanese folk music, fusion Jazz, R&B and classic rock. James has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Voelker Orth Heritage Museum, The Triad NYC, The NYC Subway, Central Park, The Greene Room, The Tilles Center, countless catering halls throughout NYC and Long Island, and is a frequent busker in NYC. James is an active session musician, scoring and performing music for video games, rock bands, singer-songwriters, and much more. In his spare time he enjoys graphic design and coding on his computer, as well as painting and drawing at different beautiful locations in NYC and Long Island.
https://www.cellistja.com/

Jacob Psenicka (Audio Engineer)

Doug Beacon (Music Consultant)
http://dougbeacon.com/

This project Wo/我 is made possible (in part) by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.