Tendrils

By Ziyian Kwan

The lifeline of a creative work is so surprising and I’m an artist who seeks in revision, a teacher and a friend. This relates a lot to the journey of Tendrils, which premiered at The Dance Centre’s biennial platform, Dance In Vancouver, in November 2024.

Tendrils began in September 2023, when I was one of several people who received gifts from 10 Gates Dancing as part of its Multiples project, in which artifacts from the performance archives of dance artist Tedd Robinson, were posthumously sent to colleagues across the country.

A box of 4 canvas-wrapped bundles arrived at Odd Meridian’s studio, Morrow, sent via the care of Angie Cheng and Tina Legari. When I opened my gift, I was with Ralph Escamillan and James Gnam, who also received gifts. It was a random draw and I could hear in my mind’s voice, Tedd asking whether I would make a choice out of habit or if I might choose something that would lead to a new discovery.

So I chose the package that I was least drawn to, a bundle that because of its shape, I expected to be one of Tedd’s artisinal teabowls (an item that did not appeal to me because I was coveting the possibility of a garment). But when I opened the package, I was perplexed and surprised. One item, though not a garment, was wearable and when I put it on, I burst into tears, and said to James and Ralph, “I have never felt so beautiful, so seen, and so understood, in my life”.

At that moment, I decided to make a solo with the gifts I had received and a year later, began the process. Along the way I made unsettling errors and in retrospect, realize that the gifts were more than an affirmation. They were also a provocation to keep asking questions, to revel in the liminal space between what is tangible and what is unknowable.

Tendrils at this time, is reforming and I don’t know what it will become: this June at Dancing On The Edge Festival or in October at Festival of New Dance in Newfoundland. Although premiering at Dance In Vancouver was a rich and supportive experience, I grappled with the concept of homage that I had committed to, and therefore didn’t want to perform the work again. But I’m thinking now, that homage can be explicit or mysterious, that ultimately, it’s any expression of appreciation. Through this understanding, the work again calls to me.

Tendrils

Imagine

A constellation of creative thoughts

That seek us out and land on our bodies

Magneting to us like starbursts of acuity

Filling the empty spaces in which we are ghost

With galaxies of intelligence

Ziyian Kwan © David Cooper

子嫣 Ziyian Kwan (she/her) is a 1st generation Chinese Filipina settler who lives on the unceded ancestral, occupied and stolen territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaɬ First Nations.

Since 1988, Ziyian has performed over 100 original works by an eclectic range of artists. Her own choreography collates images, movement, and language. As founding Artistic Director of Odd Meridian Arts, Ziyian stewards programming that is in conversation with the creative adventures of colleagues from across disciplines - including activities at Morrow, Odd Meridian’s cultural space. Energy at play, in bodies in worlds. oddmeridian.ca

Title image credit: Hat in photo gifted from Tedd Robinson’s archives, as part of 10 Gates Dancing Multiples Project

Ziyian Kwan © David Cooper