Vice President, Choreographer, and Dancer of the Bound Contemporary Dance Company.....
www.boundcontemporarydance.com
Located San Diego, CA
Jillian Chu, 26, has been dancing since she was 10. She describes her modern dance style as "athletic-organic," but notes that she has been greatly influenced by jazz and ballet. Her dance company, BOUND Contemporary Dance, will be performing on Wednesday at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. The free show is titled "Miss Communication Makes the Most of It."
From: "Wisconsin. My boyfriend and I wanted to move out west and chose San Diego while driving a moving truck through St. Louis. We got two flat tires between Chicago and San Diego, but, other than that, it has been a great transition!"
Tell 'em about BOUND Contemporary Dance.
"BOUND Contemporary Dance is dedicated to connecting audiences to the performing arts. I create my own dance works along with presenting additional artists. We're really interested in expanding the artistic landscape -- with dance happenings all over the city."
What other dance companies do you dance with?
"Little Known Dance Theater, Malashock Dance and Yolande Snaith's Imago Moves."
Describe San Diego's dance culture.
"Thriving! Exciting! It's definitely something you have to search out, but we're here! People tend to categorize dance as all one thing. I've run into this quite a lot. If they see a show they don't like, they decide 'I don't really like dance.' I compare it to movies: Everyone has their own taste. Yes, some movies are terrible, but others are great. It's rewarding when something is excellent. So, I guess my corny message is 'Give dance a chance.' It's really an unmatchable experience to see a live performance that truly touches you, or just plain gets your blood going with excitement. Now, I should say that, as an audience, you should require those things from a performance. San Diego's dance scene is very diverse, but there is also a very strong community spirit. I've benefited so much from collaborations and the kindness of other artists."
What dancer do you most respect?
"At the present time, I am thrilled to work with Leslie Seiters, dance professor at San Diego State University and director of Little Known Dance Theater. In rehearsals, her process is very playful. Then, as she hones in on what she wants, it becomes very specific and challenging. I love those moments of 'zeroing in.' It's exciting to be in her presence. I am also blown away by Sonya Tayeh, a Los Angeles choreographer."
What do you think of shows like "Dancing With the Stars" and "So You Think You Can Dance"?
"I connect more with live performance, but I think the choreographers and performers are excellent on 'SYTYCD.' If I had TiVo, I'd watch it more so I could fast-forward through all the chitchat! Ultimately, it is great exposure for dance. But what I really love is seeing Pina Bausch's company perform in L.A., or an evening of 'open mic' dance done on a 4x4 stage
at the Bluefoot Lounge. Brave, live performance -- and local is always good."
What is your greatest dance-related fear?
"That I'll produce an event and nobody will come to see it! Leaving a costume at home on show night! Injury."
Hangs out: "Basic, Bluefoot Bar and Lounge, Fanuel Park."
Favorite lunch spot: "Cass Street Bar & Grill."
Last song downloaded: "'Extraordinary Machine' by Fiona Apple."
Clicks: "Discoverychannel.com, Pandora.com, KCRW.com."
Watches: "'Project Runway,' 'The Big Idea.'"
Reads: "'Just a Couple of Days' by Tony Vigorito, 'Reason For Hope' by Jane Goodall and, of course, 'Harry Potter.'"
Loves: "Fresh air."
Hates: "Concrete."
Perfect San Diego weekend: "My favorite weekends are when my beau and I go camping. But I'd be content to ride my beach cruiser (we don't really have these in the Midwest). I definitely need some yoga time. This usually happens along the bike ride. Oh, and I love to grill out -- in fact, I love anything that involves food. I go out of my way to organize potlucks."
What songs would be on your perfect mix CD?
1. "Thin Line," Indigo Girls
2. "Kid for Today," Boards of Canada
3. "Strawberry Fields Forever," The Beatles
4. "Reveille," Victoria Robertson
5. "Untouchable Face," Ani DiFranco
6. "Cold Beverage," G. Love & Special Sauce
7. "Something to Do With My Hands," Her Space Holiday
8. "Swallowed in the Sea," Coldplay
9. "It Hurt So Bad," Susan Tedeschi
10. "Farmhouse," Phish
11. "Pulling Touch," Poi Dog Pondering
12. "#41," Dave Matthews Band
San Diego Arts
"Bottle Night" at the Basic Urban Kitchen & Bar
Jillian Chu: Mover and Shaker
By Kris Eitland
Posted on Apr 21 2008
Last updated Apr 21 2008
Few dance artists in San Diego are as savvy as Jillian Chu. Technically, she's a chameleon; it seems there's nothing she can't do. Her beautiful performances in Malashock's "Stay the Hand" and Sushi's "4x4" have made her the talk of the town. She's a mover and shaker who knows how to network.
Peter Chu and Jillian Chu in
"Pressed Up Against." Photo:
Elazar Harel
Chu is the director of BOUND Contemporary Dance and for several months, she's joined forces with Sushi Performance & Visual Art and [Nancy] McCaleb Dance to produce "Bottle Night" at the Basic Urban Kitchen & Bar, a groovy dance night that features local talent and guests.
Earlier this month, Chu's sensuous performance with Julliard grad Peter Chu had the attentive crowd on the edge of their modular sofas. The drinks and gourmet pizza just had to wait. "Pressed Up Against" was a frisky mixture of chemistry - seductive partnering and daring lifts - all performed on top of a narrow bar and covered pool table. The couple is not related, but 'Oh Betty,they'd make beautiful children. Their dance foreplay finally moved to a bench and the floor with snappy unison slides and syncopation. Peter's credits include Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal and three years with Celine Dion's Vegas show. This dance was a hit, and we can only hope the two Chus return with another mini-drama.
Sarah Keeney in
"Where Flowers Settled."
Photo: Elazar Harel
Sarah Keeney was ready to levitate above the pool table stage in "Where Flowers Settled,"a touching solo by choreographer Liliana Cattaneo that incorporated five balloons. Keeney's expressions and head tilts defined youthful innocence. When she stared up at the balloons attached to her wrists and ankles, you wished for her to rise and float home, or to Paris, or to wherever she longed to go. At other times, the balloons and choreography suggested bouquets of flowers, birthday parties, and letting go of painful memories. Perhaps most poignant was the moment Keeney released a few balloons and boldly popped two more with her hand. No longer a wounded child, she had become a determined adult.
But Jillian Chu didn’t lather the show with love or lovely stuff. The program opened with dancer Jessie Hartley in "Fix Me," a gritty combative solo by LA-based choreographer Sonya Tayeh, performed in an open space near the entryway. Dressed in hot pink and kneepads, Hartley flailed on the concrete floor to a howling scare-the-neighbors score. It was production genius because it quickly broke the stuck up atmosphere and helped the crowd settle in for the longer dances.
The end of the show has become a tradition and is not to be missed. "Cork" is Yolande Snaith's iconic bar dance where dancers throw bottles and create more tension and thrills than Alfred Hitchcock. Adapted from "Ten Green Bottles Standing On a Bar," seen in Sept. in Jean Isaacs' "Trolley Dances," the dance never grows stale. Each handstand and psycho stare becomes more exciting each time you see it. Just watching it makes you jittery, as if you've robbed a bank. And the music driven performance keeps changing. This month, just as the score reached a train-locomotion climax, Jillian Chu shoved Greg Lane. With the Amtrak and trolley tracks just a few blocks away, it painted a vivid image of a heartless woman shoving a man onto the tracks that nobody saw in earlier productions. It was powerful dance theater and might not work in a big theater. Like Sushi's "4x4," the beauty of this venue is the intimacy, the close proximity to the dancers. You could sense their hearts beating and see their eyes darting back and forth. You're so close that you could almost grab one of the bottles out of the air, but I don't recommend it.
Veronica Martin-Lamm and
Greg Lane in "Corked."
Photo: Elazar Harel.
"Bottle Night" ends May 5th with a new work by Yolande Snaith. It's Pay What You Can. Seating is limited. Basic Urban Kitchen & Bar. 410 Tenth Ave.
Download program here
|
Dates
|
:
|
April 7, 2008 and May 5, 2008
|
|
Production Type
|
:
|
Dance
|
|
Region
|
:
|
Downtown
|
|
URL
|
:
|
www.boundcontemporarydance.com
|
About the author: Kris Eitland's critiques and features have appeared in Dance Magazine, Dance San Diego Magazine, San Diego CityBeat, sandiegotheaterscene.com, and sandiego.com since 2006. Her writing career includes stints in both commercial and public radio news. She studied dance extensively at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and SDSU and holds a journalism degree
