Dancers Victoria Chiu and Hsin-Ju Chiu; musicians David Shea and Mindy Meng Wang; production crew Roland Cox and Adam Hardy; and MAV CEO Jill Morgan AM travelled from Australia to China from 17-24 October for three major projects, starting with the presentation of “Do You Speak Chinese” (DYSC) at RAW!Land in the China Shanghai International Arts Festival (CSIAF).

Following the performances, Victoria Chiu and Mindy Meng Wang stayed on to begin research on a new work, “What Happened in Shanghai”, inspired by Victoria’s gradmother’s time in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation. The new work will involve new collaborators from Australian and China including “Son of Shanghai techno” Ma Haiping.

The third component involved a delegation led by Jill Morgan AM to Lanzhou and Dunhuang with filmmakers, dancers and musicians for a major project in 2016. This builds on MAV’s existing relationship with the Northwest University of Nationalitites in Lanzhou and will celebrate dance, music, landscape and the diverse history and harmony of Gansu province, marrying traditional and contemporary artforms. Stay tuned for further details.