Cathay House Blend

Indulge in the aromas of refined Chinese teas

See the music

Hear the colours of dance

Be inspired by Tai-Chi

Mahjong

&

Calligraphy

all happening at

CATHAY HOUSE BLEND

Hawthornden Court

National Museums of Scotland

Saturday, 18th Nov 2006

12:45pm / 2:45pm

Free Admission

Artistic Director: Kimho Ip

Film: Matt Brown & Blimey Productions

Synergy Director: William Wong

Choreographer: Anne-Marie Culhane; Chang Zhang

Tai-Chi Instructor: Bob Lowey

Music: FOUND / Shi Yan / Kimho Ip

As in a European café, artists, intellectuals and communities in China traditionally meet at a teahouse to share and debate ideas.  Chinese tea and the culture of Chinese Teahouse are the inspirations for an inter-cultural event to celebrate Chinese traditions and introduce contemporary performing art forms to reflect the convergence of western and Chinese arts today.

On Saturday afternoon, 18th November, the Hawthornden Court of the National Museum of Scotland (NMS) in Edinburgh will be transformed into a cross art form venue for the event Cathay House Blend.  This is one of two commissioned pieces by In2national for the artistic director of the event, Kimho Ip, an Edinburgh-based Chinese artist who leads a two years’ residency at In2 under the scheme of Partner, funded by the Scottish Arts Council.

There are elements of chance and choice for both performers and audience in this 30-minute performance.  One may choose to indulge in the aromas of refined Chinese tea, or to join in the sumptuous atmosphere at the Teahouse with mahjong playing, calligraphy and children games.

The unique sounds of Yang-chin (Chinese dulcimer) and Erhu (Chinese fiddle) will create devised music with live electronics by pop/experimental band FOUND.  Choreography by the two dancers, Anne-Marie Culhane and Chang Zhang, crisscross the serene movement of Tai-chi.  A panoramic view from the balcony of the Hawthornden court at NMS allows one to sense the fusion and collision of time and space, those of 1930s Shanghai and contemporary Edinburgh.

A different perspective on Cathay House Blend will be captured by the cameras of the film director, Matt Brown and his team from Blimey Productions. The filmed version is to be screened at the Edinburgh Filmhouse during the Cinema China Festival in March 2007.

Cathay House Blend is the beginning of a journey exploring inter-cultural, site-specific, mobile and contemporary performing art-forms.  A second run at the National Museum of Scotland is planned for April 2007, after which the journey will continue across other venues in Scotland and the UK.

Following Kimho Ip’s initial concept, Cathay House Blend marks an exciting collaboration with London-based theatre director William Wong; as synergy director for this production.  The ethos is to bring together the constituent elements across time and space and that the total is more than the sum of its parts.

Notes:

The English title Cathay House Blend aims to capture the essence behind its Chinese non-equivalent: the above eight Chinese characters. 

National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, Scotland.

Opening hours: Daily 10am to 5pm

General information: Tel: 0131 247 4422

Website: www.nms.ac.uk

For further press information please contact:  

Kimho Ip              mobile: 07786 835 528    email: ikhhkms77@yahoo.co.uk

William Wong       mobile: 07957 217 525    email: threebecome1@aol.com