A screendance work by UW–Madison’s Li Chiao-Ping was honored with several awards at the recent 2024 Chinatown International Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Li’s work, titled “in silence is the offering presented,” received the awards for Best Picture, Best Experimental Film, and Best Dance Film.
“in silence is the offering presented” takes its name from a quote, instructive of peace over violence, that is attributed to the Chinese philosopher Confucius. On the film festival’s website the work is described as follows:
“Looking across the body of water, memories of homeland and feelings of displacement merge as the two main characters, mother and son, find themselves as refugees. Home, hope, dreams, safety, security, and love can be found in the silence. With choreography and direction by Li Chiao-Ping, cinematography, editing, and sound design by Christal Wagner, music by Byron Au Yong, and performance by Li Chiao-Ping and Jacob Li Dai-Loong Rosenberg, the evocative images in ‘in silence is the offering presented’ reflect their experimental and collaborative approach to this expressive work.”
“in silence is the offering presented” premiered at UW–Madison in a March 2024 concert in the Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space in Lathrop Hall. Li is the Sally Banes Professor of Dance and a Vilas Research Professor in the School of Education’s Dance Department.