‘Faeries and Dragons’ Marks Ling Hui’s Final Bow
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Dancers Orlanda McRae-Clark(front), Juniper Yeh Fleischer, Ida Merle, Ayla Moore, and Ila Patric (left to right) rehearse their piece, “Dragons Have Arrived.” Photo by Nhatt Nichols [/caption]
News by Nhatt Nichols
The 29th and final annual performance of Ling Hui’s Dance will take place Saturday, May 31st, at the Port Townsend High School Auditorium. Entitled “Fairies and Dragons.”
This performance marks the closing of a chapter for Ling Hui, who has been teaching dance since she was 19 years old in Taiwan. Over her career, she has taught all over the world, including in Japan and Colorado, before sharing her talents with Port Townsend. Ling Hui has found that as she’s gotten older, she’s become a better teacher, a practice that has been hard for her to give up.
“I am a better teacher now because of lots of practice. When you get older, you have more patience. I learned a lot from teaching kids. Kids are smart; they taught me a lot,” Ling Hui said.
Stepping back was a difficult decision for Ling Hui to make; with the amount of time it takes to plan a dance performance, it never felt like the right time. “Oh, every year I say this will be the last year. It's very difficult, especially here. We learn the dance, then we choreograph, then we rehearse. Showtime is always one or two years ahead.”
Her final Port Townsend dance performance is an eight-piece showcase that highlights the delicacy and the ferocity of dancers of all ages. The music ranges from Tchaikovsky and Saint-Saëns to Elvis Presley and Birdy.
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Ling Hui in the studio where she has been choreographing her final piece. Photo by Nhatt Nichols [/caption]
Ling Hui focuses on teaching young people to be performers, showcasing their talents rather than just entertaining audiences. “I don’t expect them to become professional dancers,” Ling Hui said, although “some of them did, and I’m proud of them.” She continued, “I want the dance to help them become more powerful, healthy, and disciplined people. In whatever career they choose, someday people will think, ‘This person is so confident, I trust them.’ That is what I wish for them all.”
Moving across the dance floor in one of their final rehearsals, all of the dancers embody the confidence that Ling Hui wishes for them. In the piece “Dragons Have Arrived,” the advanced students take possession of the whole floor, invoking an awe-inspiring clarity of movement and strength.
Dancer Orlanda McRae-Clark is excited to bring this dance to an audience. “It's beautifully curated, it's honestly an art piece, and this amazing story. It's a story of all of our lives, too; we've spent so much time and energy dedicated to this. They're really beautifully choreographed pieces,” McRae-Clark said.
It’s daunting for these dancers to consider what they’ll do next year, but the confidence that Ling Hui has instilled in them has helped each dancer navigate for themselves where they’d like to take their practice next.
“I think it's kind of hard to think about like the next step, because I've spent all my life dancing here. It's also exciting to be able to look into new opportunities,” dancer Ila Patric said.
All of the dancers expressed excitement about being able to share a lifetime of work for both them and Ling Hui for one final performance.
“I think it's just really wonderful to see everyone dancing. We worked so hard on this,” dancer Juniper Yeh Fleischer added, encouraging everyone to come see them perform together for the last time.
“Fairies and Dragons” will be on stage at the Port Townsend High School Auditorium for two shows, 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., on Saturday, May 31. Advanced tickets can be purchased for a reduced price online or on the day of the show at PTHS Auditorium, with cash or check only.
