Dear Ann,

Thank you for your letter. It’s great to hear from you.

It was an absolute pleasure to meet you and to be part of such a fantastic event which has been the highlight of my year.

As a result of me attending this extraordinary event, many opportunities have arisen for me to continue developing relationships in dance in the Asia Pacific region.

Naomi Faik-Simet and I are in early discussions with the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea to develop an integrated dance project in the provinces called ‘cross // over’ which we are planning as part of the Australia Week Celebrations 2013.

After the conference, I met with Taiwanese dancer Chien Wei Wu (graduate from the TNUA) and staff at the Taipei Artist Village (TAV). Chien Wei and I have begun discussions about the possibility to work together through their future education and AIR programs.

My time in Taiwan inspired me to write, and while I was at the TNUA I interviewed Prof. Xiao Xiong Zhang about his life and work, ‘Rite of Spring Part 1 – The Adoration of Earth’ which was presented at the Metropolitan Hall. I also interviewed Chien Wei Wu about his background and experience in dance and other TNUA dancers have contributed to some of my writing.

I was also invited by Su-Ling Chou to travel to the south of the Taiwan to teach her students at the Zuoying Senior High School and was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with the students across all three year levels. This was made easy by the support of Ding Wei Guo, a student at the TNUA who acted as my workshop assistant/translator. His assistance provided me the opportunity to connect with the dancers on a deeper level and impart some of my knowledge with them to discover new movement vocabulary and choreographic possibilities. I also taught a Pilates matt class to the first year students and an additional Pilates equipment class to one of Su-ling’s faculty staff members.

As a result of this week-long exchange, I have been invited to return to Zuoying to be part of the Summer School program next year and make a new work with the students. I am very excited by the opportunity to continue developing the relationships which have come about as a direct result of being involved in the Global daCi/WDA Dance Summit 2012.

Adding to this, through a new connection with an Italian artist in residence I met at the TAV, I stopped off in Hong Kong (en-route to Adelaide) and made a new connection with the Centre for Community Cultural Development (CCCD) based at the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre. After attended one of their dance workshops, an invitation has also come about for me to return to Hong Kong next year to make a work with an ensemble of dancers with and without a disability.

I am also planning to submit an Asialink application this year to spend time in Cambodia during 2013 with a company called Epic Arts who are in the process of developing a dance curriculum for dancers with a disability. An invitation has arisen for me to facilitate the creative dance component of this new course.

Much of this proposed activity will of course be dependent on funding, but I am confident that the opportunities will unfold for me to continue working throughout the Asia Pacific region. The daCi/WDA conference has been a hugely inspiring experience for me and I wish to thank all involved for making these and others opportunities possible.

I hope you’re well and look forward to keeping in touch.

Kind regards

Philip