Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) graduate, Shuling Wong is the latest artist to join the Dance Integrated Australia (DIA) Education Team. As an Associate Artist of DIA, she will travel to Hong Kong in June with Creative Director, Philip Channells to assist him throughout the ‘New Works Forum – Challenging Perspectives on Physicalities and Bodies’ project being hosted by the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA).

Wong, a sibling of an older brother with disability, was one of the 32 artists from across Australia and New Zealand who participated in DIA’s inaugural Beyond Technique Residency (2013) held at Bundanon Trust’s Riversdale property. It was this experience that initiated the possibility for her to consider developing new skills in dance which will enable her to work with different people, from different cultures, with different life experience.

Shuling will work alongside Philip Channells at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts as his workshop / choreographic assistant. For WKCDA’s  ‘New Works Forum’ Channells will share his creative methodologies used in the making of his latest intergenerational dance/theatre work, ‘PERFECT (im)PERFECTIONS – stories untold’ which was commissioned by DansiT for the Multiplié Dansefestival 2014 in Trondheim, Norway.

Social exclusion for people with disability has been a huge ongoing problem. Witnessing my brother who has been through this, it’s important to me to help create an environment where social exclusion does not exist. I want to be able to show others that with or without disability, we can work as one – together, there is no difference between one another. Shuling Wong

The opportunity for Wong to assist Channells is borne entirely out of her willingness and desire to learn and discover new creative possibilities, to connect with another cultures similar to hers (she has a Thai and Singaporean heritage) and to develop international relationships in the arts. However, this week-long tour comes at a cost, one which Shuling (as an independent artist) finds difficult to meet on her own, but one which she is 100% dedicated to.

To pledge your support to assist raising funds for Shuling’s travel and accommodation expenses in Hong Kong, click on the Pozible campaign link here

For more information about the ‘New Works Forum’ in Hong Kong, click here

Photo: Eleanor Hodgson

BIOGRAPHY

Shuling Wong studied full-time at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), graduating in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance.

In her earlier years, Shuling trained in Ballet, Modern theatre, Flamenco, and Tap at the Principle Academy of Dance and Theatre Arts. Shuling studied Contemporary Dance in high school as a TEE subject where she was involved in the high school’s dance company and was appointed as Dance Captain in 2010.

Shuling performed with STEPS Youth Dance Company in their production NoSpace (2008) led by Sam Fox and Moonwebs and Scorched Thongs (2009) led by Alice Lee Holland. In 2009, she was invited to Sri Lanka as a guest to perform in Yoshita Alaysekaza’s production Dance Moves 2.

Throughout her studies at WAAPA, Shuling has collaborated with choreographers such as Leigh Warren (There’s No Time Like The Present), XiaoXiong Zhang (Rite of Spring), Raewyn Hill (Fugue), Paul O’sullivan (Quaint), Rhiannon Newton (Donca Matic), Paea Leach and Jo Pollitt (Quiet Beast), and Charlie Hodges (The Mindful Dancer). Shuling attended the inaugural Beyond Technique Residency in 2013 at Bundanon Trust under the mentorship of Philip Channells and Elizabeth Ryan. In the same year she performed XiaoXiong Zhang’s Rite of Spring (2013) at the Guan Theatre in Beijing, China. Shuling was recently awarded the Finley Award for Dance (Bachelor) at WAAPA.