Li Chiao-Ping has been praised by critics in the New York Times, Village Voice, Dance Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and San Francisco Bay Guardian, calling her work “…marvelously imaginative…engrossing, intelligently put-together piece of work.” As a performer, Dance Magazine said “Li Chiao-Ping in performance is a case of the dancer transcending the dance…When Li’s onstage, you don’t want to blink.”
Known for her originality, trademark physicality, humanism, and visual design, Li Chiao-Ping creates layered works that combine multiple art forms to explore themes of culture and identity. LCPD has performed at Jacob’s Pillow, Bates Dance Festival, ADF, DanceNOW, Highways, as well as: The Kennedy Center, Links Hall, Dance Place, Symphony Space, DTW, Joyce SoHo, P.S. 122, ODC Theater, Theater Artaud, CounterPULSE, Danspace Project/St. Mark’s Church, Roulette, and more. “[Li Chiao-Ping] is taking post-modern dance to a new edge, one that pushes the metaphors of the body, form and culture to the farthest reaches of strength and beauty….Li Chiao-Ping compressed the symbols of East and the West into an exquisite tapestry of hard truth and polished steel. The effect was stunning: the nod to the Asian gods, the scene from performance art, the turn at muscular gymnastics.” Spectator Magazine
Li Chiao-Ping, Artistic Director of Li Chiao-Ping Dance, was named by Dance Magazine as one of the “25 to watch” and makes work for the stage, screen, and other sites for individuals and organizations around the country. She has choreographed for musical theater, opera, and ballet, in addition to concert dance, dance theater, and screen dance and creates works for dance companies, university dance programs, and individuals around the country. Ms. Li earned her Master’s degree from UCLA and was on faculty at Mills College, the Director of the Hollins College Dance Program, and the former Chair of the UW-Madison Dance Department, where she continues to teach. She formed Li Chiao-Ping Dance in 1990 and co-directed the SF-based Dziga Vertov Performance Group with Douglas Rosenberg from 1992-94.