I conjure riddles that vanish in time
collages of movement, image and rhyme.
I aspire to tend, to vision, to glow
spaces intentioned by kindness and flow.
I invite you to banter, to revel, to bless
to partner in actions of gentle transgress.
I was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong and am a Chinese Filipina dance artist who has lived on the ancestral, unceded, occupied territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations since 1973."
I am grateful to be here on these lands and in this life. My name, 子嫣, was coined by my father and in Cantonese, it means: daughter with the essence of a beautiful smile. I began dancing professionally in 1989 and choreographed my first work in 2013. As Artistic Director of Odd Meridian Arts, I’m always learning about how to be in relationship with creative practice and creative people."
– Ziyian Kwan
Ziyian Kwan (she/her) is a Hong Kong born Chinese/Filipina settler who since 1989, has based her work as an artist on the unceded, ancestral, occupied territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations – aka Vancouver.
As an interprète, she has performed over 100 original creations by an eclectic range of choreographers on international stages, and is recipient of The Dance Centre’s Isadora Award for excellence in performance. Highlights include engagements with battery opera, Co.Erasga, Kokoro Dance, Lola Dance, Mascall Dance, Deanna Peters/Mutable Subject, O’Dela Arts, Par B.L.eux, Rouge Gorge – plus commissions of Angelique Wilkie, Barbara Bourget, Peter Bingham, Susan Elliott, Benoit LaChambre, Josh Martin, Robin Poitras and Tedd Robinson – to name a few of many cherished experiences.
Since 2015, as founding Artistic Director of Odd Meridian Arts, Ziyian has visioned, manifested and secured funding for all of the organization’s programming, ranging from paid residences for 23 artists (and counting), two month-long festivals and many commissions of artists from across forms. In July 2020, Ziyian spearheaded and opened Morrow, Odd Meridian’s cultural space that supports creative work by artists from across genres. Ziyian is also active as a mentor who learns alongside emerging artists about foregrounding care and integrity.
Ziyian’s choreography abstracts lived experience to form collages of imagery, movement and language. Since 2013, she has created fourteen full-length pieces plus many shorter works and in-situ installations that have been performed across Canada and in Europe. At the age of 55, she continues to perform, create and find new ways to engage with community. Ziyian believes that in all things art... to dream it is to live it.
