Date: 24 September to 12 October, 2008
Venue: CCD Workstation, Beijing

Organizer?Caochangdi Workstation/ Living Dance Studio
Co-organizers: Beijing Storm, BORNEOCO/ CultureXpress?the Netherlands?

Support:
DOEN FOUNDATION, the Netherlands
China Independent Documentary Film Archive (www.cidfa.com)
SWISS FILMS
PRO HELVETIA,Swiss Arts Council, Swiss Cultural Programme in China 2008-2010
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to China
Netherlands China Arts Foundation
Netherlands Fund for Performing Arts
Holland Film
Goethe-Institute China
the Culture Programme of the European Union
chin-A-moves coop-europa
Kunststiftung NRW
Instituto Cervantes de Pekín
www.bubukan.com
Public DV Magazine
Contemporary Art & Investment Magazine
Center of Documentary Film Archive
Iberia Center for Contemporary Art
Independent Film Archive of ICCA
Beijing Jinfumiao Commerce Ltd.
Southeast Asian and Chinese choreographers' Exchange Project supported by Arts Network Asia (ANA)

Crossing Festival 2008

In 2008 Caochangdi Workstation and Living Dance Studio present the fourth annual Crossing Festival, held in Beijing from 25 September to 12 October. This is an independent festival whose purpose is to advocate and further develop China’s independent contemporary dance and theater, and documentary film and experimental video. It was founded by Caochangdi Workstation & Living Dance Studio in Beijing in 2005, and is co-organized by Borneoco / CultureXpress in The Netherlands.

In the program for 2008, we have continued to cultivate the original concept of Crossing Festival; to create a stage for work in the fields of performance art and documentary film, as well as establish a "meeting space" for people and artists. We hope that this festival can create such a platform for exchange.

The festival presents Performance and Documentary Film as its two main components.

PERFORMANCE SPACE

This year we are proud to host productions from ten performance groups coming from various countries and backgrounds. The diversity of the work represents the variety that we find nowadays in contemporary dance and dance theater.

As the host of Crossing Festival, Living Dance Studio will perform its new work Memory. The short version of this piece has just returned from its World Premiere; in September 2008 it was performed in tanzhaus nrw, Düsseldorf, Germany, Les Biennales de Lyon, France and Teatre Mercat de les Flors, Barcelona, Spain. Now the piece returns to its’ home stage to premiere the longer 8 hour version.

We believe strongly in presenting new works from the new generation. We also value cultural exchange in the performing arts. This festival includes several evenings of new work from young Chinese and European choreographers. By presenting their work side by side in the program, we hope to build a rich and diverse platform over which exchange in the performing arts can take place. The productions will include two pieces from young, upcoming Chinese choreographers: Lian Guodong (Beijing), and Tao Ye (Beijing) They were selected from the third annual Young Choreographers Project that took place in Caochangdi Workstation in May 2008. The European choreographers come to Caochangdi as part of chin-A moves, a Sino-European exchange project in the field of contemporary dance made possible with support from the Culture Programme of the European Union. We will stage work by Sonia Gómez, (Spain), Nina Vallon (Switzerland / Germany), Ben J. Riepe (Germany), and Alexandra Waierstall (Cyprus / Germany).

Since it's start in 2005, Crossing Festival has featured creative performance work from the Netherlands. These productions have enriched our understanding of dance creation. This year we are happy to have Hypertopia, a work choreographed by André Gingras.

German artists Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser have had a close relationship with Caochangdi Workstation since it's beginning. In 2005 they conducted a workshop for Chinese performers at Caochangdi Workstation. Since then they have given various lectures and workshops in our space. This year they bring the site-specific piece China-Hair Connection Beijing-Cologne, to Beijing, which will be performed in "Red Yard" in the village at Caochangdi. The piece is performed by five Chinese and four German artists and premiered in Cologne, Germany in August 2008.

Apart from performances, this is the second year that Crossing Festival welcomes Cinedans. This program, conducted by Janine Dijkmeijer and this year's special Cinedans guest Ria Marks from the Netherlands, seeks to develop the art of dance for camera in China. Cinedans brings the art forms of dance and film together to express and enhance dance with the film medium. Beginning in the last century the camera has been able to film movement! Now in 2008 we are ready to explore the full potential to explore dance with film!

As part of Crossing Festival this year, there will be an exchange workshop between Southeast Asian and Chinese choreographers. Indian, Cambodian and Chinese choreographers will give presentations about their creative experiences and the situation of contemporary dance in their countries, as well as meet together to discuss possibilities for further exchanges and collaborations in the future.

FILM FORUM

Film Forum of Crossing Festival presents new documentary work from Chinese independent filmmakers. In addition, it welcomes international filmmakers to attend our festival, screen work, lead workshops, as well as to exchange with Chinese artists. This year we are lucky to welcome two guest filmmakers visiting us from Europe: “Filmmaker in Focus: Peter Liechti” presents five films by the Swiss filmmaker Peter Liechti, and "Filmmaker in Focus: Frank Scheffer" continues screening and discussing the work of Dutch filmmaker Frank Scheffer, who brought so much insight to the May Festival earlier this year.

This Crossing Festival has several lectures and workshops. chin-A-moves partners Bertram Muller (tanzhaus nrw, Düsseldorf) and Francesc Casadesús (Teatre Mercat de les Flors in Barcelona) will give a lecture, together with Marianne Schirge (City of Düsseldorf; André Gingras visiting us from the Netherlands, will introduce his work and Mario Simondi, former director of Popoli Documentary Film Festival in Florence, will talk about documentary film.

Additionally, Crossing Festival will include two workshops for documentary filmmaking. One workshop will be conducted by the Swiss filmmaker Peter Liechti and the other will be led jointly by Wu Wenguang and Frank Scheffer. The latter will take the Young Documentary Filmmaker Training Project, which was part of May Festival earlier this year, into it’s developmental stage. Young filmmakers who attended the first part of the workshop in May, and who have completed their new films, will attend. During the workshop we will screen and discuss their new work. This opportunity to screen work for feedback and critique is invaluable for the development and growth of young filmmakers.