Wan-Chao Chang, Artistic Director

• Biography
• Artistic Statement
• Noteworthy Presentation
• Choreography

Wan-Chao Chang (張婉昭), a choreographer, dancer, and the artistic director of Wan-Chao Dance, brings to her work a wealth of diverse training and experience. Her choreographies are a blend of many virtuoso dance disciplines, giving them a unique character.

Wan-Chao was born and raised in Taiwan. Her parents, both teachers, had moved from Indonesia to Taiwan in the early sixties to attend university. At an early age, Wan-Chao received fine arts and classical piano training. She was selected to attend a pilot fine arts program in junior high school, but her heart was already leaning towards dancing.

Chang continued to study music for 10 years throughout her college years, learning to play Er-Hu (二胡 , Chinese violin) and eventually conducted the Sheng Ching Chinese Music Orchestra (笙罄國樂社) and won the first prize of North Colleges Chinese Music Festival. Later on she also led Yah Feng Chinese Music Orchestra (雅風國樂團) at Feng Chia University and won the Grand Prize of Central Colleges Music Competition.

She graduated with a Bachelor in Management from Taichung Feng-Chia University in 1992. After working one year as a conference organizer, she decided to dedicate herself to dancing and started working as a full time Ballroom Dance instructor at the Star Dance Studio (世達舞蹈學苑) in Taipei, while giving international folk dance and ballroom dance instruction at Taiwan National University, Taiwan National Industrial College, Tah Tung Industrial College, Asian Folk Dance Camp, and Taiwan College Ballroom Dance Camp.

She moved to San Francisco in 1995 to further her artistic education and graduated with a BA Magna Cum Laude in Dance Ethnology from San Francisco State University (1999). There she became a solo dancer at EMBAJE dance company (currently San Francisco State's University Dance Theater).

After further study in Chinese Dance at the Guang Dong Dance Academy (廣東舞院大專班) in 1999, she came back to SFSU where she graduated with a MA in Creative Arts (2001).

During her time at SFSU, Wan-Chao became a teacher and principal dancer at the Chinese Folk Dance Association and a founding member and lead dancer at the Harsanari Indonesian Dance Company. Following its performance at the 2001 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Harsanari was nominated for the Isadora Duncan Award. Wan-Chao was often invited to perform at events hosted by the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in San Francisco, one of the most prominent Indonesian government offices abroad.

After graduating, Wan-Chao accepted the position Dance Director of the Westwind International Folk Ensemble (2000-2002). Under her direction, the company has performed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including Dance Mission Theater, Kolo Festival, San Francisco State University, San Jose Museum of Art, and Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts.

In 2005, she joined Ballet Afsaneh as a Principal Dancer, and has toured internationally and in the United States including British Museum in London, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Persian Iranian New Year Parade in New York. Ballet Afsaneh is a critically acclaimed performance ensemble presents the dance, music and poetry of the historic Silk Road regions of Central Asia.

Followed her passion in celebrating the harmony of world dance and bringing her divers art forms discipline together, she founded Wan-Chao Dance in 2008 and debuted at the WestWave Dance Festival in San Francisco. Her works soon became noticeable, and was selected for San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival 2009 out of hundreds dance companies who auditioned.

Chang has also performed with other various ensembles such as Gadung Kasturi Balinese Music and Dance, Lestari Indonesia, Gamelan Sekar Jaya - "the finest Balinese gamelan ensemble outside of Indonesia", and taught classes and workshops locally and internationally, including colleges and dance camp in Taiwan, San Francisco Chinese Folk Dance Association, San Francisco State University, Bandung Performing Arts High School in Indonesia, and San Francisco Asian Arts Museum. She is currently directing Wan-Chao Chang Dance, performing as a Principal Dancer with Ballet Afsaneh, and is working with Presidio Dance Theatre and Westwind International Folk Ensemble as Guest Choreographer.

She has been very fortunate to study under many dance masters, such as Tompson Wang (王台生), Jenny Cho (周玉貞)(Ballroom), Rosie Radiator, 許仁上(Tap), Wendy Diamond (Ballet), Cathleen McCarthy, Susan Whipp (Modern), Albirda Rose (Dunham), Alicia Pierce (Jazz), Ni Ketut Arini Alit, Tjokorda Istri Putra Padmini, Kompiang Davies (Balinese), Achmad Farmis, Diah Agustini, Leny Tri Astuti, Ninik Kunti Utami Lunde, Sri Susilowati (Javanese), Chitresh Das (Kathak), Kaiwen You (游開文), Xiao-Ling Qian (錢小玲), Peng Wong (王芃), Yue Kao (高樾)(Chinese), Josefina Guillen (Philippine), Sharlyn Sawyer (Central Asian), Rosa Montoya, Monica Bermudez (Flamenco), Ahmet Luleci, Ercument Kilic (Tukish), Tineke Van Geel, Tom Bozigian (Armanian), Nina Kavardjikova, Ventzi Sotirov, Petur Georgiev Iliev, Bianca de Jong (Bulgarian), Henni Konings (Russian), Nicolass Hilferink, Mihai David, Lia & Theodor Vasilescu (Romanian), Steve Kotansky, Yves Moreau (Balkan), Eugene Ciejka, Rob de Vriend (Poland), Atanas Kolarovski (Macedonian), Zeljko Jergan (Croatian), Joseph Kaloyanides Graziosi (Greek), Istvan Zoltan Szabo, Jeno Molnar (Hungarian) Gema Sandoval (Mexico), and Nora Dinzelbacher (Argentine).

She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband Bernard.

Artistic Statement

Dance has been my medium for exploring my personal values, self-identifying, journeying toward cultural understanding, and connecting with people.

"Who am I? What's my dance form?" From ballroom, folk, ethnic, ballet, jazz, modern to tap..... I was constantly seeking my roots until one day I found out my culture is a blend of many different layers. I was on a hunt for style and finally realized that I don't need to label my language. I would like to tell the journey of seeking values, searching for roots, and discovering a language beyond the barrier of verbal and written.

From eye to eye, soul to soul, I want to move the audience with dance - the language I know.