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Contact Name: Virginia Harshman Contact Email: virginia.harshman@ringling.org Contact Phone Number: 941-359-5700 X 2803 The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is excited to continue its’ Art of Performance series by welcoming Yin Mei, Peony Dreams: On the Other Side of Sleep. Created and choreographed by Yin Mei, an artist of the Chinese diaspora who has been part of the New York dance scene since the 1900s, this new dance theater piece for five dancers melds themes from the iconic Chinese literary work The Peony Pavilion and Yin Mei’s own life experience as a teenage government dancer during the Chinese Revolution. Highly visual and referencing a dense collection of letters she wrote to her family over two decades, the work is a dance painting that occupies the space between truth and dreams. The boundary-defying new work of dance-theater that looks into the liminal space between reality of our personal histories and our memories of them will be presented Jan. 17 and 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Historic Asolo Theater. Yin Mei Dance is a transdisciplinary contemporary dance company based in New York City with strong ties to China. The company has toured across the USA, Asia, and Europe in notable venues from Jacob’s Pillow, Yerba Buena, Lincoln Center, The City Center, DTW, LaMaMa, Movement Research at Judson Church, Theatre du Chartelet Paris, National Theater of Beijing and Nanjing, and many others. Before coming to the United States to study modern dance on a grant from the Asian Cultural Council, Yin Mei was a professional dancer with the Henan Song and Dance Troupe and later the principal dancer with the Hong Kong Dance Company. She is now a professor and the director of dance at Queens College, CUNY. Yin Mei Dance was formed in 1995 and presents a unique dance style employing Chinese energy, direction, and spatial principles as a means of creating new dance works within the rubric of contemporary dance theater. The work explores themes of artistic and spiritual significance arising at the intersection between Asian traditional performance and Western contemporary dance. The Ringling will also host a Conversation with Yin Mei on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. in the Chao Lecture Hall. Yin Mei will discuss how and why she incorporated The Peony Pavilion, a romantic tragicomedy play written by dramatist Tang Xianzu in 1598 in her latest performance. Tickets are available at .ringling.org/events/yin-mei-peony-dreams-other-side-sleep or by phone at 941-360-7399. About The Ringling The Ringling is a center for art, history and learning situated on 66 acres on Sarasota Bay. It is built on the legacy of circus entrepreneur, collector of art and financier John Ringling and his wife Mable. The Ringling inspires visitors with an acclaimed collection of Old Master paintings, explores with them the diverse cultures and art of Asia, delights them with the story of the American circus, and transports them to the Roaring Twenties during a tour of the magnificent Ca’ d’Zan mansion. The Ringling is also committed to exhibiting the work of an emerging community of living artists that moves beyond traditional practice and features dynamic and engaging contemporary visual and performing arts, including a diverse roster of theater, music and dance. The Ringling is the State Art Museum of Florida. Affiliated with Florida State University, it is one of the largest university art centers in the nation.