間 (Ma)

Director & Editor: Chang Liu (Leo) 

Choreography & Dance: Chang Liu (Leo)

Sound & Costume Designer: Chang Liu (Leo) 

Camera Operators: Angela Rosales Challis & Natalie Oliver  

Sound Recorder: Alexander Norton III  

Instructor: Katrina McPherson  

Music: OPENING by Stephan Altman  

Shooting Location: Little Dell Reservoir, Salt Lake City, Utah, US

Produced in 2019  

Premiered at Hayes Christensen Dance Theatre, Salt Lake City, USA

• Manifest Dance-Film Festival 2025  – Official Selection 

• Berlin Kiez Film Festival 2022 – Official Selection & Award Winner

• ROLLOUT Dance Film Festival 2020 – Official Selection 

• Screendance Festival '20 at Broadway Centre Cinemas (Presented by Salt Lake Film Society) – Selected Showcase Work  

Concept: 

In this screendance version of my contemporary dance work Ma (間), I intentionally designed the display screen in the shape of a full circle inside the conventional black square-shaped frame that usually bounds a film-screening space. This design questions the conventional conceptions of video consumption, be it on cinematic screens, television sets, or other devices. It is related to the philosophical concept of "天圆地方" (Tiānyuán Dìfāng) - "Sky is round, Earth is square." This ancient Chinese cosmology describes the relationship between humankind, nature, and the divine, symbolizing the infinite sky (round) and the solid earth (square), which together represent the balance and harmony between these two realms.  

In the work, it is quiet and contemplative in tone, and it shows a figure in black, moving, breathing, meditating, and navigating through white snow and deadwood under a huge blue sky. This imagery concerns the relation of the individual to the expanded world, where the scale between the person and the world disappears into the vastness of the space between sky and earth.   

The piece embodies the principles of Buddhist and Zen thought, reflecting on the endless possibilities in the void. It emphasizes the unbounded opportunities out of the void, creating a strong contrast against the limitations that time and space bring. It is an invitation to viewers to meditate on the boundless nature of existence beyond the finite and embracing the infinite that exists within the space between.