Guest Choreographer, Yunnan Ethnic Dance Suite
Chinese Performing Arts Festival 2003

　Master Zhou is a nationally certified
first rank choreographer in China specializing in ethnic dances of Yunnan Province. Yunnan borders Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. This region is elevated from the low land all the way to edge with the Tibetan Plateau. Because of the high mountains, dropping cliffs, and forbidding rapid rivers, the tribal peoples in this area have been isolated from each other and unknown to the outside world for many centuries.

　 Master Zhou has dedicated his entire life to dance. Born in the city of Quinming, capital of Yunnan Province, Zhou was an accomplished dancer with the Yunnan Song and Dance Company in the 60s. In 1970, Zhou started his work as a choreographer. He traveled to the least known areas and collected a great deal of data from the tribes. He is now recognized in China as an authority in the dance arts of ethnic minorities. He has garnered many awards with his works such as Olive Tree, Footprint of Love, the full production of the dance drama A-si-ma, Blue Sun and Emerald dance suites, and many others.

　 Blue Sun was featured at Flint Center when his company accompanied China’s President Jiang Zemin's 2000 visit to the US. His works are also staged at theme park “Splendid China” in Florida and in Shenzhen, a special economic zone near Hong Kong.