Ride the Wind 揽月乘风 — Contemporary Male Ensemble
Five to ten young men in open crimson robes, moving to a beat, under beams and confetti. Not a museum piece.
WHAT IT IS
Most of what we bring you is heritage. This is not, and it is on this site for exactly that reason.
Ride the Wind is a contemporary ensemble piece for male dancers. The vocabulary underneath it is classical Chinese — the same 身韵 body technique our opera and classical dancers train in, the turns and the sustained line — but it is set to a modern track and cut with the sharpness of a crew that also dances urban and hip-hop. The result is fast, clean and unison-heavy, and it lands with a room that has no interest whatsoever in the Tang dynasty.
It runs five to eight dancers as standard, and scales to ten for a larger stage.
WHERE IT BELONGS IN A PROGRAMME
The late slot. Every week-long programme has a night that should not be reverent. A resort with a beach club, a bar, or a party night has a room that a guzheng recital would empty. This is the act for that room.
The finale. It ends big, and it ends on a group shape rather than a fade. Useful where a gala needs lifting at the end rather than a slow close.
Club floors and late sets. The photographs on this page are from a residency at an entertainment complex in Henan — a proper nightclub, with a runway stage, LED walls and a standing crowd. This piece was built in that environment, not adapted to it afterwards.
Brand events with a young audience. Where the brief is Chinese culture but the guests are under forty and the room has a DJ.
Balance. Practically speaking: our heritage roster is heavily female. If you are programming several acts across an evening or a week, this is where the balance comes from.
THE COSTUME
Worth a word, because it is doing more work than it looks.
The dancers wear open hanfu robes over 马面裙 — horse-face skirts: pleated, with a broad printed or metallic panel at the hem. The horse-face skirt is a genuine historical garment, and it is also, right now, one of the most visible things in contemporary Chinese fashion — worn on the street, not only on stage. Men wearing them is newer still.
So the look reads two ways at once. To a Chinese guest it is current, and slightly bold. To an international guest it reads simply as striking, and unmistakably Chinese. Either way it photographs extremely well, which is usually the point.
WHAT IT NEEDS
- Five to eight dancers as standard; up to ten for a large stage or runway
- Clear floor of roughly 8m × 6m, a stage, or a catwalk — it works on all three
- No rigging, no fire clearance, no special flooring
- A proper sound system. This is a music-led piece and it dies on a weak PA
- Stage lighting or club lighting; it is built for beams rather than flat wash
- Costume and props travel with the company
INTERNATIONAL BOOKINGS
Our performers travel. They hold valid passports, work in basic English alongside our bilingual production staff, and are experienced with international schedules and call sheets.
For overseas bookings we normally need four to six weeks for visas and documentation, though we have worked to shorter notice. Costume, props and instruments travel with the company.
We also cast for film, television and commercial shoots. On request we can supply portfolios, full-body reference photography, measurements, unedited performance video, and day and overtime rates.
Need the night to lift?
Tell us the room, the hour and the crowd. We will tell you whether this is the right act for it — and what to put either side of it.
More from ING
- Performances → Tang Palace Banquet 唐宫夜宴
- Services → Chinese New Year Programming for Hotels & Resorts
- Our Work → Velaa Private Island, Maldives