Edwaard Liang (born c. 1975/1976 Also available a

. in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

) is a Taiwanese-born American

dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

. He grew up in

Marin County, California Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...

Career

Liang began studying dance at the age of 5. He entered the School of American Ballet in New York City in 1989, joined

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...

in 1993 and was promoted to the rank of soloist in 1998. In 2001, Liang left the New York City Ballet to dance in '' Fosse'' on Broadway. He returned to New York City Ballet from 2004 to 2007 where he danced in ballets by

Jorma Elo Jorma Elo is a contemporary choreographer. Early life He was born 30 August 1961 in Helsinki, Finland. His father, Jaakko Elo, is a urological surgeon, mother Ruth Elo née Carlstedt, a dentist. Jorma Elo's partner since 1994 is Nancy Euveri ...

('' Slice to Sharp'') and

Mauro Bigonzetti Mauro Bigonzetti (born 1960) is an Italian ballet dancer and choreographer. He trained at the ballet school of Teatro dell'Opera di Roma and entered their company in 1979. In 1983 Bigonzetti joined the Reggio Emilia company Aterballetto, renown ...

('' In Vento''). Liang began choreographing around 2003. He created FLIGHT OF ANGELS for

Nederlands Dans Theatre Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT; literal translation Netherlands Dance Theatre) is a Dutch contemporary dance company. NDT is headquartered at the ''Amare'' building in The Hague. NDT also performs at other venues in the Netherlands, including Ams ...

and in 2005 his pas de deux DISTANT CRIES was premiered at the Joyce Theatre, NYC, by Peter Boal and Wendy Whelan and was later performed by the same dancers at the New York State Theater. In July 2013 Liang became artistic director of BalletMet the professional company based in Columbus, Ohio. In 2023 he became the artistic director of The Washington Ballet.

Awards

*1993, Mae L. Wien Award. *2006, "25 to Watch" by ''

Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' is currently part of Dance Media, led by longtime arts publisher Joanna Harp as president, and has mu ...

'' for choreography. *2006, National Choreographic Competition, winner. *Prince Prize Grant for Choreography *Choo San Goh Award for Choreography *2008, Golden Mask Award nominee for ''Whispers in the Dark''

References

External links

*
New York City Ballet: Edwaard Liang biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liang, Edwaard Date of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Taipei American choreographers American musicians of Chinese descent Ballet choreographers American male ballet dancers Living people Morphoses dancers New York City Ballet soloists Taiwanese emigrants to the United States School of American Ballet alumni People from Marin County, California Year of birth missing (living people)