Circadia

Caili Quan’s Circadia is inspired by an eclectic music mix ranging from Boban Markovic Orchestra to Gabriella Smith’s Carrot Revolution.

Circadia is inspired by how the body is affected during sleep. “Sleep gives us a place to recover, but it is also where our minds choose memories to keep. It also allows us space to reminisce and dream,” says Quan. “The music for the work is an eclectic mix that made me want to move but also felt like a soundtrack to our dreams.”

“A cascade of funky movements; raised shoulders, shimmies, cocky struts, and tiny, demi-pointe shuffles across the stage.”
The Ballet Herald

One minute promo reel

Choreographer | Caili Quan

Caili Quan is a New York-based choreographer who danced with BalletX from 2013 to 2020. She has created works for BalletX, The Juilliard School, Nashville Ballet, Oakland Ballet Company, Owen/Cox Dance Group, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, and Ballet Academy East. She served as an Artistic Partnership Initiative Fellow and a Toulmin Creator at The Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU. With BalletX she performed new works by Matthew Neenan, Nicolo Fonte, Gabrielle Lamb, Penny Saunders, Trey McIntyre, and danced at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Vail Dance Festival, Belgrade Dance Festival, and DEMO by Damian Woetzel at the Kennedy Center. “Mahålang”, a short documentary that wove familial conversations of her Chamorro Filipino upbringing on Guam with scenes from BalletX’s Love Letter, was shown at the Hawai’i International Film Festival, CAAMFest, and the Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center. Quan is a Creative Associate at The Juilliard School.

Music | Boban Markovic Orkestar, Betty Hutton, The Teskey Brothers & Gabriella Smith

The Boban Markovic Orchestra is a Balkan Brass Band from Vladicin Han, Southern Serbia. Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. The Teskey Brothers is an Australian soul blues band. Gabriella Smith is a composer and environmentalist from the San Francisco Bay Area whose music has been described as “high-voltage and wildly imaginative”.

Costume Design | Janessa Cornell Urwin

Janessa Cornell Urwin (Costume Designer) began her career as a ballet dancer before transitioning into costuming. She has designed costumes for numerous classical ballets and contemporary dance pieces for American Repertory Ballet, Stockton University Dance Program, Traverse City Dance Project, The Nutmeg Ballet, Rutgers University, Kun-Yang Lin/ Dancers, and Nacre Dance Company, among others. She has worked with esteemed choreographers Kirk Peterson, Starr Foster, Riccardo De Nigris, Michael Nickerson-Rossi, and Meredith Rainey. Urwin also has a short film design credit and has designed for Athena Theatre Company. She holds a certificate in Costume Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Most recently she designed Ethan Stiefel’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for American Repertory Ballet.

Lighting Design | Jason Flamos

Jason Flamos (Lighting Designer) Credits include: (Mile Square Theatre) Pipeline, I and You, It’s a Wonderful Life, The 39 Steps, Betrayal; (Shakespeare Theater NJ) William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play; (10 Hairy Legs) Heist, Cruise Control, Brian, Quadrivium; (Thingamajig Theatre Company) The Pillowman, Cabaret, The Little Mermaid, A Few Good Men. Flamos was the Associate Lighting Design for the Off-Broadway productions of Clever Little Lies and The Other Josh Cohen at Westside Theater, F***ing A at Signature Theater, The Producers and Benny and Joon at Paper Mill Playhouse, and Rags at Goodspeed Opera. He was the lighting supervisor for 10 Hairy Legs and is the current lighting supervisor at American Repertory Ballet.