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Tangram x LSO: Bound/Unbound

By Alex Ho and Sun Keting

Friday 9 & Saturday 10 August 2024

LSO St Luke's, London

New music, new movement, her stories. Join trailblazing Associate Artists, Tangram, for the premiere of a new music theatre piece by Alex Ho and Sun Keting interweaving the stories of two of China’s 19th century heroines: Afong Moy and Qiu Jin.

The Programme

Growing up with bound feet in the feudal Qing Dynasty, Afong Moy in 1834 became the first Chinese woman to be brought to America, where she was displayed before the public as a ‘Chinese Curiosity’. Half a century later, Qiu Jin, a young revolutionary, challenged the stifling Manchu culture and changed the fate of women by unbinding her feet and taking up the art of sword fighting. Poet, author of manifestos, and leader of a revolutionary community, Qiu Jin was determined to save her country from the corrupt Qing government. These two women, bound and unbound, together compose a symphonic dance, a protest against the world of patriarchy into which they were born.

Bound_Unbound cover.HEIC

The Performance

Jerwood Hall, LSO St Luke’s

Bound/Unbound

Haegee Lee soprano
Yining Chen dancer
Beibei Wang percussion
LSO Musicians

Alex Ho and Sun Keting  directors
Alex Ho and Sun Keting  composers
Yining Chen choreographer
Chang Meng and Ke Peng  visual designers


Xiaolu GuoAlex Ho and Sun Keting Writers
Yilin Wang Qiu Jin translator and consultant
Based on an original script by Xiaolu Guo

Co-produced by Tangram and the LSO with generous support from the Bagri Foundation and Arts Council England

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