Jamie H.J.Guan

B I O   &   R E S U M E

 

Jamie H. J. Guan graduated from the Beijing Institute for Performing Arts and performed hundreds of wu sheng martial arts warrior roles during his 15 years with Peking Opera Troupe No. 1.  Command performances included President Richard Nixon's historic visit to the People's Republic of China in 1972.  He first appeared on the American stage in 1978 as part of the China Performing Arts Troupe, the first performing arts tour from mainland China to the U.S. after relations between the two countries were normalized.  Performances on this historic tour included Lincoln Center and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and were presented on national television in PBS' "From China to US".

Mr. Guan made his Broadway debut in 1988 as an actor and choreographer in the Tony-award winning M. Butterfly , written by David Henry Hwang and directed by John Dexter, and on its national and international tours.  Additionally, he choreographed Warner Brothers' feature film, M. Butterfly , directed by David Cronenberg and starring Jeremy Irons and John Lone.  Other Broadway credit includes movement consultant to Tony-nominated Golden Child, written by David Henry Hwang and directed by James Lapine.

Mr. Guan choreographed and appeared in the world premiere of the one-act opera, The Silver River , written by David Henry Hwang, composed by Bright Sheng and directed by Lisa Peterson, at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival in 1997.  In 1998, he choreographed the world premiere of Red, written by Chay Yew and directed by Lisa Peterson, at Seattle's Intiman Theater, and Carry the Tiger to the Mountain, written by Cherylene Lee and commissioned by the Contemporary American Theater Festival.

In 1999 Mr. Guan was Fight Instructor for Soul Possessed, and in 2000 Mr. Guan was the Chinese Opera Consultant for Dreams—two shows written, choreographed and directed by Debbie Allen and presented at The Kennedy Center. He has continued his collaboration with Debbie Allen, most notably as associate choreographer of a live, globally-broadcast Chinese martial-arts dance performance celebrating the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for the 73rd Annual Academy Awards, March 25, 2001. Mr. Guan worked with Robert Longbottom Chinese Opera Consultant and Warrior Dance Staging Flower Drum Song at Mark Taper Foum 2001.Mr Guan choreographer Beautiful Warrior at Vineyard Theatre and Chinese Movement Choreographed Making Tracks at Village Theatre Seattle 2002.

In 2000, in association with AtlanticPacific Music, Inc., Mr. Guan produced the first tour in 20 years of the Beijing Opera Theater Troupe with a company of 36 artists and musicians, appearing in Atlantic City and New York's Lincoln Center.

His international credits include work with Manitoba Theatre Centre, Ottawa National Arts Centre, Haymarket Theatre and Singapore Repertory Theatre.  Regional credits include work with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Center Theatre Group of Los Angeles, The Huntington Theatre Company, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, East West Fusion Theatre, Seattle Children's Theater, Syracuse Stage, Actors Company of Pennsylvania, American Conservatory Theater and New York State Theatre Institute choreographing The Woman Warrior, F.O.B., Last of the Suns, The Tempest, and Dragonwings.

Additionally, Mr. Guan choreographed a television commercial for The Coca-Cola Company, Red Dragon, and has appeared in print and billboard advertisements for AT&T.

Mr. Guan taught a studio course in Peking Opera at New York University's Undergraduate Drama Department and teaches Chinese Martial Arts and Peking Opera Dance at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles. He has presented many workshops on Peking Opera at regional and national conferences for educators and at the International Children's Festival at Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institution, Boston Children's Museum, Manhattan Children's Museum, Asia Society, China Institute, Yale University, University of Michigan, University of Massachusetts, University of Washington and University of Maryland.

 

Directing
M. Butterfly
Assistant Director / Choreographer   Palace Theatre, Manchester   (Paul Kerry) 1989 Theaterworks 2004

Producing
Beijing Opera Theatre Troupe
First U.S. Tour in 20 Years, Co-Produced with Richard Flanzer, AtlanticPacific Music, Inc.
 The Sands Hotel, Atlantic City.Lincoln Center, New York 2000

Choreography
M. Butterfly  
Broadway   (John Dexter)

For this and all other listed productions of M. Butterfly, also provided intensive training in Peking Opera for cast members; arranged, played and taped the Peking Opera musical segments; assisted with costume design and ordering of pieces from China; and acted as general "China Consultant."

M. Butterfly
 
London West End   (John Dexter) 1989
  Rome   (John Dexter) 1989
  North American National Tour   (Stuart Ostrow) 1990
  Manitoba Theatre Center / Ottawa National Arts Centre   (Larry Desrochers) 1990 Theaterworks 2004

Flower Drum Song  Fullerton Light Opera 2005  American Musical Theater San Jose 2008

Red Manhattan Theater Club. Long Wharf Theater. 1998  Intiman Theater. Portland Center Stage. 1997

Making Tracks. Village Theater 2002

The Woman Warrior
 
CTG / The Ahmanson at The Doolittle, Los Angeles   (Sharon Ott) 1994
  Berkeley Repertory Theatre / The Hungtington Theatre Co., Boston   (Sharon Ott)
Last of the Suns   Berkeley Repertory Theatre   (Phyllis Look) 1994
F.O.B.   Pan Asian Repertory Theatre   (David Henry Hwang) 1989
Dragon Wings   Lincoln Center Institute / Berkeley Repertory Theatre  (Phyllis Look) 1991
Golden Child   Public Theater  (James Lapine) 1994
Silver River   Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival   (Lisa Peterson) 1997
Pacific Overtures   New York University Drama Department   (Marcia Milgrom Dodge) 1994
Soul Possessed  The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Debbie Allen) 2000
Dreams  Chinese Opera Consultant  Eisenhower Theater, The Kennedy Center  (Debbie Allen)2001
73rd Annual Academy Awards Associate choreographer, dance performance  (Debbie Allen) 2001

Theater
M. Butterfly   Peking Opera Warrior
 
Broadway   (John Dexter) 1988
  North American National Tour  (Stuart Ostrow) 1990
  Manitoba Theatre Center / Ottawa National Arts Centre   (Larry Desrochers) 1990
 

Plus hundreds of other roles in many other shows during fifteen years of performing with the Beijing Opera Troupe #1, including regular command performances for Mao Ze Dong, Jiang Qing, Zhou En Lai, other government officials nad visiting dignitaries such as President Richard M. Nixon.

Film
M. Butterfly  
Choreographer   Warner Brothers   (David Cronenberg) 1990
Saven Face  Mr.Yao 2003
Kundun    Voice narration  Walt Disney Productions   (Martin Scorcese) 1994

Television
From China to US  
Various characters   PBS
 

International Tours
China Performing Arts Troupe - 1978 U.S. Tour
 
First performing arts tour from China to the U.S. after normalizing relations
 
New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Minneapolis
B

Residencies
Smithsonian Institution Discovery Theater Resident Associate Program 
Washington D.C.
Henry Street Settlement Asian American Outreach Through the Arts Program  New York

Special Performances
The Magic of the Monkey King
as the Monkey King
  Ann Arbor Arts Summer Festival
  International Children's Festival at Wolf Trap, Washington D.C.
  Haymarket Theatre, Leicester, England
  Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
  WNET/THIRTEEN Kids THIRTEEN Festival, Central Park
  Flint Institute of Arts
  Springfield Art Museum
  Portland Museum
  Boston Children's Museum
  Peabody Museum, Salem
  Holyoke Children's Museum
  Bermuda Festival

Workshops on Peking Opera
Hundreds of workshops on Peking Opera, Chinese martial arts and various aspects of Chinese culture have been given in universities, and elementary, middle and high schools across the United States, including the following:

Yale University  New Haven, CT
University of Michigan  Ann Arbor, MI
University of Massachusetts  Amherst, MA
University of Washington  Seattle, WA
University of Maryland College Park, MD
Northern Arizona University  Flagstaff, AR
Longwood College  Farmville, VA
Dickingson College  Carlisle, PA
Hunter College High School  New York, NY
Bank Street School  New York, NY
University of British Columbia  Vancouver, BC
Center for the Arts and Sciences  Saginaw, MI
New World School of the Arts  Miami FL
Copley Square High School  Boston, MA
University Liggett School  Detroit, MI
Lincoln High School  Portland, OR
Thayer Academy  Braintree, MA
Newton North High School  Newton, MA
Cranbrook School  Bloomfield Hills, MI
Renbrook School  West Hartford, CT
Castellaro Middle School  San Jose, CA

Programs Presented at Conferences for Educators
Association for Asian Studies National Conference 
Boston, Massachusetts
Committee on Teaching About Asia National Conference  Boston, Massachusetts
East Asian Tradition in the Modern World   Madison, Wisconsin
China and the United States in the 21st Century: A Time for Hope   St. David's, Pennsylvania
Michigan Institute for Teachers in Asian Studies   Ann Arbor, Michigan
Midwest Association of Independent Schools   Detroit, Michigan
Michigan Association for Media in Education   Troy, Michigan
Michigan Council for the Social Studies & Pacific Rim Consortium   Lansing, Michigan

Training
Beijing Institute of Performing Arts  
Beijing, China   1961 - 1969
Graduated with major in Peking Opera, specializing in performing Wu Sheng martial warrior roles

Special Skills
Peking opera, martial arts, tumbling / Acrobatics, Mandarin, Chinese musical instruments, Chinese costume and set design consultation


 


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