China Dance Journal

By Grant State
For more than 40 years, Grant Strate has been a prime mover on the Canadian contemporary dance scene. His work as a teacher and mentor has not, however, been restricted to Canada. Strate has established a special affection for and understanding of China through his repeated visits there as an honoured guest teacher.

This published diary records Strate’s valuable insights and reflections during his fourth teaching trip to China: encounters with officialdom, with the state of dance in China today, with the problems of language barriers, strange food and even Chinese medicine. Strate’s comments are pithy, wise and immensely informative. Few Westerners can boast such an intimate and detailed understanding of dance in the emerging giant that is China.

About the Author
Grant Strate was a charter member of and early choreographer for The National Ballet of Canada. He has created over fifty choreographic works that have appeared on stages around the world. In 1971, he founded the Dance Department at York University. A decade later, he became the director of the Centre for the Arts at Simon Fraser University. He organized the National Choreographic Seminars, and was the founding chair of both the Dance in Canada Association and the Vancouver Dance Centre. In 1999, Strate was elected the President of the World Dance Alliance – Americas. He was a member of the Order of Canada. He died on February 9, 2015.