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Closing Night
by
Tod Nguyen
June 6, 1999
The
Aurora Fox Art Center hosted the closing night for the Aurora
Asian Film Festival. The final film was a world premier of "Portrait
of an Enchantress"s a documentary of internationally acclaimed
dance artist Ms.
Zhongmei Li with a special live performance by Ms. Li after the
world premier screening.
 The
Film
"Portrait
of An Enchantress" a documentary directed by Gary Keys, produced
by Gary Keys and Cesare Cosanzo. This movie captures the artistry
of the New York-based Zhongmei Dance Company and focuses on the
troupe's founder, director and star, Zhongmei Li.
Ms.
Zhongmei Li
'Regarded
as one of China's most distinguished and talented dance artists,
she has established an appealing reputation for Eastern and Western
audiences alike.
 After
the live
performance, the audience was treated to an original dance
number by Ms. Li. I asked her before the show if she was nervous
and she said "very much". Well it didn't seems to affect
her performance much! The audience loved the show. RealMedia
movie clips. (Requires
RealPlayer
G2)
 The
exquisite original performance received a standing ovation from
the audience.
Questions
and Answers with Director Gary Keys
 Following
the presentation Gary Keys responded to questions from the audience.
He said that the project consumed a years' worth of work and cost
somewhere between $100K to $500K to produce but did not give specific
numbers. One problem he encountered while filming was that it
was very hard to film the dancer during live performances. Most
of the footage's from the documentary was taken from live performances
of Mr. Li. Keys goal with the documentary was to give the film
audience a more personal look at the performers, which meant that
the camera had to be very close to the action. Since it's live,
the camera crew couldn't really be on stage which led to many
scene that are somewhat two dimensional. When the crew was able
to be on stage to film, the crew literally bumped into the dancers
while filming. On that note, Jokingly, Keys remarked that the
audience should "never allow a film crew into your home however
glamorous it may seems!".
Keys
enjoyed working on this documentary because it gave him absolute
power over the project, something he claims rarely anyone enjoys
in Hollywood. I spoke to Gary Keys afterward about how the interview
with Ms. Li was conducted whether it was scripted or ad-hoc? As
it turns out it was more comfortable for Ms. Li to just winging
it rather than to try and script every scene. Because Keys already
knows the story of Ms. Li, he had a general concept of how the
documentary should progress and piece the appropriate clips in
the later phases of the project.
 Zhongmei
receiving flowers following her performance and a last bow to
the Aurora Asian Film Festival audience
 I
manage to conduct a quick interview with Ms. Zhongmei Li during
the reception. My first question was about a dance routine where
she performed a magic act that made 3 different masks appear and
disappear without a trace. Like a true magician, she wouldn't
reveal the secret! She only said that she had promised her Magician
master to never reveal the trick. OK... Maybe something she can
answer, so I asked her if she was considered tall for a dancer
in China? She responded that yes indeed she is considered a bit
tall for a dancer! However, this never hindered her in her pursuit
of dancing due to her "never give up" attitude. This
trait had allowed her to work for and obtained a full scholarship
at the Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham dance schools in New York
back in 1990. She now has her own dance company where she performs
to an international stage.
Meeting
the Audience
 From
Left to right, Yueh Li "Lily" Shen, President Chinese
American Council of Colorado and Original Aurora Renewal, Aurora's
First Lady, Mayor Paul Tauer, Zhongmei Li, and Sum Nguyen, Asian
Trade Center.
 Posing
for a picture with a young dance fan! The next generation Zhongmei
Li?...
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