It has been a period of time since I created a personal dance project. A number of contemplations came up during my research period about what kind of art I want to create. Is it something choreographically technical? Visually stunning? An ensemble or solo? Although these aspects are important to me, what I’ve realized from my past creations is that I yearned to better deliver a message or a theme through my work. Most importantly, to convey the thoughts, stories, and ideas that are percolating in my mind with more clarity, intention, and depth.

Evolving my dance experience beyond breaking and expanding into the contemporary dance world, my pursuit of excellence as an interdisciplinary artist, at times, caused me to reject and try to distance myself from my former life. However, what I’m learning now is that a transformation cannot be complete without honoring one’s beginnings. After all, my earlier path is what has led me to where I am now.

I have never given breaking a proper spotlight within my work. Nor have I worked with my close friends who knew me by a different name. It was my intention with this project to offer a blend between a dance film and documentary; to tell a more intimate and personal story that is as grounded as it is dream-like and poetic.

This project is a letter of appreciation for the underdogs. Those who continue to work on their craft without expectations. Those who continue to pursue their dreams even with limited resources and challenging obstacles. And for those who are just as “professional” as those constantly granted the limelight.

To my dear friend Jasmine… whose struggles I resonate with so deeply as an adult dancer navigating life: we are still f***ing here!

From Lawrence —

In 2021, Kraken Still & Film collaborated with Germany based couture fashion designer Johanna Goldbach to create a series of fine-art photographs showcasing the custom made garments paired with movement.

In 2022, Lawrence created Couture Botanical, a film with four of the Goldbach dresses at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. Lawrence spent six-month in rehearsal choreographing a contemporary ballet piece with company dancer Chelsea Neiss and company composer Adele Etheridge Woodson. Woodson both composed the musical score and playing the fairy character in the film.

Couture Botanical is a film poetry expressing the love of the ever-changing yet consistent relationship between day and night. Set in the botanical wonderland, two garden fairies encounter each other and share their love through an overwhelming presentation of music and dance.

In 2023, Couture Botanical received multiple premiere in various concerts and dance film festivals in 2023 including Desert Dance Theatre’s annual concert, Arizona Drive-In Dance Film Festival, and nueBOX’s nueWORK Fall Concert.

Trinity is the company’s 2022 flagship project in collaboration with the dance majors at Wayne State University’s dance department at Detroit, Michigan.

The week-long residency took place in October 2021 where Lawrence spent the first four days in the studio creating choreography with the dancers and the rest of the time filming and photographing on location with the rest of the cast.

The musical score is created under the direction of Lawrence with composer Adele Etheridge Woodson and the sound design by Jenstar Hacker.

The crux of Trinity tells the journey of a lost time traveler who is in the midst of finding her way while stumbling across various timelines. Will she be forever lost in the present limbo or will she discover her purpose through the looking glass?

Distant Worlds was made possible with a residency at nueBOX and was partially funded via a Vibrant City Grant from the city of Tempe.

The crux of project explores the internal struggle of modern masculinity, contemplating the physical, societal, emotional, and spiritual components of the structure and ideology of masculinity. As the work progresses, the layers of humanity slowly stripe away and the boundaries and structure remains ambiguous. From cradle to grave we are left with a bag of bones; does the human canvas births renewal or is this farewell?

Inspired by the prophetic tale of the four horsemen and apocalypse in the new testament, this concert piece mirrors the visions in the book of revelation with each reveal of horseman, the fate of humanity follows further down to the path of destruction. Distant Worlds channels the Biblical prophecy and focuses on the apocalyptic actions and thoughts within the soul of man.

The production of Distant Worlds began in the Fall of 2020 and the film production took places across three different Southwestern States, ranging from Death Valley, CA, Valley of Fire, NV, Chiricahua National Monument, AZ, and the Historical Monroe Abbey in downtown Phoenix. Distant Worlds premiered on 5/20/21 at the Tempe History Museum with a live performance and a film showcase.

Inspired by Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung's ideology on embracing one's shadow, the story of this film follows the journey of a troubled misfit. Tormented by obsessive negative thoughts and haunted by ghosts from the past, sometimes the only way out is to go in deep into the abyss.

Choreographer and Filmmaker Lawrence Fung enjoys the abstraction of various styles of dance and experiments with visual composition and color to reimagine Joseph Campbell's classic mythology, A Hero's Journey, using a blend of contemporary movement.

In January of 2021, Act I of Unbreakable was part of a public installation on the L.A. LIVE screen in downtown Los Angeles by the Courtyard Marriott. It was displayed for a two-week duration in collaboration with Standard Vision.

The Kapsule project is a full-length concert event/film of five connecting vignettes (Bird Cage, Burden, Mirage, Duality, and Canvas) that explore the idea of a life cycle based on Lawrence’s upbringing. The project integrates photography, film, and live performance and can be reimagined in various settings, including live stages, film theaters, and galleries. 

Kapsule investigates the relationship between environmental psychology and movement and strategically selects distinctive places to depict specific timelines, including childhood, past, present, future, and afterlife. The cast traveled to the winter streets of Toronto, the white sand and southwestern wonders of New Mexico, and the glaciers and waterfalls of Iceland to film this ambitious project.

For gallery exhibition, the Kapsule project includes a collection of fifteen photographic fine art pieces as well as inspirational text that supports each chapter. The Kapsule film itself can be divided into five parts to be shown alongside the photographic prints or a standalone if projection is available.

Kapsule’s first debuted three sold-out showings on November 8th, 9th, and 10th of 2019 at the Nelson Fine Arts Center at Arizona State University.

In October of 2020, the Kapsule project earned itself a month long solo exhibition at the Foundre Contemporary Gallery in Downtown Phoenix. The photographic prints and film were showcased inside the gallery, alongside a public installation of vertical projection of the film playing on the wall of the 4 story hotel building.