Rimless

QU Yi
Stage Director/Scriptwriter/Composer of Art Creation Institute, Chinese National Academy of Arts.
Invited Director of “Physical Performance” Teaching at Performance Institute of Beijing Film Academy
Artistic Director/Chief Director/Scriptwriter/Composer of QU Yi’s Direcor Studio
Space performance artist, curator, piano performance


[Educational Background]
QU Yi studied piano under Associate Professor Tai’er from Central Conservatory of Music.
She won First Prize in the “Cup of Hope” Piano Competition.
She studied Contemporary Music Composition under Chinese-French composer XU Yi.
She graduated from Central Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor’s degree and then majored in Music Composition for Film and TV (MA) in the School of Arts of the University of Bristol in the UK.
[Major Experiences and Achievements]
In 2011, Copper in Asia, a play of poems, music and dances with QU Yi as the director, scriptwriter and composer, was premiered in Verona Arena in Rome, Italy. It is listed in the Key Projects of Recommendation of the Ministry of Culture of China. It was included in the Repertoire Exhibition Unit of the Chinese Culture Year in Italy and won the award of Outstanding Play in the Repertoire Exhibition Unit.
From 2013 to 2016, stage play Facing the Sea (also known as Into A place Deeper Than Love), was presented on stage for nearly a hundred of performances in a national tour (including stages of nationwide Poly Theaters, Beijing Poly Theater, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Shanghai Civilian Stage, Xiamen Minnan Theater, Hunan Theater, and Beijing People’s Art Theater, etc.)

In 2014, QU Yi worked as assistant director for the music drama AIDA produced by National Centre for the Performing Arts.
In 2014, the play Dream as horse, with major subsidiary from the National Art Fund, finished the first round tour of 5 performances.
In 2015, Facing the Sea was supported by the Project of Cross-Boundary and Innovative Play of National Art Fund, and finished a national round tour of 40 performances.
In 2017, invited by Theatre Festival in Avignon, France, dance theatre Flowers On the Fingertips was displayed in the dance theatre for 28 performances, greatly praised by critics of Opéra de Paris and widely followed and reported by international media.

In May 2018, QU Yi worked as the invited Director of “Physical Performance’ teaching at Performance Institute of Beijing Film Academy. In July, the original physical play Untainted Lotus, with QU Yi as the scriptwriter, director, and composer, was premiered in Beijing Film Academy. It is a joint project of Art Creation Institute and Performance Institute of Beijing Film Academy.
In August 2018, QU Yi created, directed and shot the short film The Heart Knows.
In October 2018, QU Yi started the teaching of “the Art of Heart-power Original Physical Performance”, and started long-term cooperation with the Art Education Department of Tian Qiao Art Center.
In November 2018, Untainted Lotus was invited by the Tianjin-Beijing-Hebei Youth Theatre Festival, and won 3 awards: Best Drama/ Best Director-QU Yi, and Best Acting Director-WANG Jinsong.

On January 9th, 2019, the crew of Untainted Lotus was invited to the red carpet ceremony of the films produced by Poly Pictures
On January 12th, 2019, at the Theatre Symposium of the Performance Institute, Beijing Film Academy, Untainted Lotus was regarded as the annual teaching achievement along with REN Ming’s Bosom Friends, LI Zongxi's Armor Off, and Barbershop Towards the Sun, the BFA’s work paying tribute to the Reform and Opening Up. As the first physical drama invited and rehearsed by the BFA, it received attention and in-depth discussion from experts and professors.
On March 2019, Flowers On the Fingertips, the physical play premiered in French Theatre Festivals, was invited to Beijing Dongcheng District Theatre Festival. In March 13th and 14th, it started the first round of nationwide performances .
On April 2019, Untainted Lotus started first round of commercial performance for “Spring of Chinese Arts”, invited by Tian Qiao Art Center,
In January 9th, 2020, Lonely in the Years , produced by the Art Creation Institute of China National Academy of Art, played on stages for media and VIP meeting of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. QU Yi is the director, script writer and composer. WU Yuxia is the lead role and pipa player. LIU Lei is the erhu player. LIU Jing is the Kunqu artist . The production team is QU Yi’s directing studio.
In 2021, the experimental short film Adagio Cantabile was shot, and its musical drama version was premiered in Cadillac Shanghai Concert Hall on July 30 and 31, which is the immersive musical drama Adagio Cantabile..
In December 2021, QU Yi curated the new image exhibition Through Youth.
In November 2021, QU Yi produced and shot the experimental short film Rimless.

[Achievements on Film and Television Drama Teaching]
Untainted Lotus, the physical play on show in the grand graduation performance of postgraduates of Beijing Film Academy
The Art of Heart-power Original Physical Performance, key project of the Performance Institute of Beijing Film Academy.
Long-term cooperation with the Art Education Department of Tian Qiao Art Center.

[Other Achievements]
Wisteria Blossoms, personal collection of poems published by People’s Literature Publishing House.