Andie is the most beautiful shopper Zac has ever seen. He would watch her when she headed to aisle seven to grab a bag of salt and vinegar chips, a memorable vision he wanted to keep.
In choreographer Ching Ching Wong’s “The Shelf Life, Ep. 03,” Zac and Andie are characters in a dance set in a futuristic grocery store, where memories can be “collected, stored and itemized for immediate access.”
Wong’s touring episodic work, (parts one and two debuted in Utah and Idaho) is one of three contemporary dances in The Rosin Box Project’s presentation of “DEBUTS,” being presented next weekend at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
The show also includes provocative choreography by guest artist Garrett Smith and a dance by The Rosin Box Project’s artistic director, Carly Topazio.
Topazio met Wong last year when Wong was working as the rehearsal director for Ballets Jazz Montréal, the Canadian company that made a San Diego tour stop for its “Dance Me” show at the San Diego Civic Theatre.
“Ching Ching is so animated and creative and energetic,” Topazio said excitedly.
Rosin Box Project dancer Danielle Archuleta performs in Ching Ching Wong’s “The Shelf Life, Ep. 03.” It’s one of three new works being presented in the company’s “Debuts” concerts Aug. 22-24 in Escondido. (Carly Topazio)
“We talked a lot about where the dance industry is going and we aligned in a lot of areas. She shared such a passion for creating new worlds through dance, which I think is what she’s doing with this piece she created on the company.”
“The Shelf Life, Ep. 03” uses LED-lit grocery carts and soup cans for props and a soundtrack that includes sound effects and a narrated script.
Jeremy Zapanta, a TRBP company dancer who knew Wong from when they both attended UC Irvine, is the voice of Zac, who, during the dance, explains: “Our tin-can system is 100% insured. Here, prized memories become repeatable realities, undesirable memories become systematically organized and shelved. Our search-and-enjoy system is easy to use. Search by memory number, category or title.”
Wong, a Princess Grace Award-winner, said that when she began her choreographic career, taking on commissions in different states, with different companies, she became obsessed with memories as a theme.
“I found that I was scattering my energies and thoughts into 100 different worlds and memories became this unlimited well of inspiration,” Wong said by phone from her home in Portland, Oregon.
“Each company is taking on its own trajectory and I’m unlocking a different door or journey for each group. For the first episode, I was really inspired by memories we want to hold onto and memories we want to destroy. In episode 03, with The Rosin Box Project, it’s about what lengths and faults we go through to preserve a memory. You will find out the backstory — why Zac wanted to create this world. Ultimately, it’s because he wants to control memory, which is an uncontrolled fire.”
Rosin Box Project dancer Bethany Green performs in Ching Ching Wong’s “The Shelf Life, Ep. 03.” It’s one of three new works being presented in the company’s “Debuts” concerts Aug. 22-24 in Escondido. (Carly Topazio)
Garrett Smith, Topazio said, was one of TRBP’s “dream choreographers” and she commissioned him to create a dance for “DEBUTS.”
Smith has choreographed for ballet and contemporary companies, ice skating professionals and for the Netflix series, “Tiny Pretty Things.”
For “DEBUTS” his graceful and athletic work is performed in trench coats.
In a move Smith calls “the helicopter,” for example, TRBP artists Reka Gyulai and Sona Jaeger each wrap one arm around dancer Brian Bennett’s neck, extend the other arm, lift their knees and become airborne as Bennett spins full circle.
Topazio’s dance, titled “The Construct That Holds Us” was inspired by the habits and traditions that continue in our lives, impacting our choices, until we stop to question their significance.
“At the end of rehearsal today, we were working on the piece and we were talking a lot about how constructs shape us,” Topazio explained.
“Something that started taking place in the work is who we are and how we are in relationships. There’s comfort in a construct, but it can also be confining and I think that resonated with everyone. It’s about not subscribing to the way things are supposed to be, but questioning it and finding your own truth.”
The theme of the dance is accompanied by urgent, repetitive violin melodies and demonstrated with graceful balletic movement. A sense of freedom and then constriction is suggested with the company performing synchronized arm extensions, swirling turns, then, a doubling over, as if protecting one’s core.
Though The Rosin Box Project dancers are classically trained ballet artists, Topazio stressed that investing in the creation of new work is “vital for the evolution of dance and essential to keeping the art form responsive, relevant and human.”
She and Wong discussed presenting a mini tour of “The Shelf Life” in its entirety, but the disappearing grants from National Endowment of the Arts, a major sponsor, could prevent that possibility.
Despite the fiscal challenges in San Diego’s artistic community, Topazio remains undaunted.
“In the face of these funding issues, they are not wavering in their steps to continue and be curious,” Wong added. “They are finding ways of making things happen because of their grit and determination.”
The Rosin Box Project presents ‘DEBUTS’
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 22-23; 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24
Where: California Center for the Arts, Escondido, Center Theater, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido
Tickets: $54-$66 including fees, discounts for seniors, military
Phone: 800-988-4253
Online: therosinboxproject.com
Originally Published: August 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM PDT