WANG Hai-ling
Artistic Director and Lead
WANG Hai-ling, a recipient of the National Award for Arts, is the artistic director of the Taiwan Bangzi Opera Company. She became interested in traditional Chinese opera at a very young age and was considered a child prodigy. She made her debut at 14 and has graced the Bangzi opera stage for nearly six decades with a repertoire of more than 150 operas and 100 roles. Although she began in “dan” (female) roles, she has shown her diverse talent by also taking on sheng, jing and chou roles. In 2008, her album All My Life for Yu was honored with two Golden Melody awards.
At dance rehearsals with the troupe Ruff Stuff, then 13-year-old Asante met Kenrick “H2O” Sandy. The two formed Matrix with a group of friends, inadvertently sowing the seeds for Boy Blue.
Asante created the music for the films Street Dance 3D and All Stars. His session work and production work have been with artists such as Delilah, Raleigh Ritchie, Estelle and George The Poet. However, it was his collaborations with Kano that put Asante on the map in 2005.