This iteration of the festival, which ran at Salt Lake City’s Rose Wagner Center for the Performing Arts from June 5-8, was dedicated to fostering the voices of Asian and Asian-American dancemakers. In a pre-performance panel with the four choreographers on June 4, Chan called the event a stepping stone, one towards a future where Asian choreographers are enmeshed in programming more holistically, without the necessity of a separate program to spotlight them.

I can only agree—Not only am I looking forward to a time when programming reaches a less tokenizing state of diversity, I’d be happy to see more of these choreographers on any program, at any time.

The evening opened with the world premiere of Caili Quan’s “Play on Impulse,” a youthful and downright cool montage of romance and relationships. It had a playful innocence, like the first butterflies of first love, and a vintage feel, enhanced by costumes designed by Jason Hadley and a score including Bjork, The Cardigans, Deee-Lite, The Velvet Underground and Elvis Presley. The work highlighted the vacillation between confidence and insecurity that is encapsulated in adolescents—dancing alone in your room at full force, to the more restrained approach taken when you know someone is looking, and returning to full force when you feel invisible in a crowd. As comfortable and familiar as a worn sweater, “Play on Impulse” was reminiscent of Kyle Abraham’s “An Untitled Love” in its tone and approachability.

A former BalletX dancer, Quan seems to innately understand how to play to each dancer’s strengths. Ballet West principal Jenna Rae Herrera was a standout, particularly in a pas de deux with demi-soloist Vinicus Lima. With her aptitude for facial expressions and naturally, delightfully twee demeanor, Quan’s choreography was made for Herrera. Corps artist Rylee Ann Rogers, too, emerged as a force, with her effortless cool girl factor. She was simultaneously the popular girl at the dance, all eyes on her, and the above-it-all loner, smoking a cigarette behind the bleachers.