‘9’ and ‘10’ by TAO Dance Theater
The human body is the sole channel of artistic exploration in TAO Dance Theater’s “Numerical Series,” a project that is without narration and is not driven by emotions. Rather, it studies the limits of the human body whereby a uniquely rational aesthetic and training system is distilled from a vital and energetic exercise of the human body.
The past works in “Numerical Series” established a rigorous and progressive order in terms of both the artistic concepts and the types of body movements involved. This work, “9,” on the other hand, seeks to assemble, or perhaps even override this progressive order. Therefore, it will seek the origin through a series of “chaos.”
A scene from TAO Dance Theater’s show “9.”
In the work “10,” created during the pandemic, dancers form various circles to express connections among humans like our ancestors did around bonfires.
Since its founding in 2008, TAO Dance Theater, with Tao Ye as its artistic director and choreographer, has taken China’s dance world by storm. The company has performed in every modern dance festival throughout the country and has collaborated with leading Chinese artists across genres including theater, experimental music, film, installation and visual arts. TAO has been featured in performances as well as choreography and teaching residencies in festivals worldwide and has always devoted itself to the importance of dance education.
‘Nomadic’ by Hu Shenyuan
Based on the rhythm of Mongolian dance, “Nomadic” takes the body itself as the starting point, combining it with contemporary dance to develop and create a unique dance language. The choreographer creates body shapes in a variety of emotions with a large number of footsteps. The broad and deep Mongolian music melody outlines the emotional ups and downs of the human heart. Some people are willing to abandon everything they own to be a nomad, to taste freedom and loneliness, to dream of the carnival of life, to look forward to the destination of the lost way.
Hu Shenyuan. ent.china.com.cn.
Hu Shenyuan is an independent dancer and choreographer. He graduated from the Minzu University of China in Beijing. From 2012 to 2014, he worked in Beijing LDTX Dance Company. As a dancer, he played Consort Yu in Yang Liping’s dance work “Ambush From Ten Sides,” showing amazing and unforgettable body skills, his wonderful interpretations of the roles becoming well-known by the public. Yang once commented about him saying that “God has given him everything.”
Time: 8 p.m. Aug. 26 (TAO), Sept. 5-6 (Hu Shenyuan)
Tickets: 80-480 yuan (Tickets can be purchased on the theater’s WeChat account “坪山大剧院”)
Venue: Pingshan Theater, Hekang Road, Pingshan District (坪山区荷康路坪山大剧院)
Transport: Take the high-speed rail from Futian Station or Shenzhen North Station to Pingshan Station and then take a taxi