Numerical Series: 13, 14
“Because it is indescribable, it dances.” A self-subversion of contemporary dance, creating an imaginative space through the interpretation of points, lines, and surfaces with the body. Internationally renowned contemporary dance troupe, TAO Dance Theater, will present their “Numerical Series” performances 13 and 14, for the first time on a university stage, embodying a unique and evolving aesthetic of the body. Through embodied practices and sensory experiences, we liberate the spirit in the cultivation of beauty, quietly sowing the seeds of curiosity for an alternative form of aesthetic education.
【Performance Information】
Theme
Numerical Series: 13, 14
Time
2023.11.10 (Fri.) 19:30-21:00
Venue
The Auditorium of Run Run Shaw International Conference Centre
QR Code for Registration
Reminder
1. Seat selection is based on region only during registration. Actual seating arrangements for each region will be assigned on the day of the performance, according to the order of arrival.
2. Ticket Collection: Students present the "Registration Successful" email along with ID cards to sign in and collect the tickets at the first floor of the Student Centre (in front of the Student Centre 1/F Food Court) on November 9th, from 11:00 to 13:30 or 17:30 to 19:00. Each person is entitled to one ticket. Teachers present the "Registration Successful" email along with staff cards to sign in and collect the tickets at the front desk of the Administration Building before 17:30 on November 9th.
*Admission is strictly based on the tickets. Please ensure timely ticket collection for admission to the event.
【About the Performance】
The year 2022 marked the 14th year since Tao Dance Theatre's founding; it was also a year in which the company disbanded and relaunched. Now performing its first work since relaunching, the company presents their two latest sequential dance works, numbered 13 and 14, which will be performed together on the same stage. Conceptually, the two works demonstrate the company's further investigation into a new language for the body. Symbolically, there is also a particular beauty in the combination of these two numbers — in Chinese, the pronunciation of these two numbers sounds like that of an idiom which expresses the wish that something will last a lifetime, and indeed, these two works imply a lifetime's ceaseless exploration into the language of the body.
Tao Ye
《13》
13 is the twelfth installment of choreographer Tao Ye’s “Numerical Series”. This work uses the concept of the Trinity to correspond to the number 13, which includes solo dance, duet dance and group dance. These three types of body interaction and connection constitute the entire creation.
In the work, the dancers are connected into a whole, and then gradually transform into different forms. The continuous changes in the dance sequence during the movement open up a complex physical world: the realization of impact, extrusion, fusion, and falling, rebound, pull and other infinite phenomena. Through slow, medium and fast rhythms, the bodies are transformed into water, mountains, rocks and all things. At this time, the body, as a medium, demonstrates the vagaries of imagination.
The concepts of unity, duality and plurality form a rule. In this creation, the choreographer cultivated the three changes of body, space, and time to form a chaotic whole. Rigorous and open concepts are used in the choreography to respond to the different states of the concreteness and impermanence in the present.
《14》
14, the thirteenth work of Tao Ye’s “Numerical Series”, is about the exploration of rhythm and change. How does one challenge the new context of the body? This time, Tao Ye breaks the previous creative method of repeated cycles, and uses the ever-changing texture of movement to explore the space-time possibility between movement and stillness.
The music of this work boldly adopts a single minimalist well-balanced temperament, and uses the progressive method like the hands of a clock to correspond to the complex dynamics of the body in dance. Through the audio-visual relationship of minimalist, the Circular Movement System (body technique of TAO Dance Theater) is expanded to the ultimate.
The cutting and folding of points, lines and surfaces in the space, along with the oscillations and sways of the body’s imbalanced centre of gravity, make the work return to pure body movement again, and all possibilities will unfold in a changing and unchanging rhythm.
【Credits】
Artistic Directors: Tao Ye, Duan Ni
Choreographer/Director: Tao Ye
Cast:
Huang Qiqi, Yan Yulin, Xu Fujin, Tong Yusheng,
Li Siyu, Liu Yiren, Sun Leirui, Wu Zhenkai,
Li Jiayu, Cheng Leting, Wan Lu, Lu Wenchao,
Liu Liyuan, Zhang Zhuoyao
Composer: Xiao He
Sound Concept: Tao Ye
Lighting Designers: Tao Ye, Ma Yue
Lighting Operator: Luo Qier
Costume Designer: Duan Ni
Costume Maker: DNTY
Company Manager: Wang Hao
Rehearsal Director: Huang Qiqi
Visual Director: Fan Xi
Project Director: Jun Jun
Administrative Director: Tai Yuanxu
Executive Director of DNTY: Ning He
【About TAO Dance Theater】
TAO Dance Theater is a full-time contemporary dance company founded by Tao Ye, Duan Ni and Wang Hao in 2008. It is the first contemporary dance company in China to be invited to perform at the Lincoln Center Festival in the United States, the Edinburgh International Festival in the United Kingdom, the Sydney Opera House in Australia and Théâtre de la Ville in France. They have also been invited to perform at the American Dance Festival (ADF), where they additionally served as resident artists. The Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London. UK, has commissioned five works by the company and invited them to perform in London six times.
The projects of the “Numerical Series”, created by the company with a simple creative concept and straightforward physicality, have toured five continents, more than 40 countries and over 100 different art festivals. The company has attracted extensive attention from people from all walks of life, becoming one of the most sought-after Chinese modern dance companies on the international stage.
In terms of interdisciplinary activity, the company has presented its work in a wide range of spaces, such as the ancient Roman Colosseum, the Paris Fashion Week, the ArtScience Museum in Singapore, the Aranya Seaside Stage, the Shanghai Symphony Hall, and Beijing Design Week. At the 2015 Paris Fashion Week, the company was invited to collaborate on-site with the Y-3 Brand by Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto. In 2019, the company and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre co-produced Exchange, touring more than ten cities in China. In 2021, their self-produced performance Infinite Walking was listed on the TikTok hot search list for several weeks in a row. Tens of thousands of viewers imitated the body-free-walking style, and the relevant videos were played nearly 500 million times.
Alastair Macaulay, the chief art critic for the New York Times, described the work of the dance troupe as “theatrical force and authority. (The dancers’) athletic control is remarkable. Powerful drive… physicality and momentum… extraordinary and appealing”. Time Out New York named the company’s performance as one of the “10 Best Dance Shows of 2014,” making them the only Asian company on the list. In 2023, TAO Dance Theater was awarded the Silver Lion for Dance at La Biennale di Venezia.
In 2021, TAO Dance Theater established the DNTY art extension brand and TAO Studio. The former combined artistic innovation with the design concept of “clothes should follow the body”, inspired by the style of creative individuals from all fields. The latter “pays attention to more people’s bodies”, launching the “Circular Movement System”, allowing more people to discover that “the body can still move like this”, experiencing and exploring the infinite possibilities of their physicality.
In 2023, TAO Dance Theater celebrated its 15th anniversary. On 8th February, TAO Dance Theater won the Silver Lion for Dance at the Venice Biennial, making Tao Ye and Duan Ni the second Chinese individuals in history to receive this award and the only Chinese choreographers to be honored in the dance category. In September, Tao Ye was invited by Nederlans Dans Theater (NDT), and created new work 15 for the 1 group of 15 dancers. This collaboration marked the first time the “Numerical Series” had collaborated with a European dance company.
【About the Artists】
The Founder of Tao Dance Theater, Artistic Director, Choreographer, the Founder of DNTY, Designer
The Founder of Tao Dance Theater, Artistic Director, the Founder of DNTY, Designer
University Arts Centre
To bring students closer to culture and art
To make the "DREAM" come true