TAO Dance Theater in ‘6’ and ‘8’

TAO Dance Theater

photo Zhang Shengbin, courtesy Asia TOPA

TAO Dance Theater

China’s most in-demand contemporary dance company returns to mesmerise with maverick choreographer Tao Ye’s explorations of the human form. Presenting a captivating double-bill 22-24 February as part of Asia TOPA, TAO Dance Theater are as close to perfection as you’ll ever see.

In an interview with RealTime, Asia TOPA Creative Director Stephen Armstrong spoke about Tao Ye’s remarkable choreography:

“Tao Ye’s choreographic language is something that you simply haven’t seen before. He explores the notion of synchronicity to an absolutely extreme degree. These performers literally move and breathe as a single organism. There’s one piece that we presented in 2015 as part of Supersense where they were touching one another’s bodies for the entire performance. So they were literally a single entity. But for both of these pieces for Asia TOPA they are separate. He wants us to see that these are individuals performing exactly the same movement and through the most minute of difference in expression to understand how we as individuals exist in the world. And you really do feel that. In the second piece, no 8, he has his performers lying on their backs for the entire performance. He’s bold, he’s daring and he’s a philosopher artist. No question.”

TAO Dance Theater in ‘6’ and ‘8’; Arts Centre, Melbourne 22-24 Feb

To win a double pass to opening night, Wednesday 22 February, email realtime [at] realtimearts.net with GIVEAWAY TAO DANCE in the subject line by 5pm Friday 17 February.

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RealTime issue #137 Feb-March 2017