Tao Ye / TAO Dance Theater (CN)
16 & 17

Good-natured beasts and a polyphonic sound system are the main features in the TAO Dance Theater’s two most recent works. Inspired by the dragon dance Loong, 16 celebrates the Chinese Year of the Dragon (2024). Sixteen black-clad dancers swirl through iridescent light, jointly embodying the mythical bringer of good luck. In 17, on the other hand, the seventeen members of the ensemble, wearing black and white, activate their voices along with their movements, thereby turning themselves into a “mobile sound system”. Dancing becomes a game between two contrapuntal languages in the two-part evening. Taken together, the dances created by the TAO Dance Theater’s choreographer are “a world language”, according to Tao Ye himself. The company from Beijing focuses on a minimalist yet dynamic dance style that is extremely demanding on the dancers. They have found a path between tradition and future that is characterised by a sense of harmony between body and mind. The concept resonates in the West as well: the pieces have been received with enthusiasm throughout.