TAO DANCE THEATRE

The TAO Dance Theater was founded in 2008 by the choreographer Tao Ye, Duan Ni and Wang Hao. It pursues an innovative approach to dance known as “the circular movement system”. Committed to a »pure dance« aesthetic, which avails of the »ritual repetition of natural body movement« and which calls upon the audience to concentrate on what is essential in the repetitive gestures, devoid of representation, narrative, and context.

13 & 14 are two works from the »series of numbers« which originated in 2008. The choreographer in this series with his minimalistic aesthetic seeks through ritualized repetition of movement some elemental truth about the body.

13 uses the concept of a trinity and examines three different types of interaction of bodies: formed in solo, duet, and group dances. Through varying speeds and rhythms, the bodies are transformed into water, mountains, rocks, all things alike. The body demonstrates how variable the powers of imagination are. The transformations of bodies, space, and time form a chaotic whole.

Rhythm is the linkage of all life. 14 is a study of rhythm and change and uses the ever-changing texture of movement to explore the correlation between movement and stillness. Following the principle that »less is more« in connecting things audio and visual, the Circular Movement System, TAO Dance Theater’s unique body technique, is expanded to its limits.

The choreographies 13 & 14 had their European premieres at the Biennale in Venice in 2023.

The Company’s stay in Bonn is its first stop on their European tour. After Bonn they will perform in Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, and Luxembourg.

Taodancetheater.com