TAO Dance Theater returns SZ with latest works this weekend

Two years after staging their dances "13" and "14" at the Pingshan Theatre, the acclaimed contemporary dance company TAO Dance Theater is returning to Pingshan this weekend with "16" and "17," the latest works in their Numerical Series project. 

TAO Dance Theater members at a performance. Photos from Pingshan Theare's official WeChat account

Established by Tao Ye, Duan Ni, and Wang Hao in 2008, TAO Dance Theater has emerged as one of the most prominent, representative contemporary dance companies from China on the international stage. 

The first Chinese contemporary dance company to be invited to perform at the Lincoln Center Art Festival in the U.S., the Edinburgh International Festival in the U.K., the Sydney Opera House in Australia, and Theatre de la Ville in France, it has also been invited to perform at the American Dance Festival and served as its resident artists. The Sadler’s Wells Theater in London has commissioned five works from the dance company and invited it to perform in London six times. 

The works of TAO Dance Theater are characterized by a pursuit of simplicity, in which narratives are absent, intricate clothing and sometimes music are abandoned, even the names of the dances are indicated only by numbers. 

Through choreography featuring repetitive body movements by choreographer Tao Ye, the troupe constantly explores the narrative power within simplistic body movements.

"TAO Dance Theater is both dance and theater," commented Alastair Macaulay, former Chief Dance Critic at the New York Times, after watching "2" and "Weight x 3" from its Numerical Series. "Though the two pieces on its program tell no stories and express humanity only in impersonally collective ways, both have theatrical force and authority."

The troupe has toured to over 40 countries and regions, and performed at over 100 art festivals. In 2023, the Venice Biennale, one of the world’s most important art exhibitions, conferred TAO Dance Theater the Silver Lion Award. 

Scan the QR code for tickets

Time: 3 p.m., April 6

Tickets: 80/180/280/380 yuan

Venue: Pingshan Theatre, Pingshan District (坪山区坪山大剧院)

Metro: Line 14 to Pingshan Square Station (坪山广场站), Exit D1 then walk around 700 meters

A poster for the show.