The extraordinary TAO Dance Theater -- a dedicated exponent of pure movement and one of the few modern dance companies from mainland China -- makes their National Arts Centre debut on November 22-24, 2012. A dynamic new presence on the contemporary dance scene, TAO Dance Theater and its founder, dancer-choreographer Tao Ye, are known for outrageousness and bravura theatrical impact. Time Out Beijing wrote that, "Tao Ye is emerging rapidly as a force to be reckoned with, as well as the most exciting name in modern dance." The company displays a kind of abstract expressionism at work. Form is content -- and it's remarkably beautiful and performed with knockout virtuosity. The company will perform a 20-minute excerpt from Weight x 3 and the 48-minute 2 in the NAC Studio on Thursday November 22, Friday November 23, and Saturday November 24, 2012 at 8 p.m.

Meet the Company for a Post-Performance Chat

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Join Tao Ye, Choreographer for TAO Dance Theater after the show on Thursday, November 22 for a special post-performance chat to share your experience of the performance. The 20 minute chat will take place in the NAC Studio right after the show.

There will also be a Pre-Performance Talk on Saturday, November 24:

Pre Performance Talk
 “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Carving Out Space for Modern Dance in China”

Saturday, November 24, 2012

6:30PM – Le Salon room of the NAC (In English only).

Alison Friedman is the founding director of Ping Pong Productions, a producing and consulting organization headquartered in Beijing with the mission of cultural diplomacy. The discussion will address the current situation of modern dance in China in the context of domestic economic forces and market pressures from abroad. Her presentation includes photos and dance excerpts, examines the evolving Chinese performing arts context and explores influences that are encumbering the development of modern dance in China. She also offers observations for what must happen for a homegrown modern dance “genius” to develop in China.

 

ABOUT TAO DANCE THEATER

Since launching in 2008, Beijing-based TAO Dance Theater has taken the dance world by storm -- and revolutionized the world of dance in China. Led by Artistic Director Tao Ye -- the company's founder, choreographer, sometime costume designer, and consummate performer -- the company’s work is renowned for its technical virtuosity and for challenging the conventions of modern dance.

 

In China, TAO Dance Theater has collaborated with leading artists in numerous genres, including theatre, cinema, visual arts, and installation art. Mesmerizing soundscapes, riveting silences, experimental music, and stunning stage effects have garnered the company worldwide acclaim. Vogue writes that “the moment they begin to move, the entire space transforms." The company has performed at every modern dance festival in China as well as at numerous international festivals in the UK, the USA, Singapore, Australia, Scandinavia, and Europe.

 

ABOUT TAO YE

For Tao Ye, it all began when he imitated yoga poses he had seen on television. At the age of 12 he was very supple and could readily execute difficult yoga postures. Encouraged by his grandmother to enroll in a dance class, he immediately felt at home, and knew that he was meant to dance. He graduated from Chongqing Dance School and began his career with the Army Song and Dance Ensemble in China. In 2003 he joined the Jin Xing Dance Theatre, where he remained until 2006. He had meanwhile founded the Zuhe Niao Company in Shanghai in 2004, and performed in their first production, Tongue's Memory of Home. In 2005, his choreography One Person (a duo) was presented at the Shanghai Art Festival, and the following year he joined the Beijing Modern Dance Company, performing across China and around the world. As a member of the BMDC he choreographed In•In (2006) and Fantasy (2007). In March 2008, he founded TAO Dance Theater.

 

ABOUT WEIGHT X 3 (excerpt)

First up is a radiant duet of austerity and intellectual rigour for Tao Ye and Wang Hao* in which the two, almost always in unison, cover the ground in a series of swirls, circles and dips of ever-increasing complexity. They may be two bodies, but the timing is so perfect they seem as one. Their graceful robes and Wang's shiny black hair echo the patterns, occasionally interrupted in their trajectory by a sudden change of direction -- weight -- on the part of one of the dancers. In Part II, diminutive Duan Ni stands in a soft circle of light and manipulates a slender rod that catches the light and creates a blurry halo around her. Her great skill, the muscle definition in her back and arms, and the mesmerizing flow of body, baton, and light are astonishing. The music (by Steve Reich) mirrors the action, both seeming to be in a never-ending loop.

 

Choreography: Tao Ye

*Alternate casting of Weight x 3 Tao Ye and Lei Yan

Premiere: September 2009, Oriental Pioneer Theater, Beijing

 

ABOUT 2

A hypnotic, minimalist duet performed by Tao Ye* and Duan Ni, 2 expresses the abstract idea of two souls in conversation. The rhythm and cadence of day-to-day conversations inspired the playfully anarchic musical soundscape by Xiao He, which features gongs, crackles, scratches, rumbles, pops, and isolated chords. The resulting thought-provoking performance emphasizes a provocative flouting of traditional structure, as the low-riding duo flow like quicksilver. They flop about on their bellies and backs, and sidle samurai-style from knee to knee in swampy, swirly, unexpectedly gorgeous patterns. When they do balance on their own two feet, the movement’s emphasis is always on them being pulled down to the ground. They prop themselves up off the ground, they lean over to face the ground or, frequently, they just lie flat on it for long periods. When finally they move in long phrases, they’re often on their knees, thighs, shoulders or spines; the athletic control is remarkable, with torsos tipping radically throughout.
 

Choreography and performance: Tao Ye and Duan Ni

*Alternate casting of 2: Tai Ye and Lei Yan

Premiere: June 2011, Singapore Arts Festival

“It is easy to see why the choreographer and co-founder Tao Ye has captured attention as a radical new presence on the country’s burgeoning contemporary dance scene.”
The Times (London)

“Tao Dance Theater is both dance and theater. Though the two pieces on its program tell no stories and express humanity only in impersonally collective ways, both have theatrical force and authority. ”
Alastair Macaulay, The New York Times, July 2012

" ...his is some of the more interesting dance to come out of China to date. It certainly had me reflecting on it for days afterwards ... it’s hard to disagree with the contention that he is 'one to watch'."
David Mead, Ballet-Dance magazine (UK), November 2011

“2 confounds and amazes. It is rare to be able to say, ‘I’ve never seen anything quite like it,’ and really mean it.”
Kate Dobbs Ariail, CVNC An Online Arts Journal in North Carolina, June 2011
 

• TAO Dance Theater performs Weight x3 (excerpt) and 2 in the Studio of the National Arts Centre on Thursday November 22, Friday November 23, and Saturday November 24, 2012 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults and $16.50 for students (upon presentation of a valid student ID card).
• Tickets are available at the NAC Box Office (in person); tickets are also available (with service charges) at all Ticketmaster outlets, by telephone from Ticketmaster at 1-888-991-2787 (ARTS), and online through the Ticketmaster link on the NAC's website at www.nac-cna.ca
• Subject to availability, full-time students (aged 13-29) with valid Trinity Live Rush™ membership may buy up to 2 tickets per performance at the discount price of $12 per ticket. Tickets are available online (www.nac-cna.ca) or at the NAC box office from 10 a.m. on the day before the performance until 6 p.m. on the day of the show. This includes all available seats, including the best seats in the house. Check out liverush.ca for information on the Trinity Live Rush program.
• Groups of 10 or more save 15% to 20% off regular ticket prices. To reserve your seats, call 613 947-7000, ext. 634 or e-mail grp@nac-cna.ca
• For additional information and photos/video of the production, visit the NAC website at www.nac-cna.ca

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Information:
Clara Wicke, Marketing and Communications Officer, NAC Dance
613-947-7000, ext. 379 Cell; 613-617-47892
clara.wicke@nac-cna.ca