TAO Dance Theater

Founded in 2008 Beijing
Founder Tao Ye, Duan Ni, Wang Hao
Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou, Duan Ni, Tao Ye,
Fan Xi, Lars Ake Stomfelt
www.taodancetheater.com
Youtube TAO Dance Theater

陶身体剧场

2008年成立于北京
创始人陶冶, 王好, 段妮
摄影 Foteini Christofilopoulou, 段妮, 陶冶, 范西, Lars Ake Stomfelt

Since 2008, TAO Dance Theater has created eight pieces. There’s no story or meaning behind each dance. And they are simply named after the number of dancers. It is just a visual feast to analyse the movement of each muscle, bone and joint; to experiment with the possibilities of the human body, to challenge the boundaries of physical capacity. 

There’s no emotion either. All the dancers have the unisex, monochrome and loose costumes. Their facial expression is immobile, but their eyes are determined and solid as warriors. Every performance requires a huge physical effort and mental concentration. 

I believe in the audience. I believe in how they feel and what they experience. This is beyond language, so for me, I try to restore that relationship, to make it visible. This is why I deliberately remove or get rid of many emotional elements that might direct the audience. Instead, I try to explore the unknown and the possible and, of course, the similarities. ― Tao Ye

The dance is simple and complicated. Simple, because there’s a constant repetition of movement. Complicated, because each movement of each dancer is different and unique, however, the dancers coordinate harmoniously with each other. It seems the dance is random, but all is undoubtedly built on a rational structure with the theory and system of TAO Dance Theater.