Skirball Center of the Performing Arts
TAO DANCE THEATER
Date: February 20th-23rd
Where: NYU Skirball Center
566 LaGuardia Place
(Corner of LaGuardia Place &
Washington Square South)
New York, NY 10012
After a sold out run at the Lincoln Center Festival in 2012, TAO Dance Theater remounts 4 and premieres a brand new piece, 5. 4 is a continuation of the choreographer’s exploration of the potential of the human body as a visual element, devoid of story-telling or representation. Four dancers seem to be propelled by a magnetic wave that sometimes pulls them apart, and then seems to push them together again, without ever touching. In 5, which premiered in Amsterdam in 2013 to standing ovations, the dancers do engage in physical contact, in fact move in an indistinguishable kaleidoscopic mass of limbs and light, never dispersing even for a moment.
Since its founding in 2008, TAO Dance Theater has taken China’s dance world by storm. The company has collaborated with leading Chinese artists across genres including theater, experimental music, film, visual arts and installation. Based in Beijing, it has performed at major festivals around the world, including American Dance Festival, Singapore Arts Festival, DanceXchange/Birmingham, Europalia International Arts Festival in Brussels, M.A.D.E in Stockholm, and Spring Dance in Sydney.
