TAO Dance Theater, China's groundbreaking contemporary dance company, returns to NYC

After sold-out performances at Lincoln Center Festival in 2012, China's leading contemporary dance company returns to NYC for a limited run

With bravura theatrical impact - mesmerizing soundscapes, riveting silences, stunning stage effects - and technical virtuosity, one of China’s premiere contemporary dance companies boldly stretches the boundaries of the human physical form.                               

Choreographer Tao Ye's creations begin as seemingly simple physical exploration and subtly morph into areas of expansive muscular intricacy and interminably affecting depth. 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.