- Presenter: Weiwuying
- Duration is 70 minutes without intermission.
- The pre-show will start at 17:50 on the stage.
- Age guidance 5+
- For Group Purchase Discounts, please contact 07-262-6666.
[2024 Taiwan Dance Platform] T.H.E Dance Company - Invisible Habitudes
“Moments of suspension alternate with frenetic movement. Sweat-matted hair swings freely. A body that is not so much contorted as distorted by a lens of emotion – emotion that shows not on the face, but pours out from the core of the body. The aesthetic is beautiful, in a wild surreal way between dream and nightmare.”——Chan Sze Wei, Arts Equator, 2018 |
In a world of rapid political and social change, we are constantly bombarded by loud volumes of opinions and beliefs, many extreme and absolute. Finding one's personal belief and identity becomes increasingly complicated. Invisible Habitudes, conceived by The Human Expression Dance Company's Founding Artistic Director and Main Choreographer, Kuik Swee Boon, in collaboration with Taiwanese musician Wang Yu-jun, Singaporean lighting designer Adrian TAN, costume designer LOO An Ni, and six dance artists from T.H.E, explores these issues through the language of dance—where solidity and fluidity intersect—in a dialogue between the body and its environment.
Developed from T.H.E's signature HollowBody™ methodology, which is an approach of training and creation based on improvisation that emphasises on the body as a biological vessel and an extension of a person's thoughts, emotions, and spirit, Invisible Habitudes seeks to untangle the complexities of a fluid identity derived through a narrative woven from each performer's memory, childhood, gender, culture, and ethnicity, searching for an inherent, fundamental sense of belonging. Each unique body upholds inclusivity and compassion as antidotes to the relentless pursuit of one's convictions at the expense of others.
Commissioned by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay for da:ns festival 2018, Invisible Habitudes has resonated on global stages, including a tour across five different European performing arts festivals in 2019.
Creative and Production Team
Artisic Direction｜KUIK Swee-boon
Choreography｜KUIK Swee-boon in collboration with the dance artists
Original Music & Live Performance｜WANG Yu-jun
Lighting Design｜Adrian TAN
Costume Design｜LOO An-ni
Team Introduction
The Human Expression (T.H.E) Dance Company was founded in 2008 by Artistic Director KUIK Swee-boon. Rooted firmly in Singapore yet universal in its perspective, T.H.E's contemporary dance works reveal the body as a medium for exploring and celebrating the human condition. Dance artists at T.H.E are immersed in the Company's signature methodology, "HollowBody™," which guides them to access their deeper instincts and impulses through movement. The Company's movement vocabulary is distinct in its intensely personal aesthetics, yet thrilling in its diversity. Driven by a sincere desire to uncover the intricate, complex and oft-times overlooked dimensions of human existence, the Company's incisive observations on the human condition and its original creations are an essential mirror to the issues and rhythms of contemporary life. As one of Singapore's seminal contemporary dance companies, T.H.E has performed and toured at many major local festivals and prestigious international festivals, including the Singapore Arts Festival, Esplanade's da:ns festival and Huayi –Chinese Festival of Arts, Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre's Cultural Extravaganza, SIDance Festival and Seoul Performing Arts Festival in South Korea, Beijing and Guangdong Dance Festival in China, Yokohama Dance Collection at TPAM and Niigata International Dance Festival in Japan, Les Hivernales Festival in Avignon, France, as well as Italy's Oriente Occidente Festival in Rovereto, Inteatro Festival in Ancona, Cross Festival in Verbania, and Fabbrica Europa in Florence. Based on its vision of contemporary dance as a medium for nurturing human potential, T.H.E has also actively initiated numerous platforms to engage young artists and the wider public. Since it was founded, the Company also started its semi-professional wing, T.H.E Second Company, which identifies and mentors dance artists who aspire to reach a professional standard of contemporary dance. In 2010, T.H.E also founded the con·tact Contemporary Dance Festival (previously known as the M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival) –the country's first annual contemporary dance festival to showcase local and international artists. The Company also regularly runs public classes, workshops, and customised programmes for schools and the community.
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[2024 Taiwan Dance Platform] T.H.E Dance Company - Invisible Habitudes
“Moments of suspension alternate with frenetic movement. Sweat-matted hair swings freely. A body that is not so much contorted as distorted by a lens of emotion – emotion that shows not on the face, but pours out from the core of the body. The aesthetic is beautiful, in a wild surreal way between dream and nightmare.”——Chan Sze Wei, Arts Equator, 2018 |
In a world of rapid political and social change, we are constantly bombarded by loud volumes of opinions and beliefs, many extreme and absolute. Finding one's personal belief and identity becomes increasingly complicated. Invisible Habitudes, conceived by The Human Expression Dance Company's Founding Artistic Director and Main Choreographer, Kuik Swee Boon, in collaboration with Taiwanese musician Wang Yu-jun, Singaporean lighting designer Adrian TAN, costume designer LOO An Ni, and six dance artists from T.H.E, explores these issues through the language of dance—where solidity and fluidity intersect—in a dialogue between the body and its environment.
Developed from T.H.E's signature HollowBody™ methodology, which is an approach of training and creation based on improvisation that emphasises on the body as a biological vessel and an extension of a person's thoughts, emotions, and spirit, Invisible Habitudes seeks to untangle the complexities of a fluid identity derived through a narrative woven from each performer's memory, childhood, gender, culture, and ethnicity, searching for an inherent, fundamental sense of belonging. Each unique body upholds inclusivity and compassion as antidotes to the relentless pursuit of one's convictions at the expense of others.
Commissioned by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay for da:ns festival 2018, Invisible Habitudes has resonated on global stages, including a tour across five different European performing arts festivals in 2019.
Creative and Production Team
Artisic Direction｜KUIK Swee-boon
Choreography｜KUIK Swee-boon in collboration with the dance artists
Original Music & Live Performance｜WANG Yu-jun
Lighting Design｜Adrian TAN
Costume Design｜LOO An-ni
Team Introduction
The Human Expression (T.H.E) Dance Company was founded in 2008 by Artistic Director KUIK Swee-boon. Rooted firmly in Singapore yet universal in its perspective, T.H.E's contemporary dance works reveal the body as a medium for exploring and celebrating the human condition. Dance artists at T.H.E are immersed in the Company's signature methodology, "HollowBody™," which guides them to access their deeper instincts and impulses through movement. The Company's movement vocabulary is distinct in its intensely personal aesthetics, yet thrilling in its diversity. Driven by a sincere desire to uncover the intricate, complex and oft-times overlooked dimensions of human existence, the Company's incisive observations on the human condition and its original creations are an essential mirror to the issues and rhythms of contemporary life. As one of Singapore's seminal contemporary dance companies, T.H.E has performed and toured at many major local festivals and prestigious international festivals, including the Singapore Arts Festival, Esplanade's da:ns festival and Huayi –Chinese Festival of Arts, Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre's Cultural Extravaganza, SIDance Festival and Seoul Performing Arts Festival in South Korea, Beijing and Guangdong Dance Festival in China, Yokohama Dance Collection at TPAM and Niigata International Dance Festival in Japan, Les Hivernales Festival in Avignon, France, as well as Italy's Oriente Occidente Festival in Rovereto, Inteatro Festival in Ancona, Cross Festival in Verbania, and Fabbrica Europa in Florence. Based on its vision of contemporary dance as a medium for nurturing human potential, T.H.E has also actively initiated numerous platforms to engage young artists and the wider public. Since it was founded, the Company also started its semi-professional wing, T.H.E Second Company, which identifies and mentors dance artists who aspire to reach a professional standard of contemporary dance. In 2010, T.H.E also founded the con·tact Contemporary Dance Festival (previously known as the M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival) –the country's first annual contemporary dance festival to showcase local and international artists. The Company also regularly runs public classes, workshops, and customised programmes for schools and the community.
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- Presenter: Weiwuying
- Duration is 70 minutes without intermission.
- The pre-show will start at 17:50 on the stage.
- Age guidance 5+
- For Group Purchase Discounts, please contact 07-262-6666.
