THE ARK is produced by Xiexin Dance Theatre，composed of two works by female choreographers, GONG Xingxing and Sita Ostheimer, who come from two very different cultural backgrounds and present a thought-provoking dance night with their respective understandings of life. Available from Dec 23 to 24 at the International Dance Center.
Performers: Xiexin Dance Theatre
Duration: 75 mins (including 15 mins intermission)
THE ARK is Produced by Xiexin Dance Theatre，composed of two works by female choreographers, GONG Xingxing and Sita Ostheimer, who come from two very different cultural backgrounds and present a thought-provoking dance night with their respective understandings of life.
The dance works clients at home and abroad have entrusted to Xiexin Dance Theatre feature diversified and catholic steps. While moving ahead, we keep allowing us to expand and update outward and explore inward. In the meantime, we do hope that each individual dancer of the company can keep shimmering with charm and doing his/her bit. In the 2023-2024 season, Xiexin Dance Theatre keeps running outward and inward.
First half: BUILD BEAUTY
Using the metaphor of "boat," BUILD BEAUTY provokes contemplation on the realities of the relationship between man and woman within marital life. Through diverse circumstances, it interprets the essence of human nature and the intricate interplay between society and individuals.
Marriage, a restraint on a yearning for animalistic freedom, a compromise stemming from the insecurity of human existence. Each one of us possesses surprising virtues and intolerable flaws. Within the institution of marriage, conventionally perceived as idyllic, loyal, and sacred, lies a journey from illusion to truth, from fireworks to smoky aftermath.
Discovering a suitable mode of coexistence within marriage is the challenge we must confront. It is about salvation, not criticism, about recognizing reality while still embracing love. It requires a profound understanding of love, marriage, life, and the pursuit of genuine needs. It is a question that every individual with faith must earnestly think over.
Second half: LAST MAN STANDING
Music and physicality is inspired by a sense of ancient functional rituals and traditions. Mystic of a fictional history of human beings and its DNA imprints. The work connects us to deep sitting, raw, instinctual human feelings far away from today's social structures.
LAST MAN STANDING is about the fallibility of our personal truths and perceptions, which makes us stumble and often tears us apart. This fallibility though might be important as a ground on which creativity can emerge. Our brain's ability to forget makes old ideas appear in a new light and in a different context. The visual, dynamic and energies of moving bodies in my work allow dancers and viewers to discover a barely touched realm of their existence and experience the unseen motivation behind all moving forces. A pulsating and tense space is to be created, which puts the audience in high, unceasing inner excitement and lets them experience the power and ability of body, mind and movement.
“ I am offering the audience an emotionally involved journey; touching that state of sincere inner determination that enables us to move mountains.’’
GONG Xingxing
GONG Xingxing is an independent choreographer from China.Her work often wanders between extreme looseness and rigorous control, capturing the dark side of life, trauma, and silent violence. "Conflict appeals to me; it activates a great deal of imaginative space. When you dive into it with reflection, you can glimpse the most realistic picture."
Chief Director of Watching for Dreams, a project funded by China National Arts Fund; choreographer-director specially invited by Scapino Ballet Rotterdam; young artist supported and funded by the National Young Dancers Development Plan set up by the China Dancers Association; choreographer-director of a work invited by Chinese Dance for 12 Days at National Centre for the Performing Arts; top-notch choreographer-director of Chinese "top dancers development program"; commissioned artist of "Youth Incubation Platform" at Shanghai International Dance Center.
Sita Ostheimer
After finishing her study at the Univerity for Music and Performance Art in Frankfurt Germany 2001, Sita joied MS Schrittmacher at Staatstheater Oldenburg, worked with Itzik Galili in Groningen and Krisztna de Chatel in Amsterdam 2004-2007. In 2007 she joind Hofesh Shechter Company and worked with him as a dancer, workshop leader an choreographic assistant until 2018. She re-staged his work at companies suchas NDT I, Paris Opera Ballet, Ballet Basel, Staatsballett Berlin, Aterballetto Italy, Hessisches Staatsballett Wiesbaden and Staatstheater Kassel. As a freelance Choreographer she creted commissioned works, e.g. for the Hessische Staatsballett Wiesbaden, Staatstheater Kassel, Stadttheter Pforzheim, Volkstheater Rostock. Upcoming commissions in 2024 with Staatstheater Braunschweig and MiR Dance Company - Stadttheater Gelsenkirchen. University creations with Verve post graduate company — Norther School of Contemporary Dance Leeds, Bodhi project postgraduate company- Sead Experimental Academy of Dance Salzburg and Universities such a the Folkwang University Essen, HfMT Köln, Liz Anton Bruckner Private University.
Ostheimer's focus today is on developing and deepening her own movement aesthetics philosophy and choreogrphic poetry. Since 2017 she is the Artistic Director of her berlin based platform Sita Ostheimer Company, collaborating with guest dancers, a set group of music composrs and light-designer Barnaby Booth. With the Companie artists she created work such as Molimo, Chasm, Us, Two, Human in pieces, Everything that’s left, The Inevitable and You. The work performed at Fuori Programma Festival Rome, Bolzano Danza, Festival Aperto Reggio Emilia, Daegu Interntional Dance Festival Korea, Španski Borci Cultural Center Ljubljana, Detebre Dansa Spain and Dock11 Berlin. In 2021 Sita Ostheimer received an Artist Prize by POOL -INTERNATIONALES TanzFilmFestival BERLIN / DOCK 1, for her ongoing work in Berlin on stage and outstandingaesthetics in choreography and film. With her workshops seris COMPLEX SIMPLICITY, she shares her philosophy and physicality wrld wide.
Creative Team
Producer: Xiexin Dance Theatre
Co-organizer: Xiexin Dance Theatre、Shanghai International Dance Center Theater
Co-producer: Shanghai International Dance Center Theater
BUILD BEAUTY
Choreography: GONG Xingxing
Composer: thruoutin
Stage design: LI Ao
Costume Design: Hadrian WANG
Lighting design: LOW Shee Hoe
Rehearsal Director: CHEN Tian
(XDT)Rehearsal Assistant: MA Siyuan
Stage Manager: LIN Xinbei
Dancers: FAN Xiaoyun, MA Siyuan, WANG Shaoyu, CHEN Yalin, HU Haiqing, XU Junkai, QIN Linhao, LI Yu, LIU Yuqi, HUANG Yongjing, ZHANG Geyu, ZHANG Yan
LAST MAN STANDING
Choreography: Sita Ostheimer
Composed: Adrien Casalis
Costume Design: Viola ZHANG
Lighting Design: Barnaby Booth
Touring LD:LOW Shee Hoe
Rehearsal Director: Tillmann Becker
(XDT)Rehearsal Assistant:WANG Shaoyu
Stage Manager: LIN Xinbei
Translator: MA Xiao,ZHANG Zhehao,YE Yumeng
Dancers: MA Siyuan, WANG Shaoyu, CHEN Yalin, HU Haiqing, XU Junkai, QIN Linhao, LI Yu, LIU Yuqi, HUANG Yongjing, ZHANG Geyu, ZHANG Yan
Xiexin Dance Theatre
Xiexin Dance Theatre (XDT) dedicates itself to the creation of original contemporary dance works, body (movement / connection) research and contemporary dance education and it’s supported by 3 pillars, namely, XDT - Xiexin Dance Theatre for the original creation and performance, XDT- Education, and the clothing brand XDT- Vanguard body. Since its establishment in 2014, the company has gradually become one of the driving forces behind the development of contemporary dance in China.
Xiexin Dance Theatre highly values the exploration of the unique language of the body and amplifies the body connection technology, thus forming pioneering choreographic ideas in terms of its technology style. When it comes to the creation, Xie Xin’s works stress the notion that dance technology shall help express our emotion. Meanwhile, all the body movement possibilities aim to find the most accurate body language to present a particular piece of dance. In this way, the abstract dance works can truly connect with the audience with a distinct style of Xinxin.
Xie Xin, artistic director of XDT, has won many gold awards in modern dance competitions at home and abroad. Her works have been invited by a growing number of influential international art festivals, including the Kuopio Dance Festival in Finland, Colours Dance Festival in Stuttgart, Germany, Festival Paris l'Eté in France, STEPS Dance Festival in Switzerland, Oriente Occidente Dance Festival in Italy, Wiesbaden Theatre Performance Season in Germany, Sibnik Dance Festival in Croatia, Split Dance Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Hongkong City Contemporary Dance Festival, China Contemporary Dance Biennale, Spring for Chinese Arts in Beijing, China Dance for 12 Days in the National Center for Performing Arts, Fall For Dance Festival in New York and Maison de la Danse in Lyon, France.
Each year, the company would invite internationally renowned choreographers to Shanghai for the residence projects with new creation and educational programs (dance workshops). XDT is committed to building an international exchange platform for contemporary dancers, and focusing on the creation and high-quality presentation of international cooperation projects.
Its repertoire includes From IN, T.I.M.E, Harmonic series, UNKNOWN, Obsessive, Entropy, Reflection, Falling, Special Movement, Plus, FLOATING , FLOW MARK, Face 2 Face II-Time·Design·Boby, Murmur, Moment, My Other Me, Listen to the body, the Nearest Far, etc.
