16 & 17

“All my creations seek a language of human bodies, a state for which description is not needed,” said Tao Ye.

In 2024, TAO Dance Theater created two new works of the Numerical Series, 16 and 17, which are presented as a double bill. In the continuous creation of the Numerical Series, these two dance pieces point to a deeper study of body movement, enriching the Circular Movement Technique, and exploring the practice of Eastern somaesthetics. Starting from the image the concept of “following inertia,” the works create infinite possibilities of “instant flow.”

16 is the 15th work of choreographer Tao Ye’s Numerical Series. The piece is inspired by the games of Dragon Dance and Snake. 16 dancers are connected and arranged in a line. While flowing, circling, and marching, the energy fluctuations among the dancers are transmitted back and forth from beginning to end, in a dynamic use of space.

Exploring motion, the work 16 develops languages and possibilities of how the body moves. It fosters a circular space for the 360 degree movement of the head. Circles of different shapes are drawn in the space. The dancer’s body moves like a dragon.

The tiny space created by the head in 16 presents an infinitely derived structural multi-dimensional body. Through the ultimate exploration of repetitive and nonrepetitive movements, it paints a chaotic but splendid micro-world.

17 is the 16th work of choreographer Tao Ye’s Numerical Series. Continuing his experiment with sound, shape and body movement, he creates a dialogue with work 7.

17 dancers scatter or gather together, seemingly in disorder. From beginning to end, sound becomes the signal of everyone’s thoughts and movements. Falls, spreads and marvels of sound are synchronized with body movement forming a parallel between these two languages. A variety of weird, mixed, and unruly relationships appear as visualized sound waves and flying fireworks. The concept of the work 17 derives from the kinesthetic imagination of sound. It is a wordless song and an inexplicably familiar word. This contradictory sense of distance, near and far, runs through the entire work 17. For Tao Ye, the fluctuations and linearity of sound are not only auditory, but also physical — “Bodies are all connected, this is a language of the world.”