Press Release: Sadler's Wells New Wave Associate - TAO Dance Theatre returns to Sadler's Wells with the UK premiere of 4 and 5

[Jan McNulty]

A Sadler’s Wells Co-production

TAO Dance Theatre                       

4 & 5

UK Premiere

Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells

Friday 6 & Saturday 7 June 2014

Performances at 8pm

Tickets: £17

Ticket Office: 0844 412 4300 or www.sadlerswells.com

 

The second production from one of Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associates this season is from TAO Dance Theatre, who returns to the Lilian Baylis Studio at Sadler’s Wells with its latest work 4 & 5 on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 June 2014.

 

Since its founding by Tao Ye at the age of 22 in 2008, TAO Dance Theatre has collaborated with leading Chinese artists across a variety of genres, including theatre, music, film and visual art. TAO Dance Theatre has performed around the world, and undertakes a continuous role in dance education in its homeland, China.

 

In 4, four dancers appear to be moved by a magnetic wave, in turns pulling them apart and drawing them together without ever touching. In 5, five dancers perform together; never separating, moving in an indistinguishable mass. Both pieces are accompanied by Chinese Indie-folk-rock composer Xiao He. These works are a continuation of TAO Dance Theatre’s minimalist experimentation, exploring the human body as a visual element devoid of storytelling or representation.

 

Artistic Director and company founder Tao Ye is a graduate of the Chongqing Dance School in Chongqing, China and began his career with the Shanghai Army Song and Dance Ensemble before performing with Jin Xing Dance Theatre and Beijing Modern Dance Company. Seeking to pursue his own creative vision, Tao Ye founded TAO Dance Theatre in 2008, at the age of 22.

 

TAO Dance Theatre comprises dancers Wang Hao, a specialist in Mongolian folk dance and graduate of the Central University of Nationalities Dance; Duan Ni, who returned to China to work exclusively with Tao Ye after performing with Shen Wei Dance Arts and Akram Khan Company; Lei Yan, former member of Beijing Modern Dance Company; and new Company members Fu Liwei, who recently graduated from the Dance Department of the Wu Han Music Academy; Wang Mingchao former member of Sichuan Liang Shan Song & Dance Company; and Mao Xue, recent graduate of the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy Dance Department.

 

Insulating themselves from external distractions, the artists focus all their time and energy on developing work. Tao Ye’s focus is on movement research, delving into extremes of physical possibilities. Since its inception in 2008 TAO Dance Theatre has toured more than twenty countries on five continents.

 

Notes to Editors:

 

The Monument Trust supports co-productions and new commissions at Sadler's Wells

 

The New Wave Associate Artist Programme is supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

 

About the Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associates

The drive of the Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associates scheme is to invite talented emerging artists at a crucial stage in their artistic and career development into Sadler’s Wells and to support them in a variety of ways, in a bespoke programme that is tailored to each artist’s needs. With practical production time in Sadler’s Wells’ studios and theatres, advice and introductions alongside direct financial support, the aim is to provide an artistic home while enabling them to feed into the programme with their energy, dynamism and fresh ideas. The first group of artists to benefit from the programme are: Alexander Whitley, Daniel Linehan, Hetain Patel, Rocío Molina, Tao Dance Theatre and Wilkie Branson.

 

The range of the six inaugural New Wave Associates represents the diversity of Sadler's Wells’ artistic programme, both stylistically and in terms of countries of origin. Three are based in the UK, and three hail from abroad - namely Spain, Belgium and China. The range of styles stretches from contemporary to modern ballet, performance to hip hop, and conceptual to flamenco.

 

Biographies for the artists can be found on the Sadler’s Wells website here: www.sadlerswells.com/about-us/people/new-wave-associates

 

About Sadler’s Wells’ Artist Support

As a world leader in contemporary dance dedicated to bringing the very best international and British dance to the widest possible audiences, Sadler’s Wells is committed to both supporting professional dance makers and nurturing new and emerging talent.

 

Sadler’s Wells hosts the National Youth Dance Company (NYDC), which creates and performs innovative and influential youth dance, drawing together some of the brightest young talent, aged 15-19 from across the country to work with our internationally renowned Associate Artists. NYDC is funded jointly by Arts Council England and the Department for Education, from the National Lottery and Grant in Aid funds.

 

In its fourth and final year, the Sadler’s Wells Summer University supports a cohort of 15 aspiring choreographers typically aged 25-35 during an annual two week intensive course featuring lectures, discussions, workshops and guest artists, directed by award-winning choreographer Jonathan Burrows. The Jerwood Charitable Foundation supports the programme as part of the ongoing Jerwood Studio at Sadler’s Wells which began in 2006, to develop creative opportunities for choreographers and practitioners from other art forms to experiment and take risks.

 

With Wild Card, Sadler’s Wells invites emerging choreographers and producers to curate an evening of work for its Lilian Baylis Studio, with production, technical and marketing support from the theatre. Sadler’s Wells’ New Wave Associates programme, supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, offers the next generation of artists a structured programme of support, directing them to opportunities that will further develop their careers and a commitment to commission and show new work by each of them.

 

Completing the continuum of support, Sadler’s Wells’ 16 Associate Artists and three Resident Companies are offered opportunities to work alongside collaborators and dancers, and develop concepts and ideas for large-scale productions which the theatre commissions and co-produces.

 

About TAO Dance Theatre

In just six years, TAO Dance Theatre has toured more than twenty countries on five continents. TAO was the first contemporary dance company from China invited to perform in Lincoln Center Festival (US) and the Sydney Opera House (AU); the second to be invited to perform at the American Dance Festival (ADF); and the first Chinese company to be invited to be artists-in-residence for ADF's six-week festival. Other venues and festivals include Sadler's Wells (UK), Julidans Festival (NL), Canada’s National Arts Centre, Suzanne Dellal Arts Centre (IL), Europalia (BE), Singapore Arts Festival, Festival

 

Internacional Cervantino (MX), Busan International Dance Festival (KR), Festival Internacional Madrid en Danza (ES), Wiener Festwochen (AT) and “Novel Dance Series” in Taipei, invited by renowned Cloud Gate DanceTheatre artistic director/founder Lin Hwai-Min.

 

In 2013, TAO Dance Theatre was invited to perform as part of the opening of the Second Beijing International Ballet and Choreography Competition at Beijing’s prestigious National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), followed two months later by the company’s featured performances at the NCPA, the first in their home country after nearly three years of international touring.

 

Recent commissions include 6: The Sami Chinese Project by Norrlands Operan for the opening performance of the 2014 European Capital of Culture, and 7 which will premiere in October, 2014.

 

Choreographer / founder Tao Ye is developing a training technique that allows his dancers to explore the potential of the human body and its extremes. He has been invited to teach workshops in China and abroad, including at the American Dance Festival, Canada’s Harbourfront Centre, Singapore Arts Festival, Dongyi University of Korea, Beijing Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Beijing Dance Academy, China Central University of Nationalities, among others.

 

About Tao Ye

Tao Ye is a graduate of the Chongqing Dance School in Chongqing, China. After dancing with the Shanghai Army Song & Dance Ensemble, he joined Shanghai Jin Xing Dance Theatre, and later moved to Beijing to join the Beijing Modern Dance Company (BMDC).

 

In March 2008, at only 22 years old, he founded TAO Dance Theatre. Main works include: Weight x 3; Sketch; moment; left & right; 2; 4; 5; 6. In 2011 he was invited to co-star in the film The Blue Bone by cinematographer Christopher Doyle (Du Kefeng) and directed by rock legend Cui Jian. In 2012 leading Asian style magazine Men's UNO awarded Tao Ye the 2012 Elegance Award, recognizing leaders in China’s culture and entertainment field. In 2013 China’s major media group Xin Jing Bao awarded him the 2013 Innovator Award for Dance. He is a Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associate.