+++ Canceled +++
Republic of Dance, Xiao Ke + Zi Han (CN)
In China, public urban space is constantly being used for dancing together. Every day, numerous groups of people gather for self-organized “Plaza Dancing”. Under the guidance of “Damas” (“middle-aged women”) choreographically complex step sequences are danced to a mixture of traditional Chinese music, revolutionary songs and international pop music. The artist* duo Xiao Ke + Zi Han from Shanghai puts “Plaza Dancing” at the centre of “Republic of Dance”. They explore the question of how strongly politics and contemporary history inscribe themselves into individual bodies. To what extent can personal political experiences and cultural memories be read in dealing with community and dance?
Xiao Ke + Zi Han live and work as performance artists* in Shanghai. In their work they deal with performance art and social theatre about the reality in contemporary China. Their projects travel around the world, including the Kunstfest Weimar. In 2019 they were resident artists* in HELLERAU.