Founded in 2008 by Tao Ye, Duan Ni, and Wang Hao, TAO Dance Theater is the first Chinese modern dance company to be invited at the Lincoln Center Art Festival in New York, the Edinburgh International Art Festival, the Sydney Opera House, the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, and the American Dance Festival, where they were also assigned a residency. This year the company received the Silver Lion of the 17th. Dance Biennale.
“TAO Dance Theater is an exceptional company of vision, mission, and purpose. Like the great dance makers of the past, they understand the very nature of body as a ‘microcosm of the universe’ and have found their special territory to explore and expand. Their deep dive here, in this unfamiliar territory is ingenious, significant, and edifying as we are simultaneously embraced and provoked by their brilliance”.
According to Dance Biennale Director Wayne McGregor’s words, we wanted to ask the company founder Tao Ye a few questions while waiting to see him at work on stage.

Since its inception in 2008, TAO Dance Theater became an international asset as no other Chinese company could, performing in the most prestigious international theatres. What philosophy does TAO Dance Theater follow?
The Chinese name of TAO DanceTheater translates to TAO Body Theater. Our idea is to return to the body and direct all attention to the exploration of the body context. The body is the source of life – it comes from the past, lives in the present, and connects to the future. It is sincere, fragile, and powerful. All our expressions can practise the truth through the actions of the body. This is a spirit of infinite self-view. Why move? How else can I move? Take the study of body movement as a kaleidoscope-like pursuit, verify the truth, fight against nothingness. I dance, therefore I exist.

The road that seems to be the most difficult is often the shortest. For me, repetition is the road to sincerity and love

What is the Circular Movement System, and why did you adopt it in your practice?
We regard the body as an axis, and the world as a circle, generating infinite connections through movement flowing in curves. The circle is both a beginning and an end, and it reveals that dance should exist in continuous process. In daily training, there is no mirror in our space, and dancers need to observe the existence of every inch of the body through exercise. At this moment, the consciousness of the circle becomes a continuation of points forming a wave-like curved flow. At the same time, it is necessary to look outside and pay attention to the space. Every inch connects with the body to achieve circular motion, like freehand brushwork on the body, every inch becomes a brushstroke, painting in space, connecting the body with every moment and every angle of time and space. This is a pursuit of perfection and excellence, which requires the dancer to be constantly aware and diligent, to make every movement a question like speculation, and the next movement to answer the question: where is the body? How else can I move? So that the expression of the body is continuous and endless.

You stated that persistence and ritual repetition can give an ultimate meaning to anything. In what ways can this happen, and does happen, in your work?
For me, there are no shortcuts in the world of dance. It is lightness against the weight of the body, and freedom by understanding the limitations of the body. The excellent expressiveness of the dancers on the stage comes from the dancers’ repeated polishing of the body day after day, facing the body directly with the body. Respond to perception with perception. I have always believed that the continuous movement and labor of dance can fight against the fragility of human nature and the barrenness of spirit, and an extraordinary sublimation can be obtained through the ultimate practice of the body. The road that seems to be the most difficult is often the shortest. For me, repetition is the road to sincerity and love.

What does being awarded the Biennale’s Silver Lion mean to you?
One of the most precious and best encouragements in our life.

At the Dance Biennale, we will see three pieces of yours taken from Series of Numbers: 11, a national premiere, and 13 and 14, European premieres. Why did you title them? What kind of experience will your Venetian audience enjoy?
I started the creation of Numerical Series in 2008 when I founded TAO Dance Theater. Over the last 15 years, I have completed 13 works of the Numerical Series. All works of the series are completing one piece, which is the infinite exploration of body language. I think dance is a primitive language, it is older than words, it is abstract and concrete. Naming dance works with numbers shows my hope that dancers and audiences can let go of all presuppositions and communicate directly with the context of the body. Facing the proposition of ‘body’, we can peek into a more infinite possibility together. I hope that in this era of dazzling outward exploration, there is another home that can be focused on, which is everyone’s own inner microcosm. It’s a wonderful mystery worth discovering by everyone.

 Dance can stir up time and space at this moment, bringing us back to the beginning, feel the future, understand the present, this moment is eternity

Dance as cure. What can dance give to modern society, and can we find, in dance, solace from the inhumanity of a frenzied, nihilistic present?
Dance points to the most essential activity of the body – not only external, but also internal. Dance activates the seven complete senses of the body. Eyes, ears, mouth, nose, body, mind, and time can give people a deeper understanding. Emotional experience is irreplaceable in this era of diverse technology and entertainment possibilities. People often dance because they can’t express what they feel any other way. The body language of dance just releases this deeper spiritual power. It is immersive and sacred. It’s like a dialogue with God. Whenever I enter the dance space, I feel like I’m getting out of the ordinary world and gaining a pure and innocent experience.
Dance seems to be an instant art, but I always firmly believe that dance still has a power, that is, it can present the full picture of absolute purity engraved in life. Dance can stir up time and space at this moment, bringing us back to the beginning, feel the future, understand the present, this moment is eternity.
Maybe life is meaningless from a macro perspective, but from a micro perspective, we can give ourselves meaning.