* APPLICATIONS *
After welcoming a group of artists from China to our studio in Lisbon, it’s now time for us to travel to the Asian continent, in a spirit of exchange between creators, communities and cultures.
Four artists living in Portugal, whose practices are identified in the field of contemporary dance or expanded choreography, will be selected by an online open call for the exchange program in June 2025. Sign up HERE.
Next Step is an exchange initiative launched by T Theater in Macau in collaboration and partnership with Parasita. It is dedicated to encouraging and supporting experimental performance practices by artists living in China, through a platform for sharing and research.
During a week-long residency at Espaço Parasita in Lisbon, three artists from Macau, Guangzhou and Beijing – Wu Hui, Hio Mei, Lin Yixing – share a studio with other guest artists, offer a workshop and publicly share their research and process with the community.
ARTISTS IN RESIDENCY
Wu Hui
Independent dancer and choreographer based in Guangzhou. Her work starts from a feminine perspective, using different methods to evoke imagination and emotion. She has been interested in ecological bodies as a way of understanding, imitating and responding to the world.
Hio Mei
Independent artist, choreographer and dancer from Macau. Her creations explore the relationship between contemporary and traditional cultures, combining images, video and the study of the body in dance.
Lin Yixing
Lives in Beijing and is dedicated to the exploration and practice of writing, performance and mysticism. Her work has focused on examining the female body within the modern production chain, exploring recurring rituals, marginalised figures in mythology and the links between the history of witches and the history of plant colonisation.
PUBLIC SHARINGS
1 February (Saturday), 7pm, Espaço Parasita
To Be Born
Wu Hui
In a world that incessantly prioritises the concept of ‘I’, individuality often becomes stifling. In nature, on the other hand, growth is decentralised, diverse and dynamic. It represents a continuous process of evolution, a desire for results that remain in constant development – a continuum of arrivals and arrivals yet to come. This research seeks to rethink the limits of individuality, growth and interconnectedness, proposing an ecological lens to examine the fluid and dynamic interplay of existence.
One More Time
Hio Mei
‘One more time’ is an expression often used in dance rehearsals for training or creation, which expresses an idea of repetition – repeating what has been done in the past to try to analyse whether it is appropriate, to help find the right material or expression. Behind this repetition, there is a kind of protection of the present, a drain on creativity. How can we give more possibilities and imagination to the dances that happen over and over again in the theatre? ‘One more time’ tries to think about a ‘re-expression’ of the present.
The Bloody Fossils
Lin Yixing
The memories and pains of the past intertwine, solidifying as tangible and intangible ‘stones’ hidden deep inside the body. The body follows a linear progression of birth, growth, ageing and death, but these memories inside the body don’t disappear. They manifest even after the body dies, like ghosts, wandering through spaces invisible to the naked eye. In the midst of the rapidly changing reality in which we live, what memories are we forming and what traces are we leaving behind? ‘Bloody Fossils’ is a living memorial to the lives that have passed and those that continue to exist within the long flow of history.
WORKSHOPS
29 Janurary (Wednesday), 10am—1pm, Espaço Parasita
Growth Movement
Wu Hui
Plants, as a distinct form of life, have developed unique survival strategies that allow them to establish complex social and political networks. This workshop takes inspiration from the time-lapse photography technique of plant documentaries to investigate movement through the lens of plant morphology. It introduces the notion of distal movement – a practice that incorporates the principles of rhizome theory referring to multidirectional body perception and movement as a whole and/or collective.
Integration | Fusion
Hio Mei
Mei’s practice involves an in-depth knowledge of traditional Asian dances, through which she seeks to develop an expressive relationship with herself. This sharing will seek to articulate traditional and contemporary elements in the creation of a dance language and a personalised body.
The Texture of Memories
LIN Yixing
Our bodies are born into the world, breathing in sync with the tides of the universe. From the moment we open our eyes at birth, or even while we’re still in the womb, memories begin to spread through us like the roots of a plant or the spores of mushrooms, intertwining with our flesh and blood. This workshop is an experience of reconstituting and discovering ‘crystals’ within the forest of memory. Participants will carry out body exercises and multimedia practices, such as painting, to evoke physical and mental perceptions related to personal experience.
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About T Theatre
T Theater is a non-profit performing arts venue in Macau with the aim of promoting various forms of choreography, exploring a wide range of body practices in different contexts, and encouraging local/regional artists to interact with international artists. In recent years, T Theater has championed the dissemination of contemporary dance and experimented with different forms of exchange between China and other countries.