SoftMachine is a multimedia project investigating the contemporary status of dance across Asia. The first of two double bills in October created by Choy Ka Fai, this evening showcases some of the most interesting new dance and choreography emerging from India and China through live performance and documentary film.

Surjit Nongmeikapam is a contemporary dancer from Manipur, India, trained in classical Indian dance and martial arts. The performance presents the process of creating a new dance production for the consumption of a European audience, revealing artistic strategies, marketing ideologies and exploring the precarious practice of eroticising oneself.

XiaoKe and ZiHan from Shanghai make collaborative works exploring the body in its extremes, reflecting on the social and political context of China. The performance investigates the boundaries of artistic freedom and speculates on the experience of constant cultural surveillance.

Part of Out of Asia 2

SoftMachine is commissioned by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore for da:ns festival 2015. The development of the project is funded by National Arts Council, Singapore. With support from TheatreWorks, Singapore - danceBox, Kobe - Kyoto Experiment - Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, Bangalore and Living Dance Studio, Beijing. SoftMachine Digital Archives are created with the support of deSingel International Kunst Campus, Antwerpen.