Zuhe Niao was created in 2005 when theatre maker Zhang Xian and 4 young dancers got together with various other video- and music artists to create a production called Tongue’s Memory of Home. Zuhe Niao is an independent company operating outside of China’s state-sponsored arts and entertainment systems.
The mission of Zuhe Niao is to:
• produce new and innovative work in the field of physical theatre in which the boundaries between theatre, movement, dance, visual arts and music disappear to create something that is still very new for China;
• explore and present themes that are relevant to the Chinese audience today;
• challenge the audience and stimulate the debate on performing arts and contemporary Chinese culture in general;
In 2006 Zuhe Niao will create a new production: The Left cheek. The Prince Claus Fund is supporting this production.
The company wants to explore one of the core values of various Asian cultures, the concept of “shame”. The group will use various media to investigate the theme: contemporary western dance, Chinese martial arts, poetry, calligraphy, historic video images, masks to create a multidisciplinary performance in which physical theatre will be the main vehicle to transmit ideas.
Zhang Xian
A perfomance of dancers from Zuhe Niao at seminar ‘Moving Forward: contemporary dance in China' (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
