In today's world, what is the significance of investing great effort into creating a studio to guide the public in understanding and using their own bodies?
The human body inherently holds many mysteries, but as we grow from childhood, our bodies become increasingly constrained by habits and rules. We need a return, a journey back; we need to restore the body's primitive energy and language. Awakening the body, treating the body as the teacher—each movement poses a question to this physical self, which then tells you whether it can be done and also reveals emotional-level feelings and experiences. This process is both direct and transparent.
Most people, without years of accumulated exercise habits, gradually become estranged from their bodies. This estrangement is not unfamiliarity on an everyday functional level—as physical beings, we use our bodies for daily activities constantly. The estrangement lies in the fact that we are actually unfamiliar with our body's internal logic of movement, and simultaneously, we gradually relinquish its various possibilities of "how else it can move."
The body is truly miraculous. Once that switch is flipped, one understands how spirit and form harmonize in motion, thereby unleashing power. Through movement, through sweating, through the body's metabolism, one can come to understand oneself and the external world, drawing primitive strength and joy from the body. As the most primitive and pure entity, the body's language is international—open and inclusive. In this exchange, the body's language can transcend boundaries of geography, culture, race, material wealth, and so on.
People of all backgrounds can find a path back to their bodies at TAO STUDIO: whether children, the elderly, youth, or middle-aged. Bodies at different life stages have different conditions, and every unique body deserves attention. Ultimately, this attention to the body points towards freedom—the body itself is a constraint, so how do we seek freedom through exploration? Limitation and freedom inherently coexist. When you begin to use your body, you understand its wonders more deeply.
TAO has always pursued the ultimate vital tension through the body's dance. This life experience is immensely precious; it expands our understanding of existence. Therefore, we understand all the more: sharing this experience with others, guiding more people into this experience, is an even more precious goal.
In 2021, we established the studio in Beijing. The studio points towards the body—when the body is present, that field is created. As we continue to develop, we will also go to other cities to conduct public education. Wherever people are, the site is there. TAO STUDIO wants to engage in earnest dialogue with people, placing all the answers at the site. This is a solid, down-to-earth path.
Founder
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Tao Ye
Founder
Artistic Director
Choreographer
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Duan Ni
Artistic Director
Founding Dancer
Mentor
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Huang Qiqi
Rehearsal director | Circular Movement System Instructor -
Yan Yulin
TAO Dance Theater 1 Senior Dancer / Founding Dancer of TAO Dance Theater 2 / Circular Movement System Instructor
Timeline
- 2025
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Feb 9, 2025: Session 1 - Circular Breath, Circular Awareness, Combination Learning
Mar 22, 2025: Session 2 - Circular Awareness, Circular Connection, Circular Gravity, Combination Learning
Feb 22 - Mar 23, 2025: Tao Classroom Residency at HAI550, Huaihai Middle Road, Shanghai (One Month)
May 9, 2025: Tao Ye Special Course - Circular Practice Combination "Moonlight"; Screenings of documentaries "Twelve Hours" and "Sincere, Beloved"
- 2024
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Feb 25, 2024: Session 1 - Spine Technique
Mar 25, 2024: Session 2 - Circular Core
Apr 14, 2024: Session 3 - Duan Ni Special Session: Work Improvisation, Music Improvisation, Environmental Improvisation
May 8, 2024: Session 4 - Circular Breath, Circular Awareness, Circular Connection
May 28, 2024: Session 5 - Release Technique
Jun 28, 2024: Session 6 - Circular Core x Release Technique
Aug 3, 2024: Session 7 - Circular Core x Release Movement x Slow Movement
Aug 30, 2024: Session 8 - Combination Learning
Dec 17, 2024: Sessions 9-10 - Tao Ye & Duan Ni Creation and Training Class
- 2023
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Mar 30, 2023: Slow Movement - Awakening the Body's Universe
Apr 16, 2023: Release, Spine, Gravity (For Professional Dancers)
Jul 29, 2023: International Workshop - Florence, Venice, Italy
Aug 19, 2023: Slow Movement
Sep 1, 2023: Public Space Workshops - Shanghai Century Link Mall / Beijing Baizhifang Community / Chengdu Art Museum
Sep 19, 2023: Slow Movement Course 2
Nov 12, 2023: Special Class for Tao Theater's 15th Anniversary
- 2022
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Mar 27, 2022: TAO Studio New Space Opening
Feb 26-27, 2022: Session 1 - Circular Breath / Circular Awareness
Mar 5-6, 2022: Session 2 - Circular Improvisation / Circular Space
Mar 12-13, 2022: Session 3 - Circular Gravity / Circular Core
Feb 25, 2022: Session 4 Xi'an Station - Duan Ni Special Technique Class: Release Technique and Circular Movement (Later changed to a one-day movement experience in Beijing)
Apr 2, 2022: Taihu Intensive Course
Nov 12-13, 2022: Circular Breath / Circular Awareness / Circular Improvisation Observation Class
Nov 28, 2022: Duan Ni - First Online Course Release
Dec 16, 2022: Duet Theme Customized Class
- 2021
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Feb 21, 2021: Session 1 - Circular Awareness, Connection, and Breath
Mar 19, 2021: Session 2 - Circular Gravity, Balance, and Space (For Professional Dancers)
Mar 26, 2021: Session 3 - Six Deep Analyses of the Circular Connection Concept
Apr 23, 2021: Session 4 - Duan Ni Special Session: Creativity + Imagination + Observation in Circular Structure
May 8, 2021: Session 5 - Tao Ye Special Session: Aranya Seaside Three-Day Course - Circular Gravity, The Weight of Walking
May 21, 2021: Session 6 - Duan Ni Special Session: Circular Space, Movement Improvisation, Mind Development
Jul 9, 2021: Session 7 - Shanghai Station, Duan Ni Special Session: The Moving Spine
Jul 23, 2021: Session 8 - Circular Connection, POWA Outdoor Improvisation
Sep 3, 2021: Session 9 - Tao Ye Special Session: The Extension of Walking
Oct 8, 2021: Session 10 - Circular Movement Training Combination + Circular Awareness Improvisation
Nov 26, 2021: Session 11 - Circular Movement Guidance