Weaving the contours of society through space, bodies, and mattresses

Ren Xin Lee is an experimental choreographer and dancer whose signature series has seen her use mattresses as symbols of comfort and security, exploring the public and the private, and questions of belonging to a space versus possessing. This is the premiere of the latest entry in the series. Around the venue, audiences encounter mattresses and dancers composed in various images and situations. In collaboration with the dancers, Lee creates a unique site-specific work following a residency period in Tokyo.

Artistic responses to multi-ethnic society

This year the series examines Malaysia, a complex mix of ethnic groups and cultures. The nation continues to embrace globalization through strengthening foreign investment, IT and heavy industry.

Bringing together an ethnically varied range of artists, the program includes performances as well as lectures and talks, and even a card game that allows audiences to experience Malaysian politics. There are also generational differences, with Jo Kukathas and Oimin Wong being born in the 1960s during the early days of Malaysian independence, while Renxin Lee, Mun Kao and Suri Liu were born in the 1970s and 1980s, a period when Malaysia began to develop rapidly.

This yearʼs festival theme is “beyond borders”. Comprising different languages, religions, customs and ethnic groups, Malaysiaʼs contemporary artists engage with problems and approaches that can resonate deeply with Japanese audiences, who today must grapple with the various issues that arise from globalization as they explore the nature of diversity.

Asia Series

Each year the Asia Series chooses one country in the Asian region and showcases its contemporary performing arts scene. Based on careful research into the specific history, culture and social backgrounds of the selected country, the program aspires to introduce artists and form a sustainable platform for exchange between languages, cultures and approaches to the body. Presenting Korea in 2014 and Myanmar in 2015, the curation reflects the diverse contexts and social conditions in each nation through the work of exciting local artists.

Co-organized by the Japan Foundation Asia Center