Gu is unafraid to break the rules of classical dancing as she and Li weave in and out of their light, or continue halfway into the wings as if the dancing extends beyond its visual confines. - Huffington Post Arts

 

We were very pleased to present the European premiere of Gu Jiani’s EXIT as part of CODA 2017, the Oslo International Dance Festival. EXIT offered our audiences a long-overdue insight into a younger generation of Chinese choreographers. EXIT’s precise choreography, architectural design, innovative lighting and immersive sound gave credence to a strong personal and holistic vision of its creator Gu Jiani - one of China’s promising new talent.  - Eckhard Thiemann - Associate Artistic Curator - CODA 2017

 

 

Gu ’s newest work titled Exit, Gu Jiani explores the human desire to exit the mundane. In a perpetual cycle of creation and destruction, we seek paths to liberty and self-fulfillment, yet our desires simultaneously stand in our own way. Inspired by the physics principle that all acting forces create equal and opposite reacting forces, Exit explores the interplay of cause and effect.

 

 

0With explosive athleticism, Gu Jiani and dancers create an inter-locking system; one dancer’s action sparks a current that flows throughout the others. Against the tonal wash of a grayscale backdrop, the dancers’ precision movements interconnect like parts of a machine. Yet, juxtaposed with the perpetual motion is the idea of confrontation and rejection.

 

 

In exploring the tension between conflict and acceptance, Gu Jiani’s work ultimately provokes these fundamental questions: Where is the exit really? Or, should we re-examine our original desires?

 

 

 

UNTITLED GROUP
Concept Design | Choreography：GU JIANI
Dancers: LEI YAN WANG XUANQI GU JIANI
Lighting Design: GOH BOON ANN [MALAYSIA]
Lighting Operator | Technical Director: TSENG JUI HSUAN (TAIWAN)
Sound Design LOGA: AUBE [JAPAN]
Sound Editor: GU JIANI
Sound Operator: ZHANG BOYI
Stage Manager: ZHOU YAJING
Stage Design: GU JIANI
Stage Design Operator: CHEN LIANGRU
Costume Design: JIN TING GU JIANI
Video Documenting: HUA DONG
Video Editor: GU JIANI
Co-produced: SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL "RAW" PROGRAM
TAIPEI PERFORMING ARTS CENTER - THEATER & CONCERT HALL
Produced: UNTITLED GROUP
Executive producer GU JIANI