Chinese choreographer shortlisted for prestigious dance award

A Chinese choreographer has been shortlisted for a prestigious international dance award in the United Kingdom, marking a milestone for Chinese contemporary dance on the global stage.

At the nomination announcement held at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London in late April, TAO Dance Theater became the first Chinese company to be shortlisted for the Rose International Dance Prize, an award dedicated to choreography.

Tao Ye, founder of TAO Dance Theater, welcomed the nomination, calling it an important recognition for Chinese contemporary dance.

"Being nominated [for the Rose Prize] means a lot to us. We've performed at Sadler's Wells theatre six times since 2011, and it has witnessed the growth of us," he said.

Founded in 2008, TAO Dance Theater earned the nomination for its latest works, 13 and 14. The two pieces explore the shifting relationships between bodies through movement and group dynamics.

"The body is in essence a vessel of all living things. So, when you express your thoughts through your body, I think it can connect with the feelings of everyone in the world," he said.

Dance has long been a global art form, but major international awards dedicated specifically to choreography remain relatively rare.

Often compared to the Booker Prize for literature or the Turner Prize for visual art, the biennial Rose International Dance Prize aims to recognize works that push the boundaries of movement and redefine the possibilities of dance.

"I think the whole world is looking at dance and thinking, this is something which expresses what we are today in all the complexity that there is. This is the art form that will shine through. So I want to put that on the platform and say to people, if you haven't experienced dance, come and see it," said Alistair Spalding, artistic director of the Sadler's Wells theatre.

This year's shortlist includes seven dance works, bringing together choreographers from across the world, with works spanning deeply personal narratives and collective histories.

"Dance doesn't need actual language. It's its own language. It can say what words can't say. This prize is connecting people in the dance community globally and making our work accessible. That's beautiful, that's brilliant, that just bringing people together,frankly at a time when we need the world to be brought together with positivity," said Kate Prince, a British choreographer.

TAO Dance Theater's 13 and 14 will be performed at Sadler's Wells on January 26 and 27, 2027. The winner of the second Rose Prize will be announced in early 2027.

Chinese choreographer shortlisted for prestigious dance award

Indonesia and China are exploring new frontiers in cultural collaboration from museums and stage performances to digital platforms, media and arts, according to Indonesian Minister of Culture Fadli Zon.

"We have 76 years of diplomatic relation. So, I hope that in the near future we can accelerate or strengthen the cultural exchange, the cultural cooperation between our two countries, including the exchange of collection, museums and maybe the film production, co-production. And with the digital platforms that China is very advanced, we can also learn and maybe cooperate in that matter," Zon said at a TV interview during his visit to Beijing late in April.

The minister said artists should leverage innovation and digital platforms to explore new artistic forms.

"We can explore many things with the innovation, with the digital platforms. The contemporary arts, for example, combined with the ancient-rooted civilization that both we have. Like Indonesia, we have the cave painting, the cave art that is the oldest in the world. China also is a long-standing civilization, a living civilization since 5,000 years ago. We need to exchange more in order to have a new form of art and media art. But I think from the contemporary approach and the traditional approach we can find something new," he said.

Zon said both preservation and reinvention are crucial for cultural expression, especially in the digital world.

"We cannot separate between preserving and reinventing, because it's continuity. Preserving means that we need to actualize our intangible cultural heritage and reinventing it, because it's very important for our identity, but also for the expression, the cultural expression, especially in this digital world," he said.

Indonesian minister on cultural collaboration with China