{"id":155394,"date":"2025-11-05T18:24:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T17:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humboldtforum.org\/?post_type=event&p=155394"},"modified":"2025-12-05T13:35:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T12:35:59","slug":"softmachine-the-return","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/www.humboldtforum.org\/en\/programm\/termin\/performance-en\/softmachine-the-return-155394\/","title":{"rendered":"SoftMachine: The Return"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t
\n
\n
\n

EUROPEAN PREMIERE<\/p>\n

SoftMachine: The Return<\/em>\u00a0presents solo performative experiences, each reflecting on the artist\u2019s biography and practice.<\/p>\n

First is an intimate portrait of Rianto\u2019s search for love within the spectrum of dance, gender, and tradition in Indonesia.<\/p>\n

With Surjit Nongmeikapam from India, the work will narrate his journey from the marginal to the political, encapsulated in a dance of resilience that transcends the history of Manipur’s ethnic conflicts.<\/p>\n

As a whole, the\u00a0SoftMachine\u00a0<\/em>project desires a return to the body\u2014to think together about dance and beyond\u2014while negotiating its own knowledge archive to generate relevant dialogues on contemporary dance in Asia.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a family of artists, as friends, as collaborators, I feel the desire to question our dance practices over the span of a decade. I ask: How can we grow old together, think together, and play together? How many ten years can we have in our artistic lives? When we first gathered as an informal collective back in 2012, we were young and ambitious. We wanted to express ourselves as a new generation of dance makers. We were seeking change, resisting the norm, and embracing radical alterity. Perhaps we have remained radical in our own pathways. And maybe it is time to gather and dance together\u2014beyond the reminiscence of the past\u2014to propose new futures for the landscape of contemporary dance in Asia.\u201d\u00a0\u2013 Choy Ka Fai<\/em><\/p>\n

The\u00a0SoftMachine<\/em>\u00a0project was originally initiated in 2012 as an independent survey of the choreographic landscape in Asia, with a focus on the ecologies of independent dance makers, in response to the persistence of exoticism in the cultural production of contemporary dance. It culminated in the original production of\u00a0SoftMachine<\/em>, which was commissioned and presented as part of the\u00a0da:ns festival<\/em>\u00a0in 2015 at Esplanade. The project subsequently toured and was performed in more than 60 shows internationally until the pandemic struck in 2020.<\/p>\n

Participants<\/h5>\n

Concept, Visual Design, Direction and Documentary:<\/strong> Choy Ka Fai (Singapore\/Germany)
\nIn collaboration with:<\/strong> Rianto (Indonesia), Surjit Nongmeikapam (India)
\n3D Visual Design and Programming:<\/strong> Lisa Kaschubat
\nScenography, Lighting Design and Technical Direction:<\/strong> Ray Tseng
\nMusic and Sound Design:<\/strong> Zihan, Mo\u2019ong Santoso Pribadi, Nova Ruth, Chaoba Thiyam
\nStage Manager:<\/strong> Ng Hui Ling
\nProject Manager:<\/strong> CIRCUS PROJECTS
\nTour Manager<\/strong>: Tammo Walter
\nResidency Support:<\/strong> Studio Plesungan (Indonesia, Melati Suryodarmo), Dance Nucleus (Singapore, Daniel Kok)<\/p>\n

Commissioned by Esplanade \u2013 Theatres on the Bay<\/em> and making its world premiere in Singapore in September 2025, this production was presented as part of\u00a0da:ns focus \u2013 Connect Asia Now (CAN)<\/em>, a weekend that spotlights contemporary dance works by and in collaboration with Asian artists focusing on distinct voices and creative impulses from the region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t