William Forsythe’s interactive installation, where visitors can create their own choreography, comes to Hong Kong
- William Forsythe’s Nowhere and Everywhere at the Same Time No. 2 uses a field of moving pendulums people can move through to create their own dance routines
- The installation will be at The Box, Freespace, in the Art Park of the West Kowloon Cultural District, until July 19
Get ready for an immersive and unusual dance experience with the Asian premiere of choreographer William Forsythe’s Nowhere and Everywhere at the Same Time No. 2 – an interactive installation in which the audience members are the performers.
Developed inside the monumental industrial architecture of the Turbine Hall, of London’s Tate Modern, as well as the Venice Biennale, the installation is being exhibited at The Box, West Kowloon Freespace, Hong Kong until July 19, and features an obstacle course of hundreds of pendulums suspended from automated grids that swing according to set, predetermined patterns.
While navigating through this unique set-up, audiences will find themselves creating their own dance as they dodge and weave among the swinging, choreographed objects in the room.
Forsythe believes classical ballet is a language with distinct rules but he is more interested in breaking away from such traditional positions, says Karen Cheung, head of dance at the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA).
“I believe different people will have different first impressions towards this installation,” she says. “When audiences are immersed in this large space surrounded by these swinging pendulums, some find it to be very healing and exciting. People can enter the installation from any angle and direction they choose, so I hope they can come away with some valuable experiences that are unique to them.”
Cheung notes how the traditional meaning of dance has been reimagined and expressed through Forsythe’s interactive installation.
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“Forsythe wanted to illustrate that dancers were not the only means to help realise his choreographic concepts and potential. He utilised various objects, soundscapes, rhythms and movements to allow for choreography that is realised by the whole surrounding environment,” she explains.
Paul Tam Siu-man, executive director of performing arts at WKCDA, says this installation has special meaning following so many cancellations of live performances due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Last year was particularly challenging for us, as our venues opened and closed at least three to four times. Forsythe’s exhibition provides people with an experience of different immersive layers, and we hope Hong Kong audiences will walk away with a new-found sense of arts and culture,” he says.
The installation will be accompanied by three short films that will bring a deeper appreciation of Forsythe’s dance practice: Alignigung (2016), Solo (1997) and Lectures from Improvisation Technologies (2011).
For those who crave more, Hong Kong Ballet’s new season will present Forsythe’s groundbreaking In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated (1987) next May, as part of its turn (it)out festival, which celebrates the “rule breakers” of classical ballet.
William Forsythe’s Nowhere and Everywhere at the Same Time No. 2 runs at The Box, Freespace, Art Park, West Kowloon Cultural District, until July 19. For ticketing and other details, visit westkowloon.hk.
