Dance show adds unique touch to artist’s installations

At the opening of Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson’s solo show at the Red Brick Art Museum in Beijing, he says he hopes visitors will immerse themselves in the natural world he has created.

“You can sit, lie down and even dance here,” he says. Four months later, his words have come true.

A modern dance show is being staged in four of Eliasson’s large installations at the art museum.

The dance, performed by the Beijing Modern Dance Company, comprises four parts. Each presents a different work of Eliasson under the themes of light, shadow, wind and water.

The themes match Eliasson’s installations that create and amplify these natural effects.

According to Gaoyan Jinzi, director of the Beijing Modern Dance Company, half of each dance is improvised.

She performs a solo for the Wind section, moving her body in sync with a revolving water tunnel.

Water drops from the tunnel shine and whirl and twinkle, creating a movie-like effect.

At the start of Light, modern dancers from Gao’s troupe walk among visitors lying on the ground, with big rings hanging over their heads, reflecting in a mirror on the ceiling.

The troupe performed its dances for five days at the end of July. And it attracted film directors, musicians, movie stars, poets and writers, many of whom say the show was their first time visiting the museum.

The cooperation between the dance troupe and the museum is the result of a visit to the museum by Gao in May.

She says she was very impressed by the world created by the artist during the visit.

She says a voice told her: “Let’s dance. Let the universe see it. I feel the artist has created a universe.”

Gao established her modern dance troupe in 1995 and has staged performances across the world.

Her dances often combine traditional and modern elements, revealing the power of nature.

In the dance’s last section, Eliasson’s rainbow installation, Gao and her dancers fall to the ground repeatedly, which Gao says aims to let audience feel her pain.

Cui Jian, an established rock ’n’ roll musician, says: “It was more impressive than rock ’n’ roll. I felt the beauty of dance and art.”

Cui also says he is considering working with the museum. The current work with Gao is not the first time that dancers have collaborated with Eliasson. The artist’s iconic show, Weather Project, at the Tate Modern Museum in London, started his interaction with modern dancers.

In 2017, Eliasson was invited by Wayne McGregor to produce abstract scenes for his ballet, Tree of Codes, by using mirrors and colored screens.

Meanwhile, Yan Shijie, director of the Red Brick Art Museum, says that Eliasson wants his audiences to interact with his works and modern dance offers a perfect way.

The dance at the museum was very popular.

During the five days at the end of July, tickets sold out quickly, despite costing 580 yuan ($85).

The last dance shows will be on Aug 9, 10 and 12. They’ll mark the ending of Eliasson’s solo show, which opened in March.