TAO Dance Theater Brings 16 & 17 to Pireos 260 for the Athens Epidaurus Festival

One of the leading voices in contemporary dance, Tao Ye and China’s internationally acclaimed TAO Dance Theater return to Greece with 16 & 17, a compelling double bill from the company’s renowned Numerical Series. The performances will take place on 13 and 14 July at Pireos 260 as part of the Athens Epidaurus Festival.

In 16, sixteen dancers move as a single living organism, generating a continuous flow of energy that unfolds through subtle, interconnected movement. Inspired by the spiralling forms of the dragon and the snake in traditional Chinese culture, the choreography begins with an almost imperceptible impulse in the head that gradually ripples through the entire body, creating an ever-shifting collective rhythm.

By contrast, 17 places seventeen performers across the stage in a composition that appears unpredictable while remaining governed by an internal sense of order. Throughout the work, the dancers produce sound with their own bodies, synchronising movement and rhythm to create an intricate dialogue between physicality and sound. The result is a silent song -both mysterious and strangely familiar -that blurs the boundaries between what is heard and what is seen.

Together, the two pieces function as both conversation and counterpoint, reflecting Tao Ye’s ongoing exploration of the body and mind as a unified, circular flow. This research forms the foundation of the Circular Movement System, the choreographer’s distinctive movement methodology, which approaches dance as a practice of perception, awareness, and continuous transformation.

Opportunities to experience contemporary Chinese dance on international stages remain relatively rare, making the arrival of TAO Dance Theater particularly significant. Recognised worldwide for its radically minimalist choreographic language, the company has established itself as one of the most influential ensembles of its generation.

Awarded the Silver Lion for Dance at the Venice Biennale, Tao Ye has built a body of work that rejects spectacle in favour of precision, repetition, and profound physical investigation. His choreography reveals the body’s internal architecture with remarkable clarity, creating performances that are quiet in appearance yet deeply immersive in their emotional and sensory impact.