REVIEW: The Seas Beween Us

The Seas Between Us ©️Johanna Baschke

How do we discuss political conflicts between China and Taiwan that has lasted for over 75 years? What can be added to this old yet ongoing tension through the common language of dance? And for Taiwanese diaspora, how does this issue expand into the broader context of historically Chinese-influenced societies and their relation to the West? In many ways, THE SEAS BETWEEN US, the duet directed by German-based Taiwanese choreographer Lo Fang-Yun, gives the audience a satisfying experience while insisting on going deeper into the changing landscape of those political debates.

Lo has worked with artists from various disciplines under the Polymer DMT label since 2011, with bases in Essen and Dresden in Germany as well as Taichung in Taiwan. Since 2018, Lo and Polymer DMT have been developing a cycle of productions on identity, home and migration, including Home Away From Home (2022) and Kim (2023). This time, in collaboration with Taiwanese dancer Chou Shu-Yi and Singaporean dancer Lee Mun Wai, who lives in Berlin, Lo creates a political, entertaining and deeply personal hybrid dance-theatre piece.

Based on Chou and Lee's biographies and their relationships with being Chinese, THE SEAS BETWEEN US strikes me as it freely blends various forms of dance: modern and postmodern dance in the West, folk dance of ethnic minorities in China, ballet, traditional Chinese opera, and a hilarious improvised dance based on Chinese strokes (the vertical line, the horizontal line, and mixtures of them, such as the vertical-bend-hook乚). It also blends movement with light-hearted chatting and serious political debate around "Chineseness" between Lee and Chou, conducted by writing live on big white sheets of paper and showing them to each other and to the audience. The duet is further interwoven with recorded material, including Chou's monologues of personal journeys, as well as coverage of Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech on China Central Television (CCTV). Overall, the hybridity of the piece, and the duo's movement between seriousness and lightness, is keenly felt. Chou and Lee are brilliant dancers as well as performers, making this a memorable dance-theatre piece.

The stage and lighting design by Michele Piazzi is outstanding and highly symbolic, embodying the tension and difficulty of the show's topic. A vast transparent rain curtain hangs above the dancers, suspended in the shape of sea waves. The lighting highlights the liquid collected and falling from the curtain. When the liquid falls, the stage turns empty. The audience can appreciate the atmosphere and quietness of the empty stage between scenes, listening to the water dripping, and later watching a spectacular scene of thick, gooey red fluid slowly flowing into the curtain. The suspension remains powerful throughout, prompting the audience to ponder when, or if ever, the flooded curtain will eventually fall onto the dancers. The surprising ending, which I will not disclose, is very subtle in reflecting where Taiwan sits right now amid all this political tension, and it matches the set very well.

One thing I struggled with is the balance and composition between movement and spoken words. Beginning with a heavy-hearted statement, written on paper and held by Chou, that Chou will not speak during the show because the topic is too hard to discuss, THE SEAS BETWEEN US is actually one of the most chatty shows I have watched at The Place over the years. Indeed, Chou does not speak but chooses to communicate through constant writing on paper and several prerecorded monologues. Lee, in contrast, is the verbalised one. His topics jump from Merce Cunningham and Yvonne Rainer to Chinese strokes, then unexpectedly turn into Peter Handke's style of offending the audience in one scene where he threatens to leave the stage. I would say some of Lee's lines are too casual and some talks feel discursive relative to the theme of the show. For instance, Xi's unfiltered speech comes right after a delightful mimicry of Yvonne Rainer's Trio A, reflecting Lee's dance training rooted in Western postmodern traditions, but how could such an abrupt transition (from Rainer to Xi) possibly work without feeling a little disconnected? More politically sensitive content was also played through a recorder held by Lee. For those, including myself, who understand both the Mandarin and the English spoken in the piece, the political 'difficulty' is talked about quite directly, if not repetitively.

Overall, THE SEAS BETWEEN US is a highly skilful movement duet with humour, anger and teeth, and it never loses its focus on what is really happening in the world. It is ambitious and far from escapist, and it dares to speak loudly about political struggles through a hybrid composition devised from the personal lived experiences of Chou and Lee. Yet there is still room to tidy up the spoken words, and to show the almost unspeakable difficulty of discussing these subjects in a way that lets the audience feel its real weight, as the stage design does.

★★★★

For more information, please visit: https://theplace.org.uk/events/autumn-winter-26-the-seas-between-us/

Credits

Dance, co-creation: Chou Shu-Yi, Lee Mun Wai
Artistic Lead, Direction: Fang Yun Lo

Dramaturgy: Chen Cheng-Ting

Artistic Collaboration: Chang Chu-Zhi

Stage Design, Lighting Design: Michele Piazzi

Music: David Le Thai

Costume: Cristina Lelli

Technical Support: Marius Kirch, Chen Wei-Chi

Production Management: Sabina Stücker, Tsai Ya-Ting

The Seas Between Us is a production by Polymer DMT, in co-production with HELLERAU European Centre for the Arts Dresden and PACT Zollverein Essen.

Research partner: National Theatre & Concert Hall Taipei.

Funded by the Kunststiftung NRW, the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony (KdFS), the National Culture and Arts Foundation Taiwan, and the City of Dresden – Department of Culture and Heritage.

Polymer DMT is funded by the Fonds Darstellende Künste with funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, and the City of Essen / Department of Culture.

This production is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan.

Sound Behind Curtain

A place for all Asian artists.

📮: contact@soundbehindcurtain.com

Your gift keeps the curtain rising for Asian creatives.

About
Contact

© 2026 Sound Behind Curtain. All rights reserved.
Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy

Reviews
Interviews
News