One of New York City’s most anticipated contemporary dance events kicks off 2022 with its return. Now in its 19th installment, the Contemporary Dance Festival (formerly known as the Contemporary Dance Showcase) from Japan and East Asia includes: from Japan, butoh artists Kentaro Kujirai and Barabbas Okuyama embodying the philosophy of yin and yang in their haunting duet entitled A HUM SAN SUI; from Taiwan, mathematician-turned-choreographer Hao Cheng uses the stage as his chalkboard in a solo that explores quantum physics through repetitive circular motion; and duo Choi x Kang Project from Korea, who twitch and jerk like windup toys to the sound of a ticking clock in their comical and technically-daring piece Complement.

On both nights, ticket holders and the general public are invited to arrive by 6:45pm to watch a special 30-minute solo performance in the Society’s lobby titled FreeSteps – NiNi, choreographed by Wei-Chia Su,the founder of one of Taiwan’s most-celebrated dance companies HORSE. Capacity is limited to approximately 100 people for this pre-performance show.

In an update to the program, please note that the piece A HUM SAN SUI will be presented as a pre-recorded video, as due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the artists are unable to travel to New York as previously announced.