V enice, a city of already preposterous beauty, comes further stuffed with art during its famous biennale, founded in 1895. The exhibition has grown to encompass multiple art forms, including the lesser known dance biennale, which started in 1999 and actually happens every year. The dance strand has upped its game under the directorship of British choreographer Wayne McGregor – now Sir Wayne, having been knighted in the King’s birthday honours.
McGregor took over in 2021 and has just been reappointed for two more years. He has programmed a wide array of international artists, well known and otherwise, with plenty that is unexpected. This year’s theme is We Humans, a title that might conjure fleshy bodies and emotional connection, but the opening weekend’s performances focused as much on physics, formal systems, busy brains and interactions with technology, in keeping with McGregor’s own preoccupations.
The show that brings spectacle is the European premiere of Waves by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan. For nearly 50 years Cloud Gate was run by founder Lin Hwai-min, with a recognisable aesthetic that felt rooted in something timeless, ancient even. Choreographer Cheng Tsung-lung took over in 2020 and bar the dancers’ talent for sinuous movement, it could be a completely different company, plunging into future tech in this collaboration with digital artist Daito Manabe.
Waves transforms the data of the dancing body through AI, often in mesmerising, splintering, fl.