SoftMachine: The Return is a project that weaves together a decade of experiments in dance-making through the critical lens of five asian artist; Rianto (Banyumas, Indonesia), Surjit Nongmeikapam(Manipur, India), Xiao Ke x Zihan (Shanghai, China) and Yuya Tsukahara(Osaka, Japan). The presentation is envisioned as a performance that manifests across the format of dance with lecture, demonstration and documentary

SoftMachine: The Return will present four solo performative experiences, each reflecting on the artist's biographies and practices. First is an intimate portrait of Rianto’s search for love in-between the spectrum of dance, gender and tradition in Indonesia.  With Surjit Nongmeikapam, we will narrate his journey from the marginal to the political, encapsulated in his dance of resilience beyond the history of Manipur's ethnic conflicts. Xiao Ke and Zihan will dance to the new social realities of China, triggered by its emergence as a superpower nation. Finally, Yuya Tsukahara's presence will be digitally reinvented, as a form of questioning the boundaries of dance and interpretation, absence and archive.

The SoftMachine project as a whole, desires a return to the body, to think together about dance and beyond, while negotiating its own knowledge archive to generate relevant dialogues on contemporary dance in Asia.

[The Gonzo Prophecy]

In 2012, Ka Fai predicted that Yuya Tsukahara, the enigmatic leader of contact Gonzo will become a prominent cultural figure in the Japanese performing art scene. A decade later, contact gonzo continued to redefine itself as an experimental artists collective and Yuya Tsukahara now co-direct the leading art festival in Kyoto.

“The Gonzo Prophecy” is an audacious attempt to regenerate Yuya Tsukahara with technological means. For concern on work-life-family balance, Yuya will not be traveling to perform and Ka Fai will play as him, questioning the boundaries of dance and interpretation, absence and archive. An experiment on dance notation, filmed documentary and live actions on stage, this performance is both a biographical survey and a gesture of digital reinvention.

[Iron Goddess of Mercy]

A Tea drinking session with the Chinese cultural bureau is a thinly veiled notice that artistic activities are under surveillance. Tea drinking has been an integral part of Chinese culture and diplomacy for centuries. Exploring the metaphor of Tea, “Iron Goddess of Mercy” is reheasal performance, of emotions and expression on the lives of artistic duo of Xiaoke and Zihan, and how they dance to waves of the socio-political changes, triggered by China emergence as a superpower nation.

[The Seven Season]

This is the story of a man from Manipur, one of the first few dancers to engage with contemporary dance forms and seeks to promote its development beyond its long history of military insurgency, ethnic conflict and domestic terrorism. Surjit Nongmeikapam would become one of the most influential Indian choreographer outside of mainland India. 

Since the 3rd of May 2023, Manipur had plunged into a state of constant violence and displacement, the Manipuri experienced curfews and internet blackout, some are kidnapped and killed brutally. Every Injustice are ghosts of many other stories. The Seven Season hopes to narrate Surjit’s journey from the marginal to the political, encapsulated in his dance of resilience and protest.

[Rendezvous with the Ancestor]

Rianto is an Indonesian dancer specialised in the erotic folk dance of Lengger.  While being equally versatile in other Javanese traditional dance forms. He mastered the cross-gender dance repertoire at a very young age and continues to enchant male spectators with his seductive female impersonation

Since 2020, he is building a legacy project in his beloved hometown of Banyumas with a multi-generation of Lengger dancers. Rianto is a living archive of dance and a protecter of his dance heritage. Most importantly, he became an inspirational voice for the Indonesia queer communities. “Rendezvous with the Ancestors” is an intimate portrait of Rianto’s search for love, in- between the spectrum of dance, gender and tradition in Indonesia.