PHONATE
When breathing becomes language
To dance is to breathe, inhale and exhale, a fundamental aspect of our existence. PHONATE invites us to open our senses and reflect on our connection to an essential part of life – breathing. The performance features four dancers with their lips taped shut, each holding a small harmonica between their lips. Unable to speak in words, they explore the flow of their breath and the connections it creates, both inside and outside the body. The piece is a slow and spiralling journey that explores the individual and the collective, connection and disconnection, and the escape of air from the body as music. PHONATE highlights the importance of staying connected in a time of global upheaval and reminds us of the power of togetherness.
Poon’s choreography is informed by Taoist notions of “Qi” and the movement and meditation practices Liquid Body and 5Rhythms. The research and development of this work was supported by Freespace, Dance Info Finland, Zodiak – Center for New Dance and Dance House Helsinki through the residency exchange project Creative Meeting Point: Hong Kong x Finland (2016–2018).
Concept / Choreography: Wayson Poon
Live Sound Artist / Dramaturg / Sound Designer: Peter Lenaerts
Performers: Kingsan Lo, Ivan Chan, KT Yau, Cheung Tsz-kwan
Lighting Designer: Lawmanray
Costume Designer: Pauline Chan
Sound Engineer: Martin Lai
“…In each inhalation and exhalation, it transcends the limitations of space and body, using sound without words to reveal the essence of humanity. Despite the constant changes, the breath is always present. Even when closed, it still resonates, and the sound of the breath is never-ending. Let us encourage each other in this way.”
by Derek Lum(https://www.artisticmoments.net/)
Words by Peter Lenaerts
Dance does not speak in words. It moves, like dragonflies hovering in the air.
Inhale and exhale. To live is to breathe. In. Out.
For nearly three years, we’ve been breathing through masks, fearful of losing our breath, our tongues silenced by a pandemic, political upheaval, and seismic shifts in global power.
How do we interact with each other when our movements are restricted?
How do we communicate when we are silenced?
How do we balance our ears?
How do we listen deeper?
Four dancers, each with a small harmonica held firmly in place between their teeth, behind lips taped shut. They can’t speak in words, but as they breathe and move, sounds escape, sometimes musical, sometimes… They explore the flow of their breath, from the outside in, from the inside out. They look for connections, and listen for something to share.
When we stay together, we are stronger.PHONATE is a slow motion journey, a spiralling exploration of connection and disconnection, of the individual and the collective, of air escaping the body as music.
The bird inside our mouth.
Commissioned, produced and presented by:
The Programme is part of “Creative Tomorrow” exclusively sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Exclusive Sponsor:
PHONATE (untaped)
Exhibiting a dnace-making journey
Curatorial statement
The exhibition PHONATE (un/taped) means removing the tape on the lips and then phonate; its meaning is a deconstruction of a choreographic process of a contemporary dance piece, PHONATE, which was commissioned by Freespace, West Kowloon Cultural District and premiered in 2023. The choreographer and researcher Wayson Poon has a deep movement research and dance-making journey in his master study related to the somatic field to contribute to the rehearsal strategies. The exhibition comprises elements of video, photography, rehearsal tools and an interactive experience with an audio guide. It demonstrates the application of dance imagery tools and demystifies the act of creation.
Creative team:
Concept and Choreographer: Wayson Poon
New Media Designer: Adrian Yeung
Academic support:
Dam Van Huynh
Karen Cheung
Prof. Joseph Gonzales
Venue:
DANCE & TECHNOLOGY STUDIO, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
PHONATE invited audiences to open their senses and reflect on the connection to an essential part of life – breathing.
The artistic journey has been fruitful, and in order to prolong the life of the dance work. The exhibition is to provide context and demonstrate the creative process behind PHONATE, fostering a dialogue with the audience and critics, while also demystifying the act of creation and establishing a new relationship between the audience and theatrical performance.
Participants will have an interactive exhibit experience, where they can listen to an audio guide through headphones, and view moving images, objects, and texts to reconnect with the artistic journey. There will also be an opportunity to embody a dance movement score from PHONATE physically, and Spontaneously, during the silent dance, The participants can create a piece of soundscape through a motion-captured technology system.
PHONATE (solo)
If silence could speak…
Breathing is dance: inhalation, pause, and exhalation are the fundamental conditions for existence. PHONATE (solo) invites audiences to open the senses and reflect on an essential part of life—breathing. A four-hole harmonica and a piece of muscle tape continually reconstruct historical fragments of the work in a minimalist setting. Choreographer Wayson Poon bridges the audience with PHONATE (solo) and the essence of breathing through exhibition elements and interactive segments, creating multidimensional possibilities for artistic interpretation. The vibrations of air through breathing connect us to our subconsciousness and the unspoken reflections.
Wayson Poon’s choreography is informed by Taoist notions of “Qi” and the movement and meditation practices Liquid Body and 5Rhythms. The research and development of this work was conceived through the residency exchange project Creative Meeting Point: Hong Kong x Finland (2016–2018). In 2023, WestK commissioned Poon to create a full-length ensemble dance work titled PHONATE, which received critical acclaim. This solo version is an adaptation of the original performance.
Creative team
Choreographer and performer: Wayson Poon
Lighting Designer and Sonographer: Samuel Chan Kwan Chi
Sound designer: Peter Lenaerts, Martin Lai
Media design: Adrian Yeung
Graphic Designer: PETER BIRD STUDIO
Co-producer/ Artist management: KALOS Productions HK
Tour Producer：Zhonglei Liu
Tour Technical Manager：Xiaoyan
“The work is presented in the form of “Lecture Performance”, which uses words, images, dance performances and breathing exercises to lead the audience to immerse themselves in the theme of “breathing”. The narrative of the work uses strong contrast, dislocation and delay to prompt the audience to reflect on the “connection” between themselves and the performers, so that the audience can re-question the issues of “self-healing” and “alienation” in today’s society from the logic of words and physical and mental experience.
Although everyone’s life trajectory is unique, what has happened can also be used to connect “breathing” to support and accompany everyone to the end of their life journey. As a ritual space, the theater creates resonance and understanding that cannot be expressed in words through the common breathing and perception of everyone, emphasizing the power of collective experience. “
—– Wayson Poon (6.2025)
Date:
2025.6.21 16:30
2025.6.22 16:30
Venue: Experimental Theater, Shanghai International Dance Center
Duration: Approximately 70 mins (no interval)
Commissioned, Produced and Co-presented by: WestK, Hong Kong
Co-presented with: Shanghai International Dance Center Theater
Acknowledgement: School of Dance, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, E-side Dance Company
“…The whole performance not only brought me visual enjoyment, but also made me realize something else, such as the close relationship between movement and stillness, breathing and dance in life. I can also see the Taoist form of “Qi”. It was really a wonderful performance.”
—— Comment from an audience, Only
This programme is commissioned and produced by West Kowloon Cultural District, co-presented by West Kowloon Cultural District and Shanghai International Dance Center Theater, as part of the WestK Shanghai Week 2025 organised by the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA). WKCDA’s Travel Partner Cathay is the Lead Sponsor for WestK Shanghai Week. WestK Shanghai Week is supported by Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism as well as the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Shanghai of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Shanghai United Media Group and Shanghai Media Group are the media partners.
Touring:
Artist Residency:
2018 – Zodiak – Center for New Dance, Finland
2019 – Asia Culture Council Fellowship
2019 – Bmotion Festival, CSC Bassano del Grappa, Italy
2019 – E-side Dance Company, Hong Kong
2019 – Dance Nucleus, Singapore
2019 – Lucie Grégoire Danse, Canada
Performance:
2025 – Shanghai International Dance Center, China