{"id":177,"date":"2026-07-08T19:04:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T19:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog10\/?p=177"},"modified":"2026-07-14T11:19:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:19:20","slug":"where-bodies-meet-searching-for-belonging-in-the-metropolitan-jungle-wu-yi-jung","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog10\/2026\/07\/08\/where-bodies-meet-searching-for-belonging-in-the-metropolitan-jungle-wu-yi-jung\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Bodies Meet: Searching for Belonging in the Metropolitan Jungle – Wu Yi-Jung"},"content":{"rendered":"

In\u00a0the\u00a0corner of\u00a0a\u00a0large commercial building lies a\u00a0quiet, hidden jungle-like<\/nobr> sanctuary. Within this secluded space stand several tent-like<\/nobr> structures of\u00a0various sizes, woven from curved wooden sticks. Among these structures, surrounded by\u00a0plants and\u00a0greenery, the\u00a0dancers begin an\u00a0intimate dialogue through their bodies. Their movements unfold through different forms of\u00a0touch, connection, breathing, and\u00a0physical transformation.<\/p>\n

\"\"Today, I\u00a0had the\u00a0opportunity to\u00a0observe the\u00a0choreographic duo FUBUNATION working with three duets \u2014 two male dancers, two female dancers, and\u00a0a\u00a0male-female<\/nobr> pairing. Each duet presented a\u00a0distinct movement vocabulary, which seemed to\u00a0have been developed collaboratively by\u00a0the\u00a0dancers themselves and\u00a0further refined by\u00a0the\u00a0choreographers. The\u00a0dancers clearly knew what they were doing, yet the\u00a0true choreographic vision emerged through the\u00a0quality of\u00a0movement \u2014 the\u00a0question of\u00a0how the\u00a0movements were performed.<\/p>\n

Throughout the\u00a0rehearsal, the\u00a0choreographers calmly observed the\u00a0dancers\u2019 movement exploration and\u00a0then provided subtle guidance to\u00a0reveal the\u00a0qualities of\u00a0intimacy, care, and\u00a0bonding. They kept reminding the\u00a0dancers:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSlower.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLighter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t make it too performative.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMake the\u00a0movement smaller; don\u2019t extend it too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t project your gaze outward so strongly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t simply perform the\u00a0movements while allowing nothing to\u00a0happen. There needs to\u00a0be a\u00a0dialogue within the\u00a0contact.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBreathe together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFeel connected to\u00a0each other, even when you are far apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust think about breathing within movement transitions \u2014 don\u2019t intentionally add unnecessary movements.\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0choreographers transformed the\u00a0profound connections between people into these subtle qualities of\u00a0movement, allowing the\u00a0entire piece to\u00a0reveal a\u00a0sense of\u00a0warmth, care, and\u00a0mutual support.<\/p>\n

\"\"The\u00a0fact that this dance takes place within a\u00a0peaceful natural environment hidden inside an\u00a0urban commercial building makes this relationship even more meaningful. In\u00a0the\u00a0second half of\u00a0the\u00a0work, as\u00a0jazz music gently emerges, all the\u00a0dancers begin walking together, performing gestures that shift between strength and\u00a0tenderness \u2014 from powerful physical expressions to\u00a0delicate moments of\u00a0touching the\u00a0face. These contrasts speak to\u00a0the\u00a0integration of\u00a0nature and\u00a0humanity, revealing both the\u00a0vulnerability and\u00a0resilience of\u00a0contemporary urban individuals, as\u00a0well as\u00a0the\u00a0emotional connections we seek within the\u00a0metropolitan jungle.<\/p>\n

After the\u00a0rehearsal, I\u00a0had a\u00a0short conversation with the\u00a0choreographers. Moving beyond the\u00a0conventional theatre space and\u00a0entering the\u00a0city itself, they seek to\u00a0preserve a\u00a0sense of\u00a0simplicity through the\u00a0repetition of\u00a0movement phrases while gradually building subtle qualities within them. Through the\u00a0presence of\u00a0live bodies, this dance may reach people in\u00a0unexpected moments \u2014 offering a\u00a0sense of\u00a0connection and\u00a0belonging to\u00a0every passer-by<\/nobr> and\u00a0resident who finds themselves, even briefly, in\u00a0the\u00a0international city of\u00a0London.<\/p>\n

Written by\u00a0Wu Yi-Jung<\/nobr><\/strong> (Scholar)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In\u00a0the\u00a0corner of\u00a0a\u00a0large commercial building lies a\u00a0quiet, hidden jungle-like sanctuary. Within this secluded space stand several tent-like structures of\u00a0various sizes, woven from curved wooden sticks. Among these structures, surrounded by\u00a0plants and\u00a0greenery, the\u00a0dancers begin an\u00a0intimate dialogue through their bodies. Their movements unfold… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177\/revisions\/243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}