Concept:

A solo dance performance and visual installation exploring the fragmented identity of a Chinese dancer in a globalized, politicized world. Blending Taichi, traditional Chinese dance, and C-pop rhythms, the piece critically examines cultural stereotypes, state surveillance, and the pressures of representation.

Through symbolic objects—a shipping box turned Great Wall, a hovering drone, a red booklet filled with absurd questions—the performer navigates humor, tension, and vulnerability. The work culminates in a striking phoenix-like transformation using party ribbons, reclaiming spectacle as resistance and rebirth.

At once ironic and sincere, Chinese Studies questions what it means to be watched, labeled, and made into a symbol—dancing between power and play, visibility and disappearance.