Having been disappointed by other cross-cultural collaborations in the past, I approached One Infinity with some scepticism. However, we were pleasantly surprised backstage at the Maj, by a truly transformative immersion in music and dance. Accompanied by Australian recorder virtuoso Genevieve Lacey and guqin master Wang Peng, director and choreographer Gideon Obarzanek plus composer Max de Wardener together orchestrated a performance encompassing spontaneity, chaos and order in equal parts.

Audience involvement was central to the piece, with the audience placed on either side of the stage. Masterful choreography and everyday movement, ritual and improvisation, nature and civilisation were themes driving the hypnotic experience. Patterns emerged as sound and music echoed one another, while the bodies of the audience themselves become implicit in the dance. The audience were guided through simple sequences which formed a foundation for more complex routines by the team of Australian and Chinese dancers.

Whilst it was slow to develop over the course of an hour, that in itself served to put the audience in a meditative state. Underpinned by traditional Chinese music, it was a truly special show to kick off the Perth Festival 2019 season.

Produced by Playking Productions & Jun Tian Fang

Featuring Jun Tian Fang Music Ensemble and dancers from Beijing Dance Theatre and Dancenorth Australia