Dance & Physical Theatre

TOMATO

You will never look at tomatoes in the same way again

$30.00
Sessions & Tickets
The image is a close-up of a bright red tomato nestled between the bare skin of an unknown figure. The tomato's green stem and sepals are visible, forming a star-like shape. We see the elbow push into the tummy, and the hair at the very top of the pubic area.

Image Credit: 58kg

The image is a close-up of a bright red tomato nestled between the bare skin of an unknown figure. The tomato's green stem and sepals are visible, forming a star-like shape. We see the elbow push into the tummy, and the hair at the very top of the pubic area.

  • Presented by: Melbourne Fringe and Dancehouse

  • Choreographed by: CHOU Kuan Jou

  • Performed by: CHOU Kuan Jou, NG Chi Wai and Zito Tseng

Created by the gifted dancer-choreographer Chou Kuan-Jou for herself and two other performers, not to mention a few ripe and shapely red fruits, TOMATO is a cultural experience both playful and provocative.

Lust and desire take center stage in a canny, capricious combination of live performance and live-camera documentation. This enticingly tasty work is an absurdly funny expression of Chou’s ongoing interest in the sexualized body from a feminist perspective. Here private manifestations of sexuality receive a rib-ticklingly public spin.

什麼是情慾？如果情慾不是色情，不是受精行為，那是什麼?

準備好衛生紙
噴湧汁液不怕髒只怕你擦不乾淨
帶著踰越的心 愉悅的身體

可窺探可凝視也可以遮眼睛
《TOMATO》從不同的性別身體出發，去探索各種情慾的方式。
鮮紅果實作為情慾、性別身體、性別認知等象徵，藉由身體與之時而倒置、時而抗衡的權力關係，與其動態所產生的想像去探問「情慾為何」的同時，也梳理我們的性/性別如何在我們所處的社會被建構。舞作從此認知出發，或許延續其發展、或許打破，甚至反其道而行，將肉身與物的性實踐舞蹈化，試圖抽象的打破「人與物」既有的身體符號。


TOMATO is a part of Fringe Focus Taiwan, a program that shines a spotlight on the innovative art coming out of one of Asia’s most creatively inspired centres. In 2024, Fringe Focus Taiwan will explore the boundaries of gender and the changing shape of feminism at the intersection of private and public spaces.

Fringe Focus Taiwan is supported by The Ministry of Culture, Republic of China (Taiwan), and Cultural Division, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Sydney.

About Chou Kuan-Jou

Chou Kuan-Jou is an artist based in Taiwan. As a multi-dimensional performing energy and sensitivity carrier, she is a theatre performer, choreographer, action designer, and dance instructor. In recent years, she has devoted herself to the artistic practice of the "Lust Body" employing the fluidity of sexuality as a strategy to loosen boundaries. Through tactile perception, she expands into a dance-based dialogical space, concentrating on the manifestation of bodily politics. Her practical methods include but are not limited to body practices, workshops, and performances.
She has been invited to international events such as CND Camping 2019, Tanzmesse 2022, Tjimur Arts Festival Residency 2022, and da:ns lab 2023 at Dance Nucleus. In 2021, she co-created the "Nyu Shu Movement" project with artist Chen Yi-Chin. This project was showcased at the SEA: Residency in the CLOUD in Taiwan, Loei Art Festival in Thailand, and the BUoY Art Festival in Tokyo. In 2022, her work "TOMATO" was selected for the Taiwan Season at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, receiving several awards, including The Bobby Award.

choukuanjou.art

  • Duration: 35 minutes

  • Event Accessibility: English no barrier

  • Age suitability: MA15+

  • Event warnings: Some Nudity, Some Infrequent/Low Pressure Audience Interaction.

  • Dancehouse - Sylvia Staehli Theatre
    150 Princes St, Carlton North, VIC, 3054

    Wheelchair Access

    Dancehouse - Sylvia Staehli Theatre is wheelchair accessible.

    The venue is wheelchair accessible. Wheelchair users enter from the main entrance.

    Please note that there are bluestone cobblestones and uneven footpaths on Princes Street.

    There is on-street parking for permit holders.

    Get directions See all events at this venue See detailed venue & access information

  • Full: $30.00

  • Hump Day Discount: $22.50

  • Group 6+: $20.00

  • Extra Applause: $45.00

  • Blak Tix: $10.00

  • Concession: $25.00

"You will never look at tomatoes in the same way again." - Broadway Baby

broadwaybaby.com

An undeniably beautiful take on desire - FEST

festmag.com

A short, fun, experimental and thought-provoking piece of contemporary dance - The Wee Review

theweereview.com
Sponsors

Sessions: In Person Events

A single $5.50 transaction fee applies to your booking.

Date Time Venue

Wednesday, 02 October 2024

8:00pm

Dancehouse - Sylvia Staehli Theatre

 Get Tickets

Thursday, 03 October 2024

8:00pm

Dancehouse - Sylvia Staehli Theatre

 Get Tickets

Friday, 04 October 2024

8:00pm

Dancehouse - Sylvia Staehli Theatre

 Get Tickets

Saturday, 05 October 2024

3:00pm

Dancehouse - Sylvia Staehli Theatre

 Get Tickets

Saturday, 05 October 2024

8:00pm

Dancehouse - Sylvia Staehli Theatre

 Get Tickets

You may also like…

  • Girl's Notes

    Traversing the boundaries of contemporary dance and gender to ask – how should women behave?

    Created by SU Pin-Wen
    Dates 11 - 12 Oct (40min)
    Venue Melbourne Recital Centre - Primrose Potter Salon
    more less
    A person of Asian descent wearing a nude-beige slip dress sits on the floor with their legs out beside them, resting on their left hand. They have their hair in a long blonde plait, and on their head they are balancing a book. In their right hand they are pouring water from a red tin cup into a white and green kitchen appliance, possibly a coffee machine. They look slyly out of the corner of their eye towards the audience.
    Genre: Dance & Physical Theatre
    Artist Pick
    More Information
  • A Radical Nipple

    We are all nude under the hair

    Artist Su, Pin-Wen
    Dates 02 - 20 Oct (Come and go as you please)
    Venue Festival Hub: Trades Hall
    more less
    A close-up black and white image of a nipple, surrounded by chest hair
    Genre: Visual Arts & Film
    Artist Pick
    More Information
  • 五行 The Five Elements

    Journey into the depths of ancient philosophy and contemporary expression.

    Presented by Co-tempORaRY
    Dates 12 - 20 Oct (60min)
    Venue JMC Dance Lab
    more less
    Amalgamation of portraits of dancers wearing black in different movement and positions under five different colour of fabrics and lighting (red, blue, green, gold, brown, representing the five elements of fire, water, wood, metal and earth) casted as backdrop and floor.
    Genre: Dance & Physical Theatre
    More Information
  • Grim Grinning Ghosts

    A one of a kind choreographic séance. This work will stay with you, it might even follow you home.

    Created and Performed by Alix Kuijpers
    Dates 10 - 19 Oct (60min)
    Venue Dancehouse - Skylab
    more less
    The performer sits cross-legged on the floor in a black singlet and pants next to a collection of haunted objects. There is an illuminated carved pumpkin held by a sheet ghost, next to a pile of vintage suitcases and a large vintage painting of a shop at sea, with a skeleton torso hanging over.
    Genre: Dance & Physical Theatre
    More Information
  • I.D.

    Exploring identity, collective experiences and street dance forms through a contemporary lens.

    Presented by Dancehouse
    Dates 02 - 05 Oct (60min)
    Venue Dancehouse - Upstairs Studio
    more less
    Black and white close-up photos of three people that have been cropped, collaged and repeated in interesting overlapping ways.
    Genre: Dance & Physical Theatre
    More Information
  • two thread / Superposition

    A double bill of dance from exciting emerging choreographers.

    Created and Performed by Karlia & Danni / Gabriel & Jazmyn
    Dates 16 - 19 Oct (60min)
    Venue Dancehouse - Sylvia Staehli Theatre
    more less
    Two images are placed together, each image showing two people connecting with eachother through dance. The top images shows two people embracing with their arms outstretched in a dance studio. The bottom image shows two people wearing red and black intensely making eye contact. Sillohetes of their body are overlaid ontop for an experimental effect. They are touching each others arms.
    Genre: Dance & Physical Theatre
    More Information
  • The Bloom

    A provocative contemporary dance work that dives into the queer nature of reproduction.

    Created by Jessie McCall
    Dates 17 - 19 Oct (60min)
    Venue Dancehouse - Upstairs Studio
    more less
    A dynamic and intense image of three people against a dark background.. They are wearing aprons and have vibrant makeup with red coloured cheeks and long hair. Each of them is biting on a yellow or red glove, their eyes closed, and their bodies appear to be in motion.
    Genre: Dance & Physical Theatre
    More Information
  • VOW(d): Visible Older Woman(dancing)

    She makes her own VOW. She takes her own VOW – to be a Visible Older Woman (dancing).

    Created and Performed by Catherine Magill and the VOW Collective
    Dates 09 - 12 Oct (60min)
    Venue Dancehouse - Upstairs Studio
    more less
    Three older women dressed colourfully in an outdoor setting dancing on top of milk crates
    Genre: Dance & Physical Theatre
    More Information
  • Paracosm

    Step into Paracosm: a vivid contemporary dance journey through the realms of fantasy and escapism.

    Produced by Scott Pokorny & Tim Barnes
    Dates 02 - 05 Oct (60min)
    Venue Gasworks Arts Park - Gasworks Theatre
    more less
    Two dancers performing on a dimly lit stage bathed in soft blue light wearing grey suits. One dancer bends forward to elevate their partner slightly off the ground while the lifted dancer extends their right arm and leg gracefully. The atmosphere is moody and theatrical, emphasising the elegance and intensity of their dance movement.
    Genre: Dance & Physical Theatre
    More Information
  • Guild Fringe: Molly

    Nothing... Really nothing. Nothing... Nothing at all. NOTHING TURNED OUT LIKE I THOUGHT IT WOULD!

    Choreographed by Caroline Meaden
    Dates 02 - 05 Oct (90min)
    Venue Guild Theatre
    more less
    A woman in a yellow halter neck dress looking back into a black background.
    Genre: Dance & Physical Theatre
    More Information
  • Guild Fringe: Pictures & Ghosts

    A contemplative dance performance that moves you from stark photographic memory to nostalgia.

    Performed by Arabella Frahn-Starkie
    Dates 09 - 12 Oct (60min)
    Venue Guild Theatre
    more less
    A woman wearing a green top and black skirt bent over to the left, photographed from behind. They are facing a white background.
    Genre: Dance & Physical Theatre
    More Information
  • Guild Fringe: Small Movements

    Tiny gems, performed quietly on a small stage.

    Curated by Xanthe Beesley
    Dates 10 - 11 Oct (60min)
    Venue Guild Theatre
    more less
    Two women wearing colourful clothes and stand facing the left hand side of the room, against a bright orange background. Their arms are slightly lifted, showcasing 'small movements'.
    Genre: Dance & Physical Theatre
    More Information

    • Find similar shows

    See All Guides
  • Queer AF
  • Dance & Physical Theatre Events
  • Sex, love and dating
  • Fringe Focus Taiwan
  • SALTY
  • BITTER
  • SPICY
  • SOUR
  • Previous Award Winners
  • Pushing the comfort zone