HUANG YI & KUKA

HUANG YI & KUKA

Acclaimed Taiwanese choreographer, dancer and inventor Huang Yi and his robot companion KUKA blend razor sharp precision and stunning artistry, harmoniously weaving together the art of dance and the science of mechanical engineering in a poetic work, flawlessly intertwining modern dance and visual arts with the realm of robotics.  

HUANG YI & KUKA reveals humanity through a series of vignettes between live dancers and KUKA, a robot conceptualized and programmed by Huang; a rigorous undertaking because a single minute of choreography takes 10-20 hours of programming. Joined onstage by dancers Hu Chien and Lin Jou-Wen, HUANG YI & KUKA is a process of beautifying the sorrow and sadness of Huang’s childhood; an expression of loneliness, self-doubt, self-realization, and self-comfort. “Dancing face to face with a robot is like looking at my own face in a mirror... I think I have found the key to spin human emotions into robots.”

A seamless synthesis of soul, ingenuity and innovation, HUANG YI & KUKA is a groundbreaking work that continues to captivate global audiences, celebrating the future of humanity and technology. It has been presented globally stages at Ars Electronica Festival (Austria), TED Conference (Vancouver), NYU Abu Dhabi (UAE), Holland Dance Festival (The Netherlands), and Festival International Cervantino (Mexico), among others.

ABOUT HUANG YI

Taiwanese dancer, choreographer, inventor, and videographer Huang Yi’s pioneering work is steeped in his fascination with the partnership between humans and robots. He interweaves continuous movement with mechanical and multimedia elements to create a form of dance which corresponds with the flow of data, effectively making the performer a dancing instrument. Named by Dance Magazine as one of the “25 to Watch,” Huang was immersed in the arts at a young age, spending much of his childhood in his parents’ studio watching them teach tango and learning to paint alongside his father. Huang has been Artist-in-Residence of the National Theater & Concert Hall, the National Performing Arts Center, Taiwan, R.O.C, and is widely considered one of Asia’s most prolific choreographers.

Huang’s groundbreaking and award-winning work, HUANG YI & KUKA, in which he performs alongside an industrial robot he programmed, has opened the Ars Electronica Festival (Austria), TED Conference (Vancouver), and toured globally since 2015 including in Australia, the US, Switzerland, and the UAE. 

Huang Yi premiered Under the Horizon, a hybrid opera, in collaboration with Berlin-based Ryoichi Kurokawa and the Netherlands Chamber Choir, in Holland and Taiwan in 2018. His work A Million Miles Away premiered at Taiwan's celebrated National Theater in February 2019. His latest work, Ink, premiered at the National Taichung Theater and the National Theater in Taipei in June 2023.

Learn more about Huang Yi