Broken Sense of Beauty

In Broken Sense of Beauty, Xie Xin focuses on six dancers. The intimate scale is deliberately chosen, as this is a deeply personal work by the Chinese choreographer. Just a few months ago, the Shanghai studio of Xie and her company, Xiexin Dance Theatre, fell victim to a devastating fire. This experience forms the starting point for a profound exploration of the theme of loss. Far from any artistic elegy of pain, Xie places the idea of personal growth at the center, showing how, through the energy of the heart, it is precisely traumatic experiences that can open up new facets of life.

A technically sophisticated stage design—comprising multiple curtains and drifting ash—allows Xie’s fluid movement language to unfold with particular intensity. Like few others, she masters the fine calibration of the many layers of a total stage work, creating a magnetic pull that is almost impossible to resist.