{"id":15078,"date":"2026-03-16T11:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T03:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asef.org\/aecfest\/?p=15078"},"modified":"2026-04-01T12:16:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T04:16:53","slug":"softmachine-the-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asef.org\/aecfest\/softmachine-the-return\/","title":{"rendered":"SOFTMACHINE: THE RETURN"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\n \n 22 MAY, 9PM
STADSSCHOUWBURG - GROTE ZAAL, UTRECHT<\/span>\n\n <\/div>\n\t <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\n \n GERMANY, INDIA, INDONESIA, SINGAPORE |
CONTEMPORARY DANCE<\/span>\n\n <\/div>\n\t <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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2026
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2026
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SoftMachine: The Return<\/em> is a project that weaves together a decade of experiments in dance-making through the critical lens of Asian artists<\/strong>. The presentation is envisioned as a performance that manifests in the form of dance, incorporating lecture, demonstration, and documentary.<\/p>

This version will present two solo performative experiences<\/strong>, each reflecting on the artist\u2019s biography and practice. First is an intimate portrait of Rianto\u2019s (Banyumas, Indonesia)<\/strong> search for love within the spectrum of dance, gender, and tradition in Indonesia. With Surjit Nongmeikapam (Manipur, India)<\/strong>, the work will narrate his journey from the marginal to the political, encapsulated in a dance of resilience that transcends the history of Manipur’s ethnic conflicts.<\/p>

From political resilience to complexities of gender –\u00a0SoftMachine: The Return<\/strong><\/em> is an honest, radical self-portrait<\/strong>. It captures a generation growing old together<\/strong> while redefining the future of Asian contemporary dance<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>

The SoftMachine<\/em> project was initiated in 2012<\/strong> as an independent survey of the choreographic landscape in Asia, with a focus on the ecologies of independent dance makers, in response to the persistence of exoticism<\/strong> in the cultural production of contemporary dance. It culminated in the original production of SoftMachine, which premiered in 2015 \u00a0in Singapore.<\/strong> The project subsequently toured and was performed in more than 60 shows internationally<\/strong> until the pandemic struck in 2020.<\/p>

Purchase your full-festival pass (passe-partouts) and day passes here<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0Individual event tickets available here<\/a><\/strong>. Follow our social media channels<\/a> for updates and more!<\/p>

Admission: \u20ac27.50\/ \u20ac19<\/p>

Discover the full AECFest programme<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSoft Machine, Rianto \u00a9 Law Kian Yan\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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Concept, Visual Design, Direction and Documentary:<\/b> Choy Ka Fai
In collaboration with:<\/b> Surjit Nongmeikapam and Rianto
Dramaturgy:<\/b> Tang Fukuen
Scenography, Lighting Design and Technical Direction:<\/b> Ray Tseng
Music and Sound Design:<\/b>\u202f Mo\u2019ong Santoso Pribadi and Chaoba Thiyam, with selected composition from Heisnam Shantanu Singh and Augustine Shimray
Project Tour Management:<\/b> Mariko Mikami
SoftMachine: the Return is commissioned by<\/b> Esplanade \u2013 Theatres on the Bay
Presented as part of<\/b> da:ns focus \u2013 Connect Asia Now (CAN) The Development of the project is supported with Residency\u202fat Studio Plesungan, Indonesia and\u202f Dance Nucleus, Singapore<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChoy Ka Fai is a Berlin-based Singaporean artist. His multidisciplinary art practice situates itself at the intersection of dance, media art and performance. Through research expeditions, pseudo-scientific experiments and documentary performances, Ka Fai appropriates technologies and narratives to imagine new futures of the human body. \n\nKa Fai\u2019s projects have been presented in major institutions worldwide, including Sadler\u2019s Wells (London), ImPulsTanz Festival (Vienna) and Kyoto Experiment (Japan).\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSurjit Nongmeikapam is an Imphal-based choreographer and dancer. He is the founder and artistic director of Nachom Arts Foundation. He is trained in Kathak, Kalaripayattu, Manipuri dance, contemporary dance and Thang-Ta, a form of martial arts. Surjit is also a co-founder of Arts and Imphal, an upcoming international contemporary arts festival in Imphal, Manipur. He is one of the few dancers and choreographers in Manipur to engage with contemporary dance forms and seek to promote its development beyond the traditional conservative Manipuri culture.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRianto is a master of lengger lanang, a dance that expresses gender, body, and construction through a man performing as a woman.. Since 2003, Rianto has been living between Indonesia and Tokyo, Japan, where he founded Dewandaru Dance Company to introduce Javanese dance art to Japan. Since 2020, Rianto has worked to preserve the dance by establishing Rumah Lengger, a center in Banyumas that trains young dancers in the style; and collaborating with the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) to document the dance using motion capture technology.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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22 MAY, 9PM STADSSCHOUWBURG – GROTE ZAAL, UTRECHT GERMANY, INDIA, INDONESIA, SINGAPORE | CONTEMPORARY DANCE 2026 EDITION 2026 EDITION SoftMachine: The Return is a project that weaves together a decade of experiments in dance-making through the critical lens of Asian artists. The presentation is envisioned as a performance that manifests in the form of dance, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":259224162,"featured_media":15095,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","omw_enable_modal_window":"enable","ofc_enable_fullscreen":"disable","ofc_fullscreen_speed":0,"ofc_fullscreen_nav":"enable","ofc_fullscreen_nav_pos":"right","ofc_fullscreen_nav_color":"","ofc_fullscreen_nav_tooltip_color":"","ofc_fullscreen_responsive":0,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1527,1378],"tags":[1535],"class_list":["post-15078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-edition2026","category-sector-dance","tag-22-may-2026-utrecht-the-netherlands","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"\nSOFTMACHINE: THE RETURN - Asia-Europe Cultural Festival<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After a decade, two artists reunited. Through dance, documentary and monologue, they explore how their bodies and homelands have evolved.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asef.org\/aecfest\/softmachine-the-return\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SOFTMACHINE: THE RETURN - Asia-Europe Cultural Festival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After a decade, two artists reunited. 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