Invisible Habitudes 《看不见的归属》- Theatre, DPAC, Empire Damansara, Selangor

In a world of rapid political and social change, we are constantly bombarded by loud volumes of opinions and beliefs, many extreme and absolute. Finding one’s personal belief and identity becomes increasingly complicated. Invisible Habitudes, conceived by Singapore’s T.H.E Dance Company’s founding artistic director and main choreographer and former co-artistic director of Malaysia’s d’MOTION International Dance Festival, Kuik Swee Boon, in collaboration with Taiwanese musician Wang Yu-jun, Singaporean lighting designer Adrian Tan, costume designer Loo An Ni, and six dance artists from T.H.E, explores these issues through the language of dance—where solidity and fluidity intersect—in a dialogue between the body and its environment.

Commissioned by Singapore’s Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay for da:ns festival 2018, Invisible Habitudes has resonated on global stages, including a tour across five different European performing arts festivals in 2019. After its return to Singapore and Taiwan in November 2024, the production will now tour to Malaysia with a fresh infusion of energy—featuring new cast members who bring their unique voices to a narrative rich with memory, childhood, gender, culture, and ethnicity. With each body upholding inclusivity and compassion as antidotes to the relentless pursuit of one’s convictions at the expense of others, this reinvigorated version seeks to untangle the complexities of a fluid identity, searching for an inherent, fundamental sense of belonging.

Invisible Habitudes marks T.H.E’s return to the DPAC stage after almost a decade. The work is developed from T.H.E’s signature HollowBody™ methodology, an approach of training and creation based on improvisation that emphasises on the body as a biological vessel and an extension of a person’s thoughts, emotions, and spirit. T.H.E will also be conducting HollowBody™ workshops at DPAC during the production week to connect with local dance practitioners in Malaysia.