Performing Mudra
(Peace by Piece)
site-specific dance performance by Yinfu Gao, with Yuya Fujinami
Yinfu Gao’s artistic research explores the tension between "舞" (dance) and "武" (war/martial arts) — two homophonic terms in Chinese carrying opposite meanings. Within Chinese popular culture, and particularly in Hong Kong cinema, this tension gave rise to an aesthetic of "danced combat," one that abstracts violence through choreography. This development culminates in the genre of xianxia narratives, where weapons are increasingly replaced by ritualized hand gestures. Violence is not denied, but symbolically transformed.
In the performance, the artists draw on iconic figures such as the Chinese xia nü (the martial heroine) . Rather than realistically reproducing cinematic fight scenes, these are translated into contact improvisation. Confrontation appears not as victory or defeat, but as a physical negotiation of proximity, weight, trust, and vulnerability.
The performers play games with everyday social gestures, for example, photo shooting ✌️and goodbye 👋. Through repetition, speeding-up / slowing-down, and physical improvisation, these gestures gradually transform into ritual mudra hand gestures. Violence is not depicted, but choreographically recoded: confrontation becomes touch, attack becomes resonance.
photo by Georg Kronenberg
TIME
Sept 25th : 11-12am
Sept 26th : 11-12am
Sept 27th : 11-12am
(let's celebrate Chinese Moon Festival! )
SPACE
Chinese Garden in Bethmannpark (Friedberger Landstraße 8, 60316 Frankfurt am Main)
Ticket : Pay as you wish
(Cash/ Paypal: gaoyinfu95@gmail.com)
Entry into the Chinese Garden is for free
Please send us an email if you would join:
gaoyinfu95@gmail.com
So we can inform you about the changes (due to weather conditions)
Important Tips :
We will gather in front of this gate and start with a 15min Introduction. Don't miss this !
Photo credit : Georg Kronenberg
shooted in "Nearly Close Enough to Kiss Festival 2026" by Theater neben dem Turm Marburg
Team :
Concept & Production : Yinfu Gao
Performer : Yinfu Gao, Yuya Fujinami
Outside Eye: Haochen Ku
Research Support : Haochen Ku, Yifei Wang, Ruihao Zhang
Music : Chloe Liu
Research & artistic practice in academic cofnerence and festivals
scroll down to see how Yinfu's reseach turned into artistic practice
RESEARCH PHRASE 1 :
what is 'Xianxia Mudra'(仙侠结印手势） ?
Yinfu's Lecture in Orientalistentag FAU, Erlangen, 2025
Research Phrase 2 :
presentatation & group discussion
Research-timeline
March 27th
Research phrase ONE Topic : About mudra
0, Yifei’ introduces mudra in paintings and art history.
1, learning & sharing mudras and hand gestures from different contexts (Buddhims, Taoism, Anime, Yoga, Dance…) , sharing the references behind the mudras.
2, imitating & learning the mudra examples.
3, Watch videos from mudra choreography (dance, naruto, xianxia drama…) and analyse how the choreo was created from gestures to movements.
4, create a martial arts film lists for the next meeting
March 28th
Research phrase TWO (Yinfu&Yuya) Topic : Personal storytelling with mudra
1, personal story telling of Yinfu & Yuya : which mudra and story to tell ?
2, practice : building up a conversation with mudra improvisation.
April 19th
Research phrase THREE, Topic : Hand gestures in Sino-Japanese war
1, Ruihao sharing his research into the narrations of war in between China and Japan
2, analyse of recent news in between China and Japan
3, discuss : how do we younger generations of Chinese and Japanese artists and scholars understand the Sino-Japanese war and current tension ? How do we create a bridge to communicate when the governments are fighting ?
4, Interactive part with audiences : how to design the workshop format and lead them to create their own mudra (of healing, protest, fighting…) ?
MAY 5TH
Research phrase FOUR, Topic : Martial arts in film (Chinese & Japanese)
0, sharing video clips from films &Anime
1, Building up a character–who uses mudra to fight ? Why do they use mudra ? – XianXia & Ninja in Chinese & Japanese pop media
2, what is the aesthetics of Martial dance 武舞？Why do they use mudra instead of fighting with sword and blood ?
3, what message does martial art films convey to a world busy with war in 2026?
4, create a question and book list for next meeting
Festivals and development :
May, June 2026 : short Performance "Peace by Piece" in "Nearly Close Enough to Kiss Festival 2026, Theater neben dem Turm Marburg.
August 2026 : workshop developed in "Sommerwerft 2026" Frankfurt.
August 2026 : rehearsals in the Chinese Garden Bethmannpark.
