tom tsai

Slow-motion, acrobatic Breakin’ moves echo the struggle for balance when the world is flipped on its head. When being in motion becomes a state of constant regression, being at rest can feel like incredible progress. About Inertia is a meditative reflection on the effort and endurance that is demanded on the road to recovery. Filmed during Covid-19 lockdown & quarantine.

Premiered April 2020.

Press

• In Tsai’s words I immediately recognize the resilience dance artists have always had to embody from their under-funded, under-appreciated position in the wider arts field. I marvel at the impossibility of his movements—a series of head and arm balances with legs crossed and tucked in precarious shapes— in contrast to his gentle, poetic voice. He reminds me that nothing great has ever been achieved quickly or easily, but rather over time with consistency. […] Too often I fall into that debilitating sense of defeat Tsai describes, especially when I imagine the monumental challenges of building a more just world, but Tsai reminds me that it takes practice. That stamina must be built, and we must honor the distance covered over time without ever giving up. - Laura Paige Kyber, SeeChicagoDance.com

• This freedom is choked as Tom Tsai reveals his hardships on the road to recovery. Far from revelry, Tsai repeats his breaking techniques with intense words of frustration. His thoughts are ruled by continuance and his fears are all About Inertia. - Katie Higginson-Tranter, JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience

Screenings

• Sept 13, 2020 — Special Jury Mentions (Online event) @ WildDogs International Screendance Festival. Presented by W&M Dance Projects, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

• August 30 & September 6, 2020 — Dance on Screen USA @ JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa