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N.U.O
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2024
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What is it that we fear? Perhaps it is our fragility, our limitations, and the looming potential for self-destruction. In rituals, the act of donning a mask becomes a portal—merging humans with nature, divinity, and the unknown, as though reaching beyond the self to grasp something far more powerful and enigmatic.
Nuo culture (傩文化) is an ancient Chinese folk tradition that combines elements of ritual, performance, and spirituality. It originated thousands of years ago and is most closely associated with exorcism, shamanistic practices, and ancestor worship. In Nuo rituals, masks play a central role, symbolizing deities, spirits, and ancestors. These ceremonies were traditionally performed to drive away evil spirits, protect communities from misfortune, and ensure prosperity. Today, Nuo culture is recognized for its deep connection to Chinese history and spirituality, offering insight into early beliefs about life, death, and the unseen forces that influence human existence.
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Review from Les Joos
"This piece was not just excellent, I felt it was important. The substance of the piece came across without your description. I had a sense that I was viewing a village scene, though highly unusual given the presence of the masks. Performers appeared to be going about everyday tasks in some historical/primitive era. Was it fantasy? Was it real? Was it ritual? There was a sense of a very different ethos operating here, particularly when dragging the captive across the stage did not elicit any reaction. The positioning of the masks was an interesting choice – some frontal, some backward, at least one off. It added to the casualness, the communal nature of the assembly.
As the piece progressed, it became clear that we were entering into a world of ritual. The grotesquery of the masks suggested that the participants were either summoning or warding off demonic elements. There was no hierarchy, no priest or central figure, just everyone acting in concert, which reinforced its communality. The soundscape was brilliantly varied, from commanding percussion to intense female vocalizations and then the throat singing that took us directly to Tibet or some related area in China. This was consistent with the style of the masks and the gestures. I studied Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu for a period and for me these were a direct reference to Tai Chi and Chinese martial arts.
The talent of the ensemble was on full display in this piece. From their crisp, martial gestures to a sinuous, undulating sensuality and then transformation to tightly synchronized swirling dervishes, they had me entranced. You were in exceptional company.
I simply can’t say enough good things about N.U.O. It’s scope, its variation, the ebb and flow of energy. From the passive to the demonic to the wonderment induced by the “snowfall” and that final moment of supplication and unveiling, becoming naked and vulnerable, this work felt masterful and worthy of a much larger stage.
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Ensemble
Choreography
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