profile

Founded in 1995 by Lee Swee Keong, Ng Mei Yin and Loi Chin Yu, the company was initially called Nyoba & Dancers before being changed to Nyoba Dance + (2001) and then Nyoba Kan (2006). Lee Swee Keong remains as artistic director with Kiea Kuan Nam ,Caecar Chong and YC Ooi as current core members.

Nyoba Kan considers itself an experimental arts troupe that aims to pioneer new forms of theatrical dance in Malaysia. The company fuses elements of butoh, meditation and Zen philosophy.

Nyoba Kan is concerned with the harmony between the spiritual and physical selves of the dancers. Members of the company seek continuous self-improvement through the creation and performance of their art, and consider their bodies as mediums for integrating art, life and nature.

By engaging in physical and spiritual dialogue with nature, the dancers hope to gain a deeper understanding of the universe and shed light on the twin concepts of ‘existence’ and ‘emptiness’. Such practices also heighten the dancers’ sensitivity to various environments and trigger group creativity.

In 2006, Artistic Director of the company, Keong received an Arts Network Asia grant for Butoh study in Japan.

Winter 2008, core members of the company went for a Butoh research and study trip called “寻根/ the Root” to Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan.

They met up with a few butoh masters and did some workshops with them, such as Kobayashi Saga, Seisaku Kaji, Yoshita Uhno, Masami Yurabe and Ima Tenko.

They were invited to perform in Kazuo Uhno Studio, titled “Solar de Solar” - Tribute to Kazuo Uhno. They were also invited to do a showcase at Tanaka 6 Studio, Tokyo.