They squeeze them, throw them and tip buckets of them over each other. We meet the Taiwanese creator of a riveting experimental dance piece exploring desire that got rave reviews at Edinburgh
‘How to choose tomatoes?” asks the voiceover, as three bodies writhe around the stage. “How to find the fake, acquired and invented tomato? First, the leaves. Second, the shape. Third, feel with your hand. Fourth, check the bottom. Good luck and enjoy your tomato.” The dancers twist and turn, squeezing and sucking tomatoes, throwing them or pouring a bucket of them over themselves. A live camera brings the audience into the show as the performers dance together in movements that are abstract, absurd, lustful, funny and confronting.
“Every time we’re on stage,” says Chou Kuan-Jou, the Taiwanese dancer-choreographer who created the show, “we can really feel the energy from the audience because we have a lot of eye contact with them.” The show, named Tomato, is an experimental dance piece exploring sexuality, gender and desire, all influenced by how sexism, shyness and feminism affect her home country.
