TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Australia’s Chunky Move is transporting Taipei audiences into a world where human movement, mechanical exoskeletons and ritual intersect.

Titled “United,” the performance blends ceremonial movement, concert-like energy, and a sensory exploration of the human-machine interface. Two shows are scheduled Thursday and Friday at the Taipei Performing Arts Center.

The choreography moves from tension and rejection toward liberation and rebirth. Along the way, it explores the changing relationship between humans, machines, and spirituality.

Dancers wear mechanical exoskeletons inspired by off-road bikes. Under neon lights and drifting fog, their movements shift between human and animal forms, forming dragon-like sequences that explore empathy and collective intention.

Developed over three years with Indonesian musical duo Gabber Modus Operandi, the production reflects a fascination with ritual and shared sacredness in an age of information overload and post-pandemic digital dependence.

The music fuses Indonesian gamelan with electronic techno, layered with pounding percussion to create a tense, immersive soundscape. Visually, the performance draws from 1980s and ’90s sci-fi films as well as Balinese ceremonial traditions.

Artistic Director Antony Hamilton described the work as embracing “machine mysticism,” highlighting the spiritual resonance of human-made objects. The dragon, central to the performance, symbolizes both collective imagination and the coexistence of power and fear, representing a spiritual awakening shaped by digital soundscapes and mechanical spines.

Curator Lin Ren-zhong (林人中) noted that “United” examines humanity’s growing reliance on technology, probing the possibilities and consequences of our evolving relationship with machines.