Kexin Huang Nüshu: Where We Still Meet

Residency Sharing Friday 13 November, 6pm

Nüshu: Where We Still Meet explores female friendship through Nüshu, the only known women’s script, originating from Jiangyong, Hunan, China. Embedded in Nüshu is a history of intimate and enduring connections between women.

Drawing on her fieldwork in the Nüshu region, choreographer Kexin Huang brings personal observations into the work, reflecting on overlooked aspects of women’s lives. Within this context, practices such as laotong and zimei, translated as forms of sworn sisterhood, offered ways to express emotion and sustain mutual support. Through a duet interwoven with digital projection, the project explores how these connections extend across time and space.

Kexin Huang is a dance artist and researcher currently based in Limerick, Ireland. She is undertaking a PhD in Arts Practice at the University of Limerick, supported by the Research Ireland. Her research explores how the female originated Chinese script Nüshu can illuminate Chinese feminist principles through contemporary dance. Kexin originally trained in Classical Chinese Dance and Chinese Folk Dance, she later transitioned into contemporary dance, completing an MA in Contemporary Dance Performance at the University of Limerick in 2022. Kexin’s work explores feminist perspectives through movement, drawing on everyday experiences to transform aspects of women’s lives into choreographic material, often informed by her Chinese cultural background.

Choreographer: Kexin Huang
Creative Collaborator: Yujiao Sun
Performers: Kexin Huang and Yujiao Sun
Video Performers: Lu Han, Yaying Lin
Music: Qunfeng Lu, Calvin McManus
Recorded Nüshu Vocal: Keli Huang

Supported by the Research Ireland, the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick and Dance Cork Firkin Crane.