Photo by: Maximillian Cheng

Hong Kong-based contemporary dance artist Wayson Poon has lived and worked in Europe and Asia as a creator, performer and researcher. His unique practice, known as OnthewayDance, combines eastern and western spiritual methodologies, is guided by Taoist notions of “Qi” and emphasises the connection between dancer and audience. Notable works include Vortex, Moving a memory and ~~PHONATE~~. His works have toured festivals in Denmark, Finland, Japan, Italy, China and the UK.

Poon was awarded the Hong Kong Arts Development Award for Young Artist (Dance) in 2016. He received the Asian Cultural Council Fellowship in 2019 to further develop his movement research. He received the Dr Tom Brown Memorial Scholarship and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund Scholarship in 2022 to complete his Master’s degree at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with distinction, focused on researching Dance Imagery application in Chinese cultural context.

In recent years, Poon has been actively contributing to the community art and professional artist development project. He has become an instructor for the Jockey Club Dance Well project - to bring dance to the community and into the artistic space. He has become a choreographic mentor to support emerging dance artists’ creative process in the “Flo-Choreographic Journey of Street Dance Theatre” project organised by the Hong Kong Street Dance Development Association. He is also an energy healer of Himalayan singing bowl®️ sound healing and Usui Reiki Ryoho®️ energy healing.

Wayson Poon’s Artistic Practice

In the early stages of his career, Wayson received training in various postmodern and contemporary dance techniques, he then explored contact improvisation, somatic practices, relaxation techniques, physical theatre, and improvisation technologies in his creations. Over time, his artistic practice has shifted to focus on Taoist philosophy and the language of dance within the Asian context. He has developed a unique dance aesthetic through fundamental training in qigong, Jeet Kune Do, Butoh, and Amerta Movement. Simultaneously, he continues to explore Asian culture and philosophy through the lens of Qi in Chinese culture, integrating these insights into his contemporary dance works.

Since 2016, Wayson Poon has initiated the OnthewayDance Movement Research, the research outcomes of which have consolidated his rehearsal strategies and the creative ecosystem of his works. According to the OnthewayDance, the cultural and philosophical context of Chinese Taoism has influenced his aesthetics. In Taoist thought, the beauty of nature is emphasized, and humans need to "being" in a humble and non-self-centric way to respond to the essence.

Performance as a form of communication and exchange, the OnthewayDance aims for information to flow spontaneously, with two core cyclical systems: "Sensing, feeling, action" and "grounding, space, landing." These systems guide the performers in observing, reflecting and weaving the flow of information and energy being exchanged.

Official Website
OntheWayson

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Wayson Poon

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onthewaysondot