Doco Dance: Xin Ji

19 Whiringa-ā-rangi 2024 – 1 Hui-tanguru 2025
19 November 2024 – 1 February 2025

2024, digital video clips, 3.00 mins each.
Commissioned by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

This installation presents Doco Dance, a creative project by Xin Ji. For 114 days, the artist filmed himself daily, performing a three-minute choreographic sequence in various locations including Auckland, Beijing, Qinhuangdao, Chongqing, the UK, and Scotland. Accompanied by the ambient sounds of daily life, these videos document his solitary movements in response to shifting environments. In this edit of Doco Dance for Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga, video footage from two consecutive days is displayed simultaneously, before transitioning to the next pair of daily sequences.

Ji describes Doco Dance as a reflection of the dancer’s life—an ongoing journey defined by constant travel and the repetitive nature of training. The choreography is influenced by his experiences during the Covid-19 lockdowns, a time when the constraints and isolation led to more internalised and less structured movements. While this period contrasts sharply with the environment of Doco Dance, where 'freedom of movement' is fully expressed, the work highlights the impact of environmental changes on the body and its movements, as well as the cumulative effects of years of practice that remain ingrained in the body.

Xin Ji (b. 1988, China) is a contemporary dancer, choreographer, and video artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Beijing. Trained in Chinese Classical Ballet at the Beijing Dance Academy, he moved to New Zealand in 2010 to study contemporary dance at Unitec. After performing with Footnote, Okareka, Muscle Mouth, Movement of The Human, Borderline Arts Ensemble, and The New Zealand Dance Company (2015–2019), Ji transitioned to a freelance career. He also creates dance films to express his creative voice, which have been shown at international festivals such as Tipperary Dance Platform (Ireland), Moving Images Video Dance Festival (Cyprus), and Tempo Dance Festival (Auckland).