2026.01.27
Building Bridges of Cultural Exchange:
Dance work presented at Macao CDE Springboard first debuted in Finland
The Macao-based dance troupe "Stella & Artists", a long-standing presence on the Macao and international dance scene, has participated in numerous important events such as the Macao Arts Festival and the International Youth Dance Festival with works like Revival, Vaster Far than the Ocean, and In Pursuit of P. They have also established Macao's most sustainable "Macao CDE (Contemporary Dance Exchange) Springboard", encouraging original Macao works and consistently using dance as a medium to spread the charm of Macao's culture.
Recently, the dance work Consume Me Baby, incubated by the platform, made its Finnish debut with a performance at the historic Aleksanterin Teatteri in Helsinki. This cross-Eurasian cultural exchange not only allowed Finnish audiences to experience the unique charm of Macao contemporary dance, but also used dance as a bridge to interpret Macao's mixed identity as a crossroads of diverse cultures.
Albert Garcia, a native Macao choreographer, deeply integrated his own multicultural background into this creation. He stated, “The creative language of the work stems from solid training in Chinese dance, advanced physical perspectives in European and Portuguese contemporary dance, and the unique cultural heritage brought about by my upbringing in a Filipino family. I have always considered how to express the uniqueness of Macao dance through the body, hoping to show the audience how Macao's culture truly exists in dance.”
Facing the magnificent theater built during the 19th-century Russian Empire, Albert specifically adjusted the dancers' energy release and spatial utilization, responding to the architectural character of the venue while adhering to the core rhythm and body language of the work, achieving a profound dialogue between Macao contemporary dance and European historical architecture.
Albert expressed his special thanks to his mentor and artistic director of Stella & Artists, Stella, and the entire team for their support, and shared some touching feedback after the performance: "An audience member who had visited Macau said in a post-performance Q&A that through the intense stage lighting and symbolic movements, he rediscovered Macau's unique blend of Chinese and Western cultures, its glamorous yet contradictory urban character. This unexpected response deeply moved me. The creation of this work relied heavily on intuition and physical sensation, rather than deliberately setting up symbols. This work, premiered in 2023, was polished over two years with close collaboration with the team before it was able to debut in Finland in its mature form. From choreography to administrative production, every step was crucial, and good communication and thorough preparation were the guarantee of the work's quality."
Text: San San Ru Yi
The original article (in Chinese) was published on page C3 of the Macao Daily News on 27 January 2026.
https://www.macaodaily.com/html/2026-01/27/content_1885653.htm