Multispecies Rites
An invitation to Zheng Bo’s
Dance Performance & Dance Films 23-25 MAY at Nuuksio Forest & KIASMA Theatre, Helsinki
After 4.5 billion years of Earth’s existence, something began to happen: ancient plants found new partners. The much younger human species started to dance with them, drawn to their longevity, tradition, and wisdom. Zheng Bo’s artistic practice invites us to reconsider plants, not merely as objects, resources, or scenery, but as partners in movement and relationship. Drawing on Daoist philosophy, biology, botany, and traditional knowledge within a posthumanist field, Zheng has, since 2016, evolved a practice that explores eco-sexuality and cultivates eco-sensitivity. The work moves between physical intimacy and forms of presence grounded in listening, respect, and attentiveness across different biotopes and socio-cultural contexts.
In collaboration with Kiasma Theatre, Zheng Bo and DACE – Dance Art Critical Ecology present the World Premiere of a new dance performance in the protected forest of Nuuksio.
Le Sacre du printemps (Nuuksio), Dance Performance (2025)
In the northern part of Nuuksio nature forest, Finland, Zheng Bo presents a ritual dance among local needle- and leaf-bearing trees, some over three centuries old. Dancers invert themselves to align closely with these long-lived companions, guided by smell and touch rather than sight. It is an act of listening and shared presence, cultivating a slower kind of intimacy rooted in time and care.
At the heart of this evolving practice lies a question: What if the real crisis is not just environmental, but relational? Instead of trying to solve ecological problems in isolation, Zheng’s work reminds us to engage with other beings, human and more-than-human, not as resources to manage, but as companions in reshaping our future.
How might we foster kinship with the living world around us? Zheng Bo’s practice quietly urges us toward deeper ecological awareness and meaningful kinship with the living world, a practice matured into a refined call for coexistence, vulnerability, and attention.
Phoenix (2024) Among date‑palm groves near Dubai, the interwoven rhythms of human labour and plant life come to the fore. Farmers from Pakistan share their stories through gesture and playful choreography, revealing the entanglements of migration, climate change, and ecological interdependence.
Samur (2023) In the arid Mleiha desert of the United Arab Emirates, a collaboration with dancers centres on the umbrella‑thorn acacia, a species that endures extreme heat and drought. This resilient being offers insights into adaptation and survival. The question lingers: are we ready to learn?
Pteridophilia I (2016) In Taiwan, Zheng Bo began exploring bodily intimacy with ferns — one of Earth’s most ancient plant lineages, which reproduce through spores, bypassing seeds, gender binaries, and conventional forms of kinship. Guided by the subtle intelligence of ferns and a curiosity about how their vegetal presence might evoke movements of intimacy within the human body, local performers engaged in embodied encounters that queered normative human – plant relations and brought to light forms of knowledge long silenced by colonial structures.
Credits: Le Sacre du printemps (Nuuksio), 2025 Dance Performance Zheng Bo Dancers: Victor Pérez Armero, Rebecca Chentinell, Mikko Hyvönen, Ossi Niskala, the plants of Nuuksio
Eco-Sensitivity: Zheng Bo
Eco-Facilitation: DACE – Dance Art Critical Ecology / Rickard Borgström & Rebecca Chentinell
Introduction to Northern Forest Ecology: Aino Mielikki Maa
Documentation: Rita Anttila
Production: DACE – Dance Art Critical Ecology
Co-Production: Kiasma Theatre
Support: Hong Kong Arts Development Council
Phoenix, 2024 Video, 14:03 min Zheng Bo Commissioned by Lahore Biennale Of Mountains and Seas.
Samur, 2023 Video, 21:23 min Zheng Bo. Commissioned by Jameel Arts Centre.
Pteridophilia 1, 2016 Video, 17:02 min Zheng Bo. Supported by Liverpool Biennial 2021, Kyoto City University of Arts Art Gallery, the 11th Taipei Biennial, Villa Vassilieff and Pernod Ricard Fellowship, and The Cube Project Space.
rickardborgstrom.com 