Lu Yang: DOKU, The Binary World
An enthralling live motion-capture performance, created by renowned Shanghai-based artist Lu Yang. This world premiere features two dancers performing in Sydney and Hong Kong, meeting in the same virtual environment, enabled by Lu's avatars derived from the six realms of Buddhist reincarnation.
In the Utzon Room | Dance
COVID-19 safety information
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We’re committed to making your experience safe, comfortable and enjoyable, with a number of measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. We encourage you to wear a mask in indoor settings or when physical distancing can’t be maintained, and please stay home if you feel unwell. If you need to discuss your ticketing or booking options, contact our Box Office team on 02 9250 7777.
Three performances between Friday 7th and Sunday 9th October 2022 plus a workshop
Friday 7 October, 8pm | Performance
Saturday 8 October, 2pm | Workshop*
Saturday 8 October, 5pm | Performance
Sunday 9 October, 5pm | Performance
*Workshop can only be purchased alongside a performance, not individually
Performance $19 or Performance + Workshop $29 | $8.50 Booking Fee applies per transaction [$8.95 from 28 March 2023]
| Ticket | Price |
| Performance | $19 |
| Performance + Workshop* | $29 |
*Workshop can only be purchased alongside a performance, not individually
The authorised agencies for this event are Sydney Opera House. For more information about Authorised Agencies, see the FAQ below. Prices correct at the time of publication and subject to change without notice. Exact prices will be displayed with seat selection. Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times.
For any special access requirements phone the Contact Centre on 02 9250 7777 or email bookings@sydneyoperahouse.com.
This show runs for approximately 45 minutes
The workshop runs for approximately 1.5 hours
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
Recommended for all ages. This performance will be filmed
Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times, and children under the age of 12 are not required to wear a mask.
Free Panel Discussion: Beyond Binaries: Digital Performance In a Post-COVID Era
Watch on demand - https://youtu.be/RoLovOPKU24
Join us for a panel discussion exploring post-digital performance engaging both digital and physical interactions and experiences through a discussion of artistic works crossing dance, music, and animation. Technologies such as motion-capture, 3D animation and networked communication facilitate new forms of hybrid, online/offline experiences in a post-COVID era. The panel will discuss both the technical and conceptual aspects of the development of DOKU: The Binary World, a live motion capture performance by Shanghai-based artist Lu Yang that pushes the possibilities of performance with dancers in two cities interacting in a shared virtual environment. The work challenges binaries through Buddhist references of heaven and hell, the distinctions between our physical and digital worlds, while exploring post-gender identities through Doku, a non-binary digital avatar of the artist.
Speakers:
Lu Yang, Artist
Stuart Buchanan, Head of Digital Programming, Sydney Opera House
Karen Cheung, Head of Dance, Freespace, WKCDA
Mat Spisbah, Artistic Director, Exhibitionist, moderator
Ashley Lee Wong, Artistic Director, MetaObjects, moderator
“Everything can be integrated; the possibilities are infinite.”
Lu Yang, Art Pulse
Two dancers in two cities meet in a live motion-capture performance
DOKU, The Binary World is a world premiere live motion-capture performance by Shanghai-based artist Lu Yang. The work is presented for the first time as a simultaneous collaboration between two dancers across two cities: Hong Kong’s Freespace, West Kowloon Cultural District and the Sydney Opera House. As a networked performance, dancers in the two geographic locations will interact in the same virtual environment, creating an innovative artistic collaboration between two major cultural institutions.
The high-energy audiovisual experience draws on Buddhist philosophy, internet culture, video games and the aesthetics of anime. Embodying the avatar forms of Lu Yang’s genderless digital reincarnation DOKU – from the Buddhist phrase ‘Dokusho Dokushi’, or ‘We are born alone, we die alone’ – the dancers present binary combinations of deities from the six realms of Buddhist reincarnation: Heaven and Hell, Human and Animal, Hungry Ghosts and Asura - jealous gods.
Dancers situated in Sydney and Hong Kong perform wearing motion-capture suits, enabling them to meet in a virtual realm and embody the DOKU avatars of heaven and hell; human and animal; yin and yang. Soundtrack composed by Shanghai musician and sound artist, liiii.
Workshop
The workshop (Sat 8 Oct, 2pm) welcomes participants to try on the motion-capture suits and interact across the performance network with participants in Hong Kong. The equipment and technologies used to create DOKU, The Binary World will be demonstrated as you hear from the show’s artistic collaborators; Meta Objects; Creative Producer, Mat Spisbah; Choreographer Harrsion Hall; and Game Engine and Motion Capture operator, Sam McGilp.
Workshop tickets are $10 with a performance ticket. Workshop places are strictly limited. Please note, due to the setup and calibration of motion-capture suits, not all participants will have the opportunity to try on the suits.
Co-presented by Sydney Opera House and Freespace - West Kowloon Cultural District
Co-produced by MetaObjects and Exhibitionist
Lu Yang: DOKU, The Binary World
Lu Yang: DOKU, The Binary World
Click play to watch trailer
Make the most of your experience...
Performance Only
Selected
Performance + Workshop
$29 - Performance + Workshop
Meet the Artists
Lu Yang
Lu Yang is a Shanghai-based artist who works across video, installation, animation, performance, motion capture and games. Lu Yang graduated with an MA in New Media Art from the China Academy of Art, Hangzhou. The artist’s work explores existential issues about the nature of life through references to Chinese medicine, neuroscience, popular culture and religion. Lu Yang has presented solo exhibitions at ARoS Aarhus Art Museum, 2021; Spiral, Tokyo, 2018; M Woods Museum, Beijing, 2017, and others. In 2015, Lu Yang was selected for the Chinese Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale and winner of the BMW Art Journey initiative in 2019.
liiii
liiii (aka Li Xin 李鑫) is a musician, guitarist and sound artist based in Shanghai. He has played in rock and electronic bands, including Triple Smash, Mushroom, Naughty Volunteer and SROT, and has toured extensively locally and internationally. In 2012, he founded the Pluto Music Studio, which produced the Shanghai independent music compilation Indie Top 1. The studio has also produced soundtracks and art projects for Budapest China Art Week, Hamburg Sino-German Art Week, Shanghai French Culture Week, Shanghai International Art Festival, Shanghai Fashion Week, and others. In 2017, he started an independent music and art project under the pseudonym, liiii.
Meet the team
Core team
Artist: Lu Yang
Musician/Composer: liiii
Production and Development (Sydney): Exhibitionist
Production and Development (Hong Kong): MetaObjects
Hell Environment 3D Design: Extreme John
Sydney Performance
Producer: Mathew Spisbah
Motion Capture Technician AV Coordinator: Dr Sam McGilp
Movement Director: Harrison Hall
Dancer: Taiga Kita-Leong
Hong Kong Performance
Producer: Dr Ashley Lee Wong
Technical Lead: Andrew Crowe
Technical Assistant and AV Coordinator: Edwin Lo
Dancer: Kenny Leung
Motion Capture Equipment Sponsor
Noitom
Venue Information
Performances are being sold to 100% capacity in line with the NSW Public Health Order. This includes all shows in the Concert Hall, Joan Sutherland Theatre, Studio, Playhouse, Drama Theatre, Utzon Room and Forecourt. Please note that you will be seated directly alongside other ticketholders.
Our foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars. Please remember to maintain physical distancing whilst consuming drinks in our foyers.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer consistent with COVID-safe rules.
Transport options
- The Sydney Opera House Car Park, operated by Wilson Parking, is open and available to use. Wilson Parking offer discounted parking if you book ahead. Please see their website for details.
- Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on travel and COVID-19 safety measures. You can catch public transport (bus, train, ferry) to Circular Quay and enjoy a six min walk to the Opera House.
What safety measures have you implemented?
Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of everyone on site, and we are closely following NSW Health guidelines and advice. The Sydney Opera House is registered as a COVID Safe business with the NSW Government. For detailed information about our COVID-19 safety measures and what’s required of you when visiting, please see our plan your visit page.
What am I required to do as an audience member?
Face masks are strongly recommended for all patrons while inside our theatres and foyers, including during the performance. Please bring your own mask.
As you move around the Opera House, practise physical distancing (1.5 metres whenever possible) and follow the guidance provided by our staff and signage.
Within venues, always take your allocated seat.
For detailed information about our COVID-19 safety measures and what’s required of you, please see our plan your visit page.
Do I need to be vaccinated to visit the Sydney Opera House?
The Sydney Opera House no longer requires patrons to show that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Am I required to wear a mask?
Face masks are strongly recommended for all patrons while inside our theatres and foyers, including during the performance. Please bring your own mask.
How are you managing contact tracing?
Contact information is required when making a booking with us and upon arrival at the Opera House, as set out in our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events and our Customer Privacy Statement.
As the ticket purchaser, you are responsible for recording the contact details of your guests. Contact information will only be used for the purposes of contact tracing, if required, and will be deleted at least 28 days after your event.
What time do I need to arrive before the event?
Ticket purchases and collection at our Box Office is discouraged and eTicket or postal delivery methods should be used, wherever possible. However, if you are collecting your tickets from the Box Office, we recommend doing this at least 60 minutes before the event starts. If you have already received your tickets, the venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Please take your seats as soon as you arrive.
If you are late, we will seat you as soon as we can and, where possible, in your allocated seat. However, to reduce movement in the venue as well as minimise disruption to the performance and other patrons, ticketholders may be seated in an allocated latecomer’s seat. Please be aware that some events have lock-out periods. In these cases, latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance. On occasions, this may not be until the interval, or at all where there is no interval.
Details of our right to refuse admission can be found in our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Events.
Will there be bag checks, and is cloaking available?
In accordance with our venue security procedures, Opera House security will be scanning and checking bags under the Monumental Stairs, prior to entering the building. Bags will be scanned by an x-ray machine, and staff will wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling your belongings, such as gloves. Cloaking facilities will be open 60 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 60 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. However it is strongly encouraged that you travel lightly to minimise contact and queuing. Any bags larger than an A4 piece of paper will need to be checked into the Cloak Room.
What safety measures do you have in place?
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We have a number of safety measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. We encourage visitors to wear a face mask in indoor settings or when physical distancing can’t be maintained. Please stay home if you feel unwell and read more about our flexible ticket options here.
Does my child need to wear a face mask?
Children under the age of 12 are not required to wear a face mask.
Who are the authorised ticket sellers for this event?
The authorised agency for this event is the Sydney Opera House.
Only tickets purchased by authorised agencies should be considered reliable. If you purchase tickets from a non-authorised agency such as Ticketmaster Resale, Viagogo, Ticketbis, eBay, Gumtree, Tickets Australia or any other unauthorised seller, you risk that these tickets are fake, void or have previously been cancelled. RESALE RESTRICTION APPLIES. For more details, please refer to our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events.
What if I can't come to my performance?
Please contact Box Office on 9250 7777 as soon as possible to advise if you can no longer attend. If you can no longer attend because you are unwell, or have been in contact with someone displaying COVID-19 symptoms, the Opera House has introduced flexible ticketing options to help you, find out more information here.
Will there be food and beverages available for purchase in the venue?
Foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
The venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances.
Please bring a credit or debit card for any on site purchases to enable contactless payment. You’re welcome to bring your own water bottle but no other food and drinks are permitted inside our venues. Opera Bar, Opera Kitchen and Portside are also available for you to enjoy.
Will there be pram parking at kids performances?
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to the foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres consistent with COVID-safe rules.
Can my baby sit on my lap?
Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times. Babies aged 0-2 years old at the time of a performance may be seated on an adult’s lap. Children 2 years and older will need to hold a standard ticket.
Can I smoke at the Opera House?
- The health, safety and wellbeing of everyone at the Sydney Opera House is our top priority. In line with this commitment, the Opera House will become a smoke-free site from Saturday 1 January 2022.
- By becoming a smoke-free site, the Opera House seeks to reduce exposure to harmful second-hand smoke, as well as minimise the impact of smoking on the environment, including litter and pollution of the surrounding marine environment.
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