daniel kok / diskodanny.com
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Daniel Kok studied Fine Art & Critical Theory (Goldsmiths College, London), Solo/Dance/Authorship (HZT, Berlin) and Advanced Performance and Scenography Studies (APASS, Brussels). In 2008, he received the Young Artist Award from the National Arts Council (Singapore).
His artistic research explores the politics of inter-subjective relationality. By drawing a key distinction between spectatorship and audienceship, he highlights the tension between the experience of an individual and that of a group. From 2010 to 2018, he created performances through ‘figures of performance’ - such as the pole dancer, cheerleader, and military commander - each engaging the crowd through specific tools and protocols.
Since 2014, he has collaborated with Melbourne-based artist Luke George on a performance practice based on rope bondage that investigates collective negotiations of consent and intimacy. Their performances are live experiments in democratic politics and acquiescence, welcoming failure as part of a radical approach to consensus and coalescence. Their work has been presented across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America, including at the Venice Biennale, AsiaTOPA (Melbourne), Singapore International Festival of Arts, and Taipei Arts Festival. Still Lives: Melbourne won Outstanding Contemporary and Experimental Performance and Design/Technical Achievement at the 2023 Green Room Awards.
As Artistic Director of DANCE NUCLEUS (Singapore), Daniel develops capacity for independent artists and builds trans-local partnerships across the Asia-Pacific. He regularly coaches younger artists in the formulation of their praxes across four domains - Research, Creation, Production, and Dissemination - treating independent artistic production as a question of dramaturgy in and of itself. He also curates the da:ns LAB coaching programme and the VECTOR exhibition of performance annually with support from the Esplanade (Singapore).
Daniel Kok is based between Singapore and Berlin.
C.V.
14.Hokkaido (Or Somewhere Like That), 2010
Daniel Kok
Multimedia Theatre Performance
A dance journey.
“Keep going north,” he told himself, for want of a better objective. And he would keep on photographing. Perhaps he might chance upon a revelation, a resolution. He might find out why he came after all.
Cataloging an overland journey across the snow-covered landscapes of Hokkaido with thousands of high-resolution still images, this dance work tries to overcome the limitations of a camera in capturing the breath and immensity of time and space. The resultant montage uncovers a dance that connects figure and ground.
Direction : Daniel Kok
Choreography & Performance : Ming Poon, Daniel Kok
Lighting Design : Takayuki Fujimoto
Video Design : Victric Thng
Sound Design : Chong Li-Chuan
Commissioned by The Esplanade - Theatres On The Bay
THE DANCE BETWEEN TWO PHOTOGRAPHS
Research Paper for “Hokkaido”