Rooted in the extensive research into the intellectual, political, and social history of modern China,from Lu Xun to revolutionary theater, that Kentridge undertook in preparation for his Asianretrospective Notes Towards a Model Opera. The three-channel projection, of the same title, explores dynamics of cultural diffusion and metamorphosis through the formal prism of the eightmodel operas of the Cultural Revolution.

The piece considers these didactic ballets both as a cultural phenomenon unto itself and as part ofa history of dance that spans continents and centuries. Starting from its origins in Paris, Kentridgeplayfully overlays the aesthetic and ideological transformations of ballet as it is transplanted acrossthe globe, an arch of influence juxtaposing contexts as disparate as Moscow, Shanghai, and theartist’s native Johannesburg.

Dada Masilo is choreographer and dancer, and the score composed and soundtrack designed byPhilip Miller.