From culture to body : dance film creation through the symbol of the circle / Xueyi Xu (2025)

This project explores the symbol of the “circle” through both cultural research and creative practice. At the beginning, I collected responses from participants of different cultural backgrounds about their own associations with the circle. Their answers showed clear differences between Eastern and Western perspectives, but also many shared points. What stood out to me was that the meaning of the circle is never fixed—it is always changing, depending on culture, context, and personal experience. Using these responses, I developed a creative process that turned words and ideas into movement, choreography, and camera work for a dance film. Instead of treating the circle as a single symbol with one meaning, I worked with it as something fluid. Sometimes it appeared as harmony or unity, sometimes as protection, and sometimes as a form of struggle or limitation. By experimenting with improvisation, structured choreography, and editing, I discovered new layers of meaning that were not planned in advance but grew from the practice itself. Through this approach, the project became more than just an artwork—it was also a way of thinking and questioning. I realised that symbols are not only cultural signs but also living materials that can change when they are explored through the body and through film. This ongoing change is what makes the circle meaningful in different ways for both performer and audience. My aim was 3 not to fix its definition, but to open a space where multiple interpretations can appear and continue to evolve.