as part of Oltre le mura / Beyond the walls
a Fabbrica Europa project for Autunno Fiorentino 2026

The performance WAX – Threads in Motion stems from a research process initiated in 2025 by Chinese choreographer and multidisciplinary artist Er Gao. The project began with encounters with African communities in Guangzhou, where he became fascinated by the history and culture of wax print, a textile characterised by its vivid colours and bold patterns, which has travelled across Indonesia, Africa and China.
This experience gave rise to creative ideas that found expression in his dance, exploring dynamics of cultural exchange and transformation through the body and the languages of performance.

Wax print thus becomes a lens through which to reflect on cultural identities, migration, trade and marginalised communities. It acts as a kind of moving material archive, preserving traces of colonial and commercial histories while acquiring new meanings each time it crosses a border or enters a new community.

In Florence, Er Gao, together with video artist Ming Mengmeng, is developing this new chapter of the project, curated by Fabrizio Massini, theatre producer and scholar of Chinese studies. Working with a group of local performers, they explore how dance and movement can weave new threads of connection between cultures and communities.

Er Gao (He Qi Wo) is a Chinese choreographer and interdisciplinary artist, born in 1985 in Yangjiang, Guangdong. A graduate of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, in 2007 he founded the Ergao Dance Production Group (EDPG), through which he develops a practice that intertwines dance, performance, video and community-based practices.
His practice explores themes of identity, gender and culture, using the community as a working method and favouring participatory and immersive processes. His works combine dance, pop music, visual practices and low-tech techniques, bringing together bodies, spaces and imaginaries of contemporary China.
His works have been presented at major institutions and festivals in Asia and Europe, including Fabbrica Europa, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Tai Kwun Hong Kong, Guangdong Times Museum, Shanghai International Dance Center and The Place in London.

OLTRE LE MURA | Beyond the Walls is a project by Fondazione Fabbrica Europa as part of Autunno Fiorentino 2026.

photo (detail): Giampaolo Becherini