Xin Ji 季鑫

Xin Ji is a contemporary dancer and choreographer based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Born in the Year of the Dragon in Lanzhou in Northwest China, Ji recalls always being interested in dance. When he was eight, he secretly attended Saturday morning dance classes without telling his parents for three months until “the teacher said he needed to be paid.”

“Luckily, I have extremely supportive parents,” he adds in an interview with Gay Express. “Every time I got to the point where I needed to decide what to do with my life, my dad always asked me the same question: ‘Is this what you really like? If yes, then you should do it, but never say the word regret in front of me’.”

At age 11, Ji successfully auditioned for the Beijing Dance Academy — beating out 8,000 other applicants for one of 90 spots — and spent the next five years training in Chinese classical ballet. Following his graduation, Xin was offered a place in Shiki Theatre Company, one of Japan’s largest theatre companies, performing in a range of musicals, including — notably — Mr. Mistoffelees in Cats.

After spending five years with the company, Ji moved to Tāmaki Makaurau to study at UNITEC with a focus on contemporary dance. He performed with a range of contemporary dance companies after graduation — including Footnote, Okareka, Muscle Mouth, Movement of The Human and Borderline Arts Ensemble — before joining the New Zealand Dance Company in 2015, touring with them nationally and internationally until 2019, when he decided to step back to pursue a freelance career.

In 2023, Ji co-choreographed Made in Them with long-time collaborator Xiao Chao Wen for New Zealand Dance Company, an exploration of the extent to which society shapes our sense of self featuring a “dense, electronic soundscape”, “a lighting rig lowered to the half-way point” and “uniforms with black impenetrable helmets that take individuality and identity away.” In a review for Theatreview, Jenny Stevenson described it as “a work of dynamic intensity” with “tensely held bodies and sharp staccato movements.” while Christopher Connolly in DANZ Magazine applauded its “glitching, insect-like scuttling and vigorous movements which are as effective as they are distressing.”

Ji has also made several dance films, including Chao (2016), which showed at the Tipperary Dance Platform in Ireland; Looked In (2017), which showed at the Moving Images International Video Dance Festival in Cyprus; All Good If Not (2020), an original commission for the Beijing Young Artists Platform 2020, and d Minor Green (2020), The Black House (2020), Riders of the Last Sunset (2020) and Colour Attack (2020).

Stage of Being programme

Interview about Made in Them

ASIA: Art Stories in Aotearoa (interview with Xin Ji)

Stuff interview with Xin Ji as ‘the first Chinese choreographer to join the New Zealand Dance Company’

As a choreographer:

2023 — Made in Them, ASB Waterfront Theatre, Tāmaki Makaurau
2017 — The Game of Go, Tāmaki Makaurau

Dance videos:

2022 — All GOOD 2.0
2022 — TENG/腾
2020 — Gentle Rush
2020 — Riders of the Last Sunset
2020 — The Black House
2020 — d Minor Green
2020 — Colour Attack
2020 — All Good If Not
2017 — Looked In
2016 — Chao

As a dancer (screen):

2023 — A Delicate Blend, choreographed by Threading Frames, 2023 Tempo Dance Festival

2021 — Nothing Is, choreographed by Lucy Marinkovich

2021 — Cascade, choreographed by Amber Liberté

2020 — Eden Mulholland — 'Nothing Stands in the Way', choreographed by Malia Johnston

2019 — Eden Mulholland — 'How am I Lonely', choreographed by Malia Johnston

2018 — Boycrush — 'Holy Water ft. Chelsea Jade', choreographed by Malia Johnston

2018 — Boycrush — 'Song for Alex', choreographed by Malia Johnston

2018 — Boycrush — 'Demi-Pointes', choreographed by Malia Johnston

2018 — Boycrush — 'Face Melt', choreographed by Malia Johnston

2017 — Eden Mulholland — 'You Gotta Wonder', choreographed by Malia Johnston

2017 — Eden Mulholland — 'Froggies', choreographed by Malia Johnston

2014 — Ashei — 'Cracked and Torn', choreographed by Brigitte Knight

As a dancer (stage):

2022 — Night Light, ASB Waterfront Theatre, Tāmaki Makaurau

2019 — New Zealand Dance Company’s Lumina, Babs Asper Theatre, Ottawa

2019 — New Zealand Dance Company’s Kiss The Sky, Wellington State Opera House, Pōneke

2019 — New Zealand Dance Company’s The Absurdity of Humanity, Thèâtre de la Ville Luxembourg, Luxembourg

2019 — New Zealand Dance Company’s The Absurdity of Humanity, C'est Central, La Louvière

2019 — New Zealand Dance Company’s The Absurdity of Humanity, December Dance International Festival, Concertgebeouw Brugge, Bruges

2018 — New Zealand Dance Company’s Lumina, The Capstone Theatre, Liverpool

2018 — New Zealand Dance Company’s Lumina, Théâtre National de Chaillot, Paris

2018 — New Zealand Dance Company’s Lumina, The Capstone Theatre, Liverpool

2017 — Musclemouth’s Triumphs and Other Alternatives, 2017 Seoul International Dance Festival, Seoul

2017 — New Zealand Dance Company’s Kiss The Sky, Bruce Mason Theatre, Tāmaki Makaurau

2017 — New Zealand Dance Company’s The Absurdity of Humanity, The Opera House, Pōneke

2017 — New Zealand Dance Company’s The Absurdity of Humanity, Christchurch Arts Festival, Aurora Centre, Ōtautahi

2017 — New Zealand Dance Company’s The Absurdity of Humanity, ASB Theatre Marlborough, Marlborough

2017 — New Zealand Dance Company’s The Absurdity of Humanity, Taranaki Arts Festival, TSB Showplace, Ngāmotu

2016 — New Zealand Dance Company’s Trolleys, Aotea Square, Tāmaki Makaurau

2016 — New Zealand Dance Company’s The Absurdity of Humanity, Q Theatre, Tāmaki Makaurau

2016 — New Zealand Dance Company’s Lumina, TSB Showplace, Ngāmotu

2016 — New Zealand Dance Company’s Lumina, Mahurangi College, Mahurangi

2016 — New Zealand Dance Company’s Lumina, Capitaine Bougainville Theatre, Whangarei

2016 — New Zealand Dance Company’s Lumina, Holland Dance Festival, Theatre Ann het Spui, The Hague

2016 — New Zealand Dance Company’s Lumina, Bayer Kilture 2015/2016 Season, Erholungshaus, Leverkusen

2016 — New Zealand Dance Company’s Lumina, Internationale Tanzwochen, Stadhalle Neuss

2015 — New Zealand Dance Company’s Lumina, Maidment Theatre, Tāmaki Makaurau