Mountain Seaing – Immersive & Interactive Theater

We are thrilled to share the theatre show Mountain Seaing! It is a new immersive, interactive theatre project, marking the opening of a new building by David Chipperfield in Jingdezhen, China.⁠ The show has been created with the great director and our dear friend Chen Shi-Zheng!⁠

⁠The complex choreographed 360° show is a mix of projections, interactive content, light, dance and music performance creating a truly immersive experience! ⁠

We created emotional and interactive content using Notch technology, which allows the visitors and dancers to interact with the projection surface creating spectacular patterns on the walls!

The “Classic of Mountains and Seas”, is a Chinese classic text and compilation of mythic geography and beasts. Everyone in China knows this very famous book, so picturing large-scale video worlds fully interacting with the dancers recreating a totally immersive, modern interpretation⁠ of the famous book it’s no surprise that the show is already fully booked!⁠

During the first scene, 'Paradise⁠⁠', visitors enter the theater, dimly lit by an illuminating eye socket with thick dry ice smoke pouring out of it. A band of three masked musicians is lit behind the audience and a nine-tailed fox appears in the pupil of the eye hanging above the band, inviting the audience into the fantasy of the show with a performance.⁠⁠

The second scene, 'Disaster⁠⁠', portrays an image of the universe through the eye which reveals that the audience is in a spaceship. Images projected on both walls relay an explosion of the spaceship, fragments scattering and floating into outer space.⁠⁠

In the next scene, 'Water⁠⁠', the great flood breaks out. The Yellow River appears on one side of the LED panels and the Pacific Ocean on the other. The Yellow River pours out, while the giant ocean vortex swallows the water down on the opposite side, forming a dynamic circulation. The audience stands between the two LED walls, looking at the spectacular landscape on both sides and the following collision of the water bodies.⁠⁠

During 'Chasing the Sun⁠⁠', the sun appears on the side wall, revolving 360 degrees around the venue. A circular, lit runway guides the dancers around the venue as they chase the sun.⁠⁠

In the scene 'Let’s shoot the sun⁠⁠', a huge ice cube slowly descends from the sky. The sun is inside it, with its warm light shining through the dry ice smoke. The sun’s execution plays across the two LED walls. Gradually, the color of the game space changes from warm to cold until snowflakes fall, leaving only white color in the world. Nine human-shaped LED figures celebrate the victory and LED lines appear for a dance segment. ⁠⁠

The Moon scene starts with an empty space which slowly fills with moonlight. A pocket watch swings slowly above the crowd, dividing the venue into two viewing areas.⁠⁠
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A Full moon image lights up the ground and guides a large moon that is rolled across the space by a long-haired rabbit and a goddess inside it. The full moon then transforms into a waning moon image, while eight performers interact with small moons in a dance.⁠⁠
Following a lunar eclipse, ultraviolet light reveals monster patterns on the audience’s masks which are instantly projected on the screens on both sides of the watch through the recognition camera installed at its bottom. The moon becomes a black-and-white monster-revealing mirror, reflecting the true soul of every spectator in a bizarre masquerade.⁠⁠

In 'Dance to the death⁠⁠', a fighting sequence shows up inside the eye socket in the suddenly dark venue - a modern interpretation of a shadow dance is presented to the audience.⁠⁠
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For the finale, 'The Creation⁠⁠', the clay plate rotates and splashes muddy water as a performance follows above it. A bright light is projected from above, illuminating a dance sequence in the center of the light beam.⁠⁠
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As the sky and the earth come together, magnificent landscapes appear on the LED panels. Large transparent curtains descend from the sky, separating the audience in different spaces where four new humans are suspended - after which, the nine-tailed fox stands among the band to perform the final song.⁠⁠