Anna HUBER and LIN Yuan Shang met in Montreal in July 1998, while taking part in an international symposium of contemporary dance, organised by ‘Danse à Lille’ et ‘Tangente’ (Montreal).

From this meeting, their dance was born : a collaboration of sensibilities, a joining together of cultures, an abolition of frontiers, a reappearance of intimacy, a creation of identity/ies.

At first glance they are totally different physically and in their expression of movement, the two artists decide to undertake a journey of discovery, based on a similarity of gesture. Thus a language of the body is built - this «very same» appearance - where the known in the unknown becomes the attractive pole.

To protect the freshness and sincerity of their meeting, the two choreographers decided not to pre-empt their future work by preparing singlely for the project. On the contrary, they chose to meet for a long period of development - from May to mid-October - and to allow themselves to fully enjoy their engagement while working in unfamiliar spaces and in different foreign European cities (Antwerpen, Barcelona, Geneva, Luzern, Mulhouse, Paris, Zürich).

Far from current dialogues on multiculturalism as a fact of society, Anna and Yuan Shang want to work without following the map of a space already explored : they choose to wander, and to observe how their wandering will nourish the eye and the bodies.

The 'Other' is the Same
Arnd Weseman - Ballett International (12/99)
"The result is phenomenal. […] With Anna and Yuan Shang, the worlds that separate them are bound by their unconditional work on the body and the self. They have been able to re-conquer difference."

Proximity not possible
Lilo Weber - Neue Zürcher Zeitung (22/10/99)
"The two only just miss each other but consistently only just ; the differences between the ego and the other may be small but they open up chasms.
In LIN Yuan Shang, Anna HUBER has found an evenly matched partner. Even if he is not the same. But that is precisely what is about."

Classic at Breakfast
Claudia Henne - Radio 3/Berlin (29/10/99)
"What is impressive about this piece of work is indeed the concordance of these two utterly different choreographers. Even though they originate from quite different cultures, they introduce different elements and still, this is what is astonishing, they communicate with one another on the same level."

Contemporary Dance
Katja Werner (Feb 2000)
"Briefly we can only do Anna Huber and Lin Yuan Shang an injustice. Their exquisite duo gave a rare example of poetry in motion. You would need a lot of words to capture the many layers of emotion between the two silhouettes that barely ever touch. Closeness is not very possible, as depicted in slow investigations of the floor and hectic escapes at the sight of the other. When ten little toes overcome their fear of life, we are on a journey into the heart of curiosity, wide-eyed, and hands raised for protection. And curiosity, it seems, is the best excuse to keep asking." Et quand dix orteils outrepassent finalement leur peur de la vie, nous partons en voyage vers le cœur même de la curiosité, les yeux grand ouverts, et les mains prêtes pour se protéger. Et cette curiosité nous apparaît bien comme le meilleur des questionnements."