Cyber Subin
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Fri 13 Jun 202520:30 - 21:45Grote Zaal
Program
19.45 / Foyerdeck 1 / Introduction
by choreographer Pichet Klunchun
20.30 / Grote Zaal / Main program
Cyber Subin
Credits
Pichet Klunchun, Pat Pataranutaporn creation
Pichet Klunchun choreography
Pichet Klunchun direction
Padung Jumpan, Tas Chongchadklang, Chang Hong Chung, Chun Ho Poon dance
Lamtharn Hantrakul music, musical direction
Phoomparin Mano, Chayapatr Archiwaranguprok creative technology
Piyaporn Bhongse-tong 3D-animation
Pat Pataranutaporn cyborg science/human-AI interaction research
Ray Tseng lighting design
How Ngean Lim dramaturgy
Sojirat Singholka production
Jirach Eaimsa-Ard stage management
Stéphane Noël (Materialise) international distribution
The opening performance of the Holland Festival 2025 is Cyber Subin, which will also mark its European premiere. In Cyber Subin, choreographer Pichet Klunchun (Thailand, 1971) combines traditional Thai dance with technology. Together with MIT researcher Pat Pataranutaporn, he has created an AI that deconstructs traditional movements and generates new poses, resulting in a fascinating interaction between human and machine.
The movements of both the people and avatars in Cyber Subin are based on “Mae Bot Yai” (59 poses from a traditional Thai masked dance, Khon), but will be reinterpreted through digital processes. The dancers are invited to react, resist or dance together with the avatars.
For more than two decades, Klunchun has studied the movements of Kohn dance, looking for ways to reinterpret these. He developed Cyber Subin in four phases: capturing the movements, codifying them according to six principles, developing an interface for interaction with avatars, and experimenting with dancers and AI.
Cyber Subin at the Holland Festival is the European première.
Khon has been performed since the 14th century and was added to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2018. As such, the piece is not just about the interaction between human and machine, but also offers a new approach for cultural preservation. Cyber (derived from cybernetics) Subin (‘dream’ in Thai) shows how tradition need not be static, but rather lives and evolves.
