Shinbaï. The piece – as resonant and poetic as its mysterious name – is the result of an unprecedented encounter between two worlds: contemporary dance and the traditional Japanese floral art of Ikebana. A striking performance reflecting the nuanced compositions of Ikebana bouquets.

Shinbaï, the flight of the soul continues Emmanuelle Huynh's exploration of the production processes and creative logic of spheres other than dance – a project first begun in 2001.
"I wanted to present Madam Okudaira and myself as equals on the stage", she explains, "in a piece in which flowers and other objects are manipulated by us both, and in which our bodies become an integral part of the constructed image." The floral arrangement is a metaphor for the world: "The performance is conceived as a giant bouquet, following the principles and logic of Ikebana, to an extent, but in the context of the resources and demands of a staged production."

Emmanuelle Huynh studied philosophy and dance. She has collaborated regularly with visual artists, and was appointed director of the Centre national de danse contemporaine (CNDC) in Anger in 2004. The present project was initiated in 2001, during a residency at the Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto.