Cover Fifth Wall continues its mission to challenge traditional spaces with “Time Out”, a site-specific performance as part of the International Dance Day Fest Opening Night Gala on April 23 from 6:45pm to 7:15pm (Photo: Courtesy of Fifth Wall)
Fifth Wall continues its mission to challenge traditional spaces with “Time Out”, a site-specific performance as part of the International Dance Day Fest Opening Night Gala on April 23 from 6:45pm to 7:15pm (Photo: Courtesy of Fifth Wall)
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Fifth Wall returns to its roots at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater with ‘Time Out,’ a performance that challenges the rhythms of modern life
Fifth Wall is once again questioning the parameters of the traditional dance venue with its latest piece, Time Out, set to debut at the International Dance Day Festival’s opening night gala on April 23. The performance will be presented at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater. The dance number will greet audiences in a surprising way, with the dancers situated on the venue’s escalators, turning them into a vertical stage.
Time Out promises to stand out for its unconventional staging and resonant themes. Seemingly motionless performers are caught on escalators mid-journey to the auditorium, setting the tone for a piece that explores tension within modern work culture. Through the use of minimalist yet expressive choreography, the performance reflects on the daily grind and the structure of corporate life, zeroing in on small rebellions workers carry within their personal routines.
The performance will be set to original music by Manila-based producer Ram Alonzo (also known by his moniker Aries), who is known for his textured sound and kinetic compositions. The score is said to bring a layered emotional energy that mirrors the choreography’s push-and-pull rhythm of constraint and release. Costumes also play a crucial narrative role, as the dancers will be seen decked out in minimalist Uniqlo pieces that symbolise the tension between conformity and self-expression.
“We wanted to reimagine something as ordinary as the escalator—something we tend to move through mindlessly—and reveal its potential for meaningful engagement,” says Fifth Wall founder Madge Reyes. “It’s about finding charm in the mundane and reclaiming the rhythms of corporate life not as soulless or robotic, but as something that can be reinterpreted and even celebrated through dance.”
More from Tatler: ‘The body is home’: Fifth Wall Fest is back for its fifth edition
Above Upon arrival at the venue, guests will witness its escalators subtly transform into multiple vertical stages inhabited by dancers; seemingly stuck in place on their way up to the auditorium (Photo: Courtesy of Fifth Wall)
Upon arrival at the venue, guests will witness its escalators subtly transform into multiple vertical stages inhabited by dancers; seemingly stuck in place on their way up to the auditorium (Photo: Courtesy of Fifth Wall)
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Reyes also comments on the performance’s significance, as the Samsung Performing Arts Theater was where they launched Fifth Wall Fest’s first in-person iteration in 2022, after two previous editions online.
Running until April 27, the International Dance Day Fest aims to draw creatives and fresh audiences to the evolving world of contemporary dance.
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Julianna has been interested in leading a literary life since she first read Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess at eight. Before working with Tatler, she was an archive intern at The Center for Fiction in Brooklyn, New York. She is a textbook Pisces who devotes most of her spare time to her crochet projects, watching classic films, and going through her never-ending pile of unread books. She studied creative writing, global literature and art history at Sarah Lawrence College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2022. Toni Morrison, Nora Ephron, Clarice Lispector and Jia Tolentino are among her all-time favourite writers.
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Julianna writes about fashion, beauty, sustainability, and the arts. She is always keen on conducting interviews with talented women who are changing the game in their respective fields.
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