Chantel 符匀瑄 (fyx, like fight)

About a year ago, I was nominated to apply for the @amant.arts Residency— this nomination came at a time where my art practise was severely destabilised, where I was waiting upon the results of my second visa application after my first UK Global Talent Visa was denied. Future-dreaming and a capacity for hope at an all time low, somehow in my existential limbo, I coaxed myself into practising what I do best, which is pulling self belief out of a fleeting (but present) well within me and applied for this. I proposed a research project I wanted to seek answers to, culminating the work I’ve been developing for both myself and my community. A year on— the last year was rebuilding some kind of faith in life/work- and one month into the residency, I find myself referencing previous works and writing, tracing my queerness and my dance, and sitting with the reality that I get to expand these short-lived legacies of my younger mind. In a way, as much as I change, I begin to think I know myself well. I always make with this particular sensibility/feel/就是那种感觉… 真的好久不见。 I’m looking at non-traditional Chinese dance forms, specifically Chinese Square Dances (广场舞 guángchángwû) and the memetics of 尬舞 gàwû, within the context of physical and digital spatial choreopolitics. I’m drawn to these dances as signifiers of contemporary Chineseness– ones that have the potential to infiltrate diasporic Chinese imaginations. I’m hoping to offer/propose/seek out an embodied reference point to what a queer Chinese dance might be, and therefore, what belonging to a dance might feel like. I’m currently working towards my For Your Reference, “拉手手 Tracing a Dance to Hold Hands: New imaginations for a queer Chinese dance”. I see it as a test space for work I’d like to do more in the future, and a mutual reference point of exchange. I’m hoping to collate an index of gestures (non-prescriptive) for our queer Chinese dance across the residency. I’ll share more on it soon, I’m so excited at everything that’s coming together.

Trying to share more of my own movement. Those who have worked with me know I’m incredibly protective of where my movement work enters, who I share it with, and the boundaries I have between commercial & soulful work that is often blurry but so present so I can keep very personal distillations of my self & histories sacred. As a femme Chinese person in the UK, the context of my movement background needs to be seen. It’ll be very different if I was back home, where my privilege is very profuse. There is a violence in such erasure- one I’ve subject myself to willingly in younger states but one I simply do not want to be read in anymore. A white person calling my movement simply ‘interesting’ and ‘strange’, and at times, literally ‘alien’ is not a compliment, it feels like a misreading of the work I do. It is a deepens the othering of the way I as an Asian minority in commercial, dance & art spaces already experience. I don’t exist to ornament your work, and my experience through traditional dance training to arrive in my queer, ungendered, glitching state is my work, my practise… my authorship. I wonder if other movers feel this- it’s a hard divide when your work resides in your body. Lately I’ve been saying ‘no’ more. It takes back power from being misunderstood for a type of performer that I am not. Sometimes this misunderstanding brings me grief. referencing/crediting within performance + movement work is hard to grasp? I really think people should pay homage to their movement influences too. Especially the ones who, like me, move in the by-lines of style, form, & tradition- to have no standard to please is freeing, but at times it feels like a free pass for people to cherry pick and reappropriate movement styles with a resounding optical emptiness. No one owns movement, for sure, but it’s painfully clear when the movement is led from aesthetic flatness. Some mover friends I feel inspired by and often have you in my mind’s eye when I daydream,,, I’m sure somehow you enter my dance too. wish we could dance together soon @allthatjasss @jameywamey @saskiahorton Moving to @grey_waters ’s 同一片天空下 thinking about Chinese dance- dreamt of my team mates

NATURES MORTES @anne_imhof October 2021 I feel like I haven’t given this time enough weight in my mind. Was it 9 shows? I can’t remember. Every night my calves pulsed and my lungs burnt deeper, although it wasn’t about pushing myself harder, but accommodating the way my spirit wished to move in ways I could only gamble with my body. I had just collected myself from a month of burn out, fatigue and couldn’t trust my body. Yet I feel my most powerful and true when I come apart beyond myself. Most days I am slow and pining, gestating almost, and too close to forgetting this is the art that I make and fulfils me. My glitching body, both trained and inept, is so grateful. This makes sense to me, and that to come from me, watching myself, feels like a dream. Thank you for the space to be this free, even from myself, and thus returning to Core Mode: Rage Fairy, helping me believe in my body again, and again when I watch this now. Thank you all who see me in these states. Thank you to Eduardo @amorprojects for your attention and sending this to me

Last October I was invited to perform at @southbankcentre @neoprenegenie by @tice.cin . I got to share the words that string all I do together, and dance a dance to meet myself. Thank you for giving me a space to share. - Each day I dream, a dream withers. The multifold and modular seized by a single flame. I am but a body To hold and feed it all. So it slips past my fingers and I scoop at my bleeding waters Soot singeing, I keep screaming- seeking what I lost, what I leak Parts of me outside of me never wet enough — TWICE BITTEN presented by Neoprene Genie at Southbank Centre for London Literature Festival, on 24th October 2025. Taken by Faris Abbas Jibril.

Apple Watch 10, 2024 My friends and family would see me on the website and in Apple stores, and then was spotted on some Chinese bootleg tech store (illegal). I often wonder how far away my image has adventured without me knowing.

Signs of spring- petal heavy, ADHD diagnosis, putting on clothes to feel embellished enough for the world (or otherwise they see me too well), completed my FW25 hxh rewatch amidst seismic tests, my first blind box thrill (thank you ange), humbling myself with mortality, resting to dream again, second year anniversary of my life-changing love, caring-less-liberation, sun-sitting. We always start over again.

“Bubbles please!” I really got to live out my polly pocket x willy wonka fantasy— each day the little girl in me in some kind of out of body awe that my older self gets to experience this and… call it “something I do”. Through the jet lag and catapulting myself halfway across the earth (I had to cut my trip home short), filming this was truly quite surreal. So glad it was a project that was truly joyful and buoyant with whimsy. My proudest scene is the “smooth” shot, skidding to mark <10 min to wrap defo took more than it looked. General manager of billie: toni cruthirds Co-general manager of billie: catherine wolpe Head of creative and production: @brooklyncommune Head of design: @noemie_lecoz  Creative director: @cyberkeats  Executive producer: couchycouchcouch Design director: @cristalabella  Associate director of design: makayla Gonzalez Senior director of project management: noreen Masih Senior director of brand: @meredithstclair Production company: @smugglersite  Director: @oliviadecamps Models: @georgiehobday  @jenna_anne_remedy_arts  @chanfyx  Executive producer: @patrickmillingsmith  @bcarmo  @jax_themax Managing director: @ahn_off Producer: @mcgirrc Director of photography: @peter.bishoppp Production design: @paidfollower001 Art director: @pistolet2.0  @momchil.tasev Service company: @solentfilm  Managing director: alex momchev Managing partner: @batmaggie Service producer: @doroshenkoelena  Service producer assistant: @elly_fileva_  thebigbedwolf Production manage: @chill.dora  Production coordinator: marga stoyanova Wardrobe: @hristoyordanov Movement: @kostakarakashyan Edit: @cabinedit Managing partner: @mmeade Executive producer:zack harpy Senior producer: @andreacantor Editor: @katyiii  Assistant editor: @julievlevy Vfx: @real.cool.time Producer: serena saltzman Color: @ethos_studio Senior colorist: @kaitlynbattistelli Color assist: @greyson.color Head of production: @sashapace Executive producer / managing director: eliana carranza-pitcher Executive producer / founder: james drew Sound: @wavestudiosny Executive producer: @vickles11 Producer: pooji jonnavithula Sound designer / mixer: @ma.tuk Music: wme music Composer: @ohyunglia Representative: leyla kumble

🥬 Hissing, pouting, huffing and caressing for CLARA CHU AW26 “Handwritten Notes” Highlights of the presentation- creating a world that would function practically as a durational performance, with little to no rehearsal time meant the creative vision had to make space for efficient choreographic solutions. Within the performance I dialed cast members to cue movement, created character cards to help models step into someone to embody, and gave individual gestures that they could fall back on. I got to work with a group of very open and committed talent that made my work all the more possible. I think we managed to pull off a wonderful world that hovered between casual and surreal, awkward and the sensuous, play and the everyday! Thank you @clarachuu for trusting me to bring our visions together, so my imagination could see reality. And thank you @myacav for your assistance and support! movement direction by me CREATIVE DIRECTION – Clara Chu @clarachuu SET DESIGN – Greg Orrom Swan @gregorromswan MOVEMENT ASSIST – Mya Cavner @myacav CASTING – Terry Tao @terrytao._ , Lou Maretto @loumaretto MAKE UP – Molly Whiteley @molly_whiteley MAKE UP ASSIST – Rafa Garcia Sanchez @rafa.garcia.makeup , @glisten_cosmetics , Fenella Whiteley @aglitchinthemakeup HAIR – Elijah Hourrides @elijah_hourrides HAIR ASSIST – Troy Normington @troy_n__ STYLING – Brydie Perkins @brydieperkins MUSIC / SOUND – Richard Wilkins @richard.enterprises , Stella Franke @serenforever SET FABRICATION – Aaron Harris @vankilmer , Sarah Hall @sarahl0u_ TALENT 1 – Amo @the_amoe TALENT 2 – Naran @naran_oyu TALENT 3 – Ssong @kr_ssong TALENT 4 – Aykay @0.0747 TALENT 5 – Goran @sofuckingcxnt MATERIAL PARTNER – Ocee & Four @oceefourdesign DESIGN ASSIST: Maddie Scott, Pelin Goreli, Deniz Parker, Daisy Kennedy, Zahra Jelassi, Marysa Ciach, Sasha Clegg PHOTOGRAPHY – Fotometro @ronabarphotos @ofekavshalom MOVEMENT / PRESENTATION PHOTOGRAPHY - Silvia Anzoletti @silvia_anzoletti , Yilin Wong @yilinwong PR – LOBBY @lobby.pr VENUE – Apiary Studios @apiarystudios DRINKS - ANCESTRAL @ancestrelwines

CLARA CHU AW26 “Handwritten Notes” @londonfashionweek Movement Direction by me Creating a movement world for this collection that could be continually renewed across the 2h span of the presentation. My priority was making the playful, at times absurd world that was suspended just a touch above reality, accessible for the cast with limited time to workshop and coach. The aliveness I sought for the presentation meant the cast had motivations, desire and in moments, confronted the gaze that befell them. 撒娇 (haughty?) energy met a conveyor line, we slow danced with inanimate pillars as love interests, in sync motions disrupted by outbursts… and much more that swelled in its own symphony on this afternoon. Grateful to have gotten the opportunity and trust to test out ideas that really felt like me. Thank you everyone! Vmore soon 💭 CREATIVE DIRECTION – Clara Chu @clarachuu SET DESIGN – Greg Orrom Swan @gregorromswan MOVEMENT ASSIST – Mya Cavner @myacav   CASTING – Terry Tao @terrytao._ , Lou Maretto @loumaretto   MAKE UP – Molly Whiteley @molly_whiteley MAKE UP ASSIST – Rafa Garcia Sanchez @rafa.garcia.makeup , @glisten_cosmetics , Fenella Whiteley @aglitchinthemakeup   HAIR – Elijah Hourrides @elijah_hourrides HAIR ASSIST – Troy Normington @troy_n__   STYLING – Brydie Perkins @brydieperkins   MUSIC / SOUND – Richard Wilkins @richard.enterprises , Stella Franke @serenforever    SET FABRICATION – Aaron Harris @vankilmer , Sarah Hall @sarahl0u_   TALENT 1 – Amo @the_amoe TALENT 2 – Naran @naran_oyu TALENT 3 – Ssong @kr_ssong TALENT 4 – Aykay @0.0747 TALENT 5 – Goran @sofuckingcxnt MATERIAL PARTNER – Ocee & Four @oceefourdesign   DESIGN ASSIST: Maddie Scott, Pelin Goreli, Deniz Parker, Daisy Kennedy, Zahra Jelassi, Marysa Ciach, Sasha Clegg PHOTOGRAPHY – Fotometro @ronabarphotos @ofekavshalom   MOVEMENT / PRESENTATION PHOTOGRAPHY - Silvia Anzoletti @silvia_anzoletti , Yilin Wong @yilinwong   PR – LOBBY @lobby.pr VENUE – Apiary Studios @apiarystudios DRINKS - ANCESTRAL @ancestrelwines

BTS and off duty memories from shooting the Primark “In Denim We Can” campaign 🪁 So grateful to have worked with a wonderfully talented cast @abiola_chantelle @cedella__s @chanfyx @ebonylaw_x @ewebzell @jenna_anne_remedy_arts @mariamayrichards @saarahfernandez_ @wingyofficial , crew, and of course iconic @sirheffington whose work has shaped pop culture memory. Never take for granted how my work brings me to beautiful places and lets me meet and learn from countless people. Ofc I’m watching totally spies in the hotel room! Blessed!! Directed by Nadia Marquard Otzen @nadiaeye @academyfilms

Strange behaviour on the streets of Llubljana for Primark ‘In Denim We Can’ campaign last year 🥏 what a blast, it was so mad to be a part of this 🦋 Directed by Nadia Marquard Otzen @nadiaeye @academyfilms Choreographer: Ryan Heffington @sirheffington Choreographer Assistant: Josh Lamb @joshuascottlamb Dancers : Abiola Efunshile @abiola_chantelle Cedella Adriana @cedella__s Chantel Foo @chanfyx Ebony Lawrence @ebonylaw_x Evie Webzell @ewebzell Jenna Anne Nathan @jenna_anne_remedy_arts Maria Richards @mariamayrichards Saarah Fernandez @saarahfernandez_ Wing Yeu Leung @wingyofficial Production : Academy Films @academyfilms EP : Darapen Vongsa-Nga @darapen Producer : Steve Overs @hamjamwich Production Manager : Zoe A’Court mrszoepapworth Production Assistant : Chirolles Khalil @chirolleskhalil DoP: Ben Fordesman @fordesman 1st AD : Clara Paris @clara_bing_paris Casting Director : Mark Summers @marksummerscasting Casting: Plue Agency @plue_agency Wardrobe Stylist: Lorna McGee @lorna.mc.gee Local Stylist: Tina Tanko @tina_tanko Production Designer : Miha Ferkov @mihaferkov Local Prod Co : Division @division.film