On 11 November, Brighton Dome will play host to Deciphers, a powerful new performance by internationally acclaimed dance artists Jean Abreu and Naishi Wang. Part of a UK-wide tour, the piece is as much an exploration of language and cultural identity as it is a celebration of movement.
At its heart, Deciphers is a work about translation — about the spaces where understanding slips away, where gestures say more than words, and where bodies become vessels for stories that transcend culture, geography, and speech. Rooted in the immigrant experience, the show fuses Brazilian dance styles and Chinese folk traditions with visual art and spoken word. The result is an urgent, visceral conversation about how we connect, and sometimes fail to connect, across borders.
A Meeting of Two Worlds
The collaboration between Abreu and Wang brings together two distinctive artistic journeys. Brazilian-born and UK-based, Jean Abreu has long been celebrated for his ability to merge dance with other disciplines. His collaborations with provocative visual artists Gilbert & George, as well as filmmaker Topher Campbell, have established him as an innovator unafraid to push the boundaries of contemporary performance. Beyond the stage, his creative voice has reached global brands like Nike and TikTok, proof of his ability to straddle both the commercial and the avant-garde.
Abreu’s artistic curiosity remains restless. Alongside Deciphers, he is currently working on a new project in São Paulo responding to the legacy of filmmaker and artist Derek Jarman, in collaboration with disabled dance artist Joao Paulo Lima. It’s a testament to his belief that dance should not only entertain, but also provoke, question, and reflect on the cultural moment.
His collaborator, Naishi Wang, brings a contrasting yet complementary perspective. Born in China and now based in Toronto, Wang spent nine years as a company member of Toronto Dance Theatre before striking out as an independent artist. His work often probes the relationship between the internal and external worlds — how private emotions are expressed (or hidden) through movement. His 2018 collaboration with Berlin Tanz Theatre’s Christoph Walker received critical acclaim, praised for its bold interrogation of communication and human fragility.
Together, Abreu and Wang form a creative partnership that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.
The Body as Language
Deciphers asks a deceptively simple question: what happens when words are not enough?
Through their choreography, Abreu and Wang examine how communication can break down, how gestures can be mistranslated, and how cultural codes can obscure as much as they reveal. Yet in these gaps, there is also discovery. Dance becomes the primal language — one that is at once intimate and universal, allowing audiences to feel meaning even when they cannot “understand” it in a literal sense.
Visual art and spoken word are woven into the performance, creating a layered tapestry of voices and images. The production doesn’t shy away from the tensions of cross-cultural dialogue, but it also celebrates the beauty of difference and the possibility of connection.
Why Brighton?
For Brighton audiences, Deciphers offers a rare opportunity to see two world-class artists collaborate at the height of their powers. The city’s own reputation as a hub for cultural experimentation makes it a natural stop on the tour. It is a place where audiences are primed to embrace the unexpected, and where questions of migration, identity, and community feel particularly urgent.
An Invitation to Witness
Ultimately, Deciphers is less a performance to be “understood” than one to be felt. It is a reminder that communication is messy, imperfect, and yet profoundly human. In a world where misinterpretation can divide communities and even nations, Abreu and Wang’s work suggests that the body — vulnerable, expressive, flawed — may be our most honest translator.
On 11 November at Brighton Dome, audiences are invited not only to watch, but to participate in this dialogue of movement, meaning, and miscommunication. Expect to leave with more questions than answers — and a renewed sense of how art can bridge the spaces where words fail.
