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Tony Yap

Dancer, Choreographer

Tony Yap is a Malaysian-born, internationally acclaimed dancer, director, and choreographer based in Australia. A core performer with IRAA Theatre (1989–1996), he appeared in numerous international festivals across Europe and Australia. In 1993, he founded Mixed Company, now Tony Yap Company, developing a distinct dance language influenced by psychoanalysis, Asian shamanic trance, Butoh, and vocal-visual experimentation.

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He directed works such as Icarus, Print of a Pulse, Narcissus's Dream, and St Sebastian, with Icarus and Narcissus’s Dream both nominated at Melbourne’s Green Room Awards.

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Tony has collaborated with institutions and artists in Indonesia, Austria, Italy, France, Malaysia, China, Japan, and more. In 2005, with support from AsiaLink, he began a trance-focused research project in Indonesia and Malaysia, culminating in the performance Evocation of a Lost Body. He later co-created RIAU, inspired by nomadic tribes in Indonesia, and received funding from the Australian Ministry of Culture for The Buddha Body Series, which evolved into Rasa Sayang, a critically acclaimed 2010 Melbourne production.

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He is the founder and artistic director of the Melaka Arts and Performance Festival in Malaysia.

© 2025 Hippo Theatre Group

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