da:ns LAB 2026 brings together four independent artists from across the Asia-Pacific to engage in dialogue around their respective praxes, experimental approaches, and the complexities of navigating artistic production across varied infrastructural and cultural ecologies.

As an outcome of their time in the lab, the artists are presenting a studio sharing within the VECTOR#7 Exhibition of Performance. In addition to unpacking the key impulses behind their current works, they will respond to the curatorial frame of VECTOR#7, “Past The Breaking Point,” reflecting on how artists may respond in an environment of instability and collapse.

da:ns LAB is presented by the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, produced by Dance Nucleus and curated by Daniel Kok annually. It is a platform that began in 2015 to interrogate choreographic practice and to feature progressive ideas in the performing arts. The objective is to establish a platform for discourse and exchange that can enable independent performance creations in Asia.

The 2026 iteration of da:ns LAB is structured as a mentorship programme. Four creations-in-progress by independent artists in Asia-Pacific are brought together in a working group for peer-to-peer exchange, facilitated by artist mentor Arco Renz.

da:ns LAB is part of Esplanade’s da:ns focus – Connect Asia Now (CAN) weekend taking place on 15-18 Oct 2026.