In 1922, Chinese revolutionary writer Lu Xun imagined an indestructible iron house without windows, where people slept soundly, unaware of their impending destruction. He asked, “If you cry aloud to wake a few of the lighter sleepers, making those unfortunate few suffer the agony of irrevocable death, do you think you are doing them a good turn? His friend replied, “But if a few awake, you can’t say there is no hope of destroying the iron house.”
Inspired by Lu Xun’s writing, this dance confronts the same social and moral dilemma in our contemporary moment. It asks: How do we discern between the fantastical dreams that lull us into complacency and the conscious dreaming that moves us toward liberation? How might our collective dreaming become a form of resistance?
Dreams in the Iron House is a live performance with video projection. The work was originally set on students at Duke University and premiered in November 2025 at Reynolds Industries Theater.
Choreography by J.J. Guan
Original Music by Karam Salem & “Valtari” by Sigur Rós
Video by J.J. Guan & Bryant Griffin
Costume Design by J.J. Guan
Dancers: Arely Sun and Xinyi Zhang