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Sister act puts Taipei on top

By Susan Kendzulak
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR
Sunday, Nov 19, 2000, Page 19

Great literary themes will be the focus of Dancing Allegories performed by the internationally acclaimed Taipei Crossover Dance Company at Novell Hall from Nov. 24 to Nov. 26. The troupe, founded in 1994 by former Cloud Gate Dance Theatre dancers Chen Shu-gi, Lo Man-fei, Wu Su-chun, and Yeh Tai-chu blends music, theatre, film, literature, installation, and other art forms. Besides classical and modern dance movements, the experimental troupe also acts, speaks, sings and collaborates with other musicians, actors, writers and dancers.

For Dancing Allegories, company director Man-fei Lo and the two invited guest choreographers, Helen Lai from Hong Kong, and Hsiao-mei Ho from Taiwan, will premier their dances based on classical themes taken from Chinese literature.

Lai who was inspired by the 1930s writings of Eileen (Ai-Ling) Chang, combines Chang's fictional characters with the fragments from the author's tragic life. Interspersed throughout the performance, excerpts of Chang's texts will be spoken, which will add emotional weight to the piece.

Using the poem Three Etudes: The Snake by contemporary poet Yang Mu, famous actor King Shi-Jed has co-created the new dance piece with Lo Man-fei. In a work about intimacy, the dance focuses on a pairing between a couple whose attempt at achieving clear communication alludes to the human condition.

Hsiao-mei Ho's dance is based on the Qing Dynasty novel The Ghost Stories (Liao Zhai Zhi Yi). The passage of time is evinced through the evocative dreamy images of various spirits from different time periods whom simultaneously inhabit the space. A video installation shows a body on a bed while a dancer sings a popular song from the Peking Opera. Like the dancers' movements, memories also slide backwards and forwards.

The tension of opposites is the theme of a new art exhibition now on display in Tienmu

An all-woman art exhibition entitled Rest Nest currently on view at Leisure Art Center in Tienmu until Dec. 8 does not shy away from woman issues; instead, it wryly displays obvious female imagery. Curator Hsieh Hui-Ching has put together a smart-looking show that is playful and light-hearted; yet, subtly thought-provoking.

Lin Mei Wen's decorative Rose Chair is a beautiful red easy chair filled with dried red roses. The seductive chair beckons one to rest in its comfort, but it would be painful to sit on; thus, a tension is created between allure and pain.

Art Notes: What:"Rest Nest" Where: Leisure Art Center, 697 Chungshan N. Rd., Sec. 5; Tel: 3521-3132. When:Until Dec. 8

Beijing-based Lin Tianmiao installed a computerized image of her nude body on the ceiling. The completely hairless form has dozens of small knotted threads connected to the floor. Lin's use of string in her works acts as connective threads that could refer to acupressure points and self-reflective images of the body.

Art Notes: Who: Taipei Crossover Dance Company What: "Dancing Allegories" Where: Novel Hall, 3-1 Sung-shou Rd., Hsinyi District, Taipei. (www.novelhall.org.tw) When: Nov. 24-26

The bed image figures prominently in this exhibition and can be seen as large painting supports for Cai Jin's brightly painted mattresses and as a sculptural installation in Chen, Hui-Chiao's soft covered bed punctured with acupuncture needles.

The highlight of the show is a small video installation by Hong Kong-based artist Ching-yin (Phoebe) Man. Outfitted in a pink soft foam costume that covers her head and ends at her knees, Man goes about her daily business such as receiving her mail, drinking a soda, smoking a cigarette. What makes the video hilarious is that the soft costume is an enormous vagina and gives Man the appearance of Kafka's Gregor Samsa. Simultaneously, the costumed Man gives the appearance of a friendly plush toy and a sinister alien object, as something to possess or to fear.
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