The Taipei Dance Circle slid its way into the spotlight in 1994 with a
unique dance style, or a gimmick if you wish, that involved slathering
bronzed, well-toned, half-naked dancers in baby oil and having them roll
about on a greased dance floor. As if it were any surprise, this supremely
suggestive show earned the dance troupe glowing reviews. "The mysterious,
repetitive, frictionless ambience is ... enthralling," wrote Deborah Jowitt
of New York's Village Voice, in total apparent earnestness.
Last year, the troupe adopted a new, less titillating choreography by the
descriptive title of Sight and Sound (觀音聽舞), which differs from the
baby-oil dances in its use of sound along with body movement to uncover new
forms of body language.
The style was inspired by troupe founder Liou Shaw-lu's (劉紹爐) spiritual
discoveries attained at Taoist and Buddhist temples. The dancers enter a
meditative state that evokes their inner power, setting themr into movement
and forcing out bursts of sound. Think of it as mysticism or shamanistic
ritual in choreographic form.
The troupe will perform is current show called Sight and Sound - Exercise
Two (身音書寫: 觀音聽舞系列舞作II) at Taipei's Experimental Theater tonight
at 7:30pm and tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm. Tickets cost NT$350 and can be
purchased at the National Theater, Fnac and through Acer ticketing outlets.
The troupe will perform over the following two weekends in Tainan and
Kaohsiung.
The year was 1991. A Toyota Land Cruiser set out on a 67km journey up the Junda Forest Road (郡大林道) toward an old loggers’ camp, at which point the hikers inside would get out and begin their ascent of Jade Mountain (玉山). Little did they know, they would be the last group of hikers to ever enjoy this shortcut into the mountains. An approaching typhoon soon wiped out the road behind them, trapping the vehicle on the mountain and forever changing the approach to Jade Mountain. THE CONTEMPORARY ROUTE Nowadays, the approach to Jade Mountain from the north side takes an
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