A dance for those who cannot see

Dancing in the dark produces some amazing results. PHOTO COURTESY OF NATHALIE FALGARONE

When the Taiwan New Bodo Arts Association for the Visually Impaired (台灣新 寶島視障藝文協會) staged a dance last December, no one in the local arts community knew quite what to expect. When the lights went down on the production, titled Naked Eyes (裸體的眼眸), the audience at Huashan Arts District kept the performers bent over in a curtain call for several minutes.

They weren't applauding the performers' ability to overcome their physical limitations, but their ability to meet and exceed the expectations faced by any performer, sighted or otherwise.

That's not to say that the show the audience saw that weekend was on the same par as Taiwan's many world-renowned dance troupes -- neither the association nor its performers make any claim at professional status -- but both the dance troupe and audience left the theater with a sense that there is much more that is possible in the world than either originally suspected.

"Blind people are maybe stronger than those who can see well because illusions disappear with the loss of the eyes," said Emilie Hernandez, the French dancer and choreographer who directed Naked Eyes.

Now the performers show their strength again with a production that runs tonight and tomorrow night only. Dancing on Baroque (Prison of the Eyes) (舞踏巴洛克[目之獄]) won't be directed by Hernandez, whose background in classical ballet meant that her choreography of the blind performers was as much an experiment for her as dancing itself was for the uninitiated troupe members.

This time around, Japanese butoh dancer, Rika Muto, who goes by the name Hata Kanoko when she dances in Japan, has provided the choreography for the performance. The essence of butoh, as Kanoko has said, is "to discover the possibility that we can metamorphose our bodies into everything, including animals, plants and lifeless objects." As such, she feels the dance form -- which doesn't resemble dance at all in the traditional meaning of the word -- is uniquely suited for blind performers.

The production is produced by playwright Wang Mo-lin (王墨林), who worked with the group on Naked Eyes.

Dancing on Baroque (Prison of the Eyes) (舞踏巴洛克[目之獄]) will be performed tonight and tomorrow night in the small theater on the third floor of the Taiwan New Bodo Arts Association for the Visually Impaired (台灣新寶 島視障藝文協會), located at 214 Minsheng W. Rd. in Taipei (北市民生西路214 號3樓).

Tickets NT$200 for the general public and are available at the venue or by calling (02) 2558-1081 ext. 18. Seating is limited, so calling in advance is recommended.