In praise of flowers

After Anthem to the Fading Flowers (花神祭) premiered at the National Theater (國家戲劇院) in 2000, Lin Li-chen (林麗珍), choreographer of Legend Lin Dance Theater (無垢舞蹈劇場), took the show around Europe and became one of the few performance groups from Taiwan to achieve fame there.

For those who missed out on Anthem in 2000, Lin is bringing it home tonight. According to Lin, it's a much-improved version. As humans mature, Lin said, so too has the show in the past three years.

With flowers as the main choreographic element, Anthem is about "the relationship between human beings and nature and how that is reflected in a person's life from the cradle to the grave, as no one can live outside of nature," Lin said.

The four sections of the piece are metaphors of the human life cycle. Spring Shoots. The opening part has the ancient spirits of earth, fire, wind and water returning to earth and spreading the seeds of love into the river of time, thus bringing humans into the world. But man is soon undone by his desires and summer turns into autumn. In Autumn Weakening, the seasonal spirits row a boat along the river of life, while the surrounding scenery changes from one of blooming flowers to withering twigs. Against the background of bleak winter, an old sage engages a young man in a conversation about memories. When the old man dies, the youth's life has just begun.

The 25 performers, including six musicians playing live on stage, explore their physical limits in flowing movements expressing the mysteries and solemnness of the cycle of nature. The 120 minute dance ends with recitations of the Heart Sutra.

Before setting up Legend Lin in 1995, Lin spent the better part of the 1980s doing field work on Taiwanese folk traditions, collecting comprehensive materials on temple ceremonies, ritual dances and religious songs. The rich cultural traditions, added to the ancient music and poetry and Aboriginal music, became the main sources of Legend Lin's creations. The props and costumes, designed by the well-known costume designer Yei Chin-tian (葉錦添), show a strong influence from Taiwanese opera.

The thought-provoking Chinese music -- with drums and cymbals, bamboo tubes, flutes, pi-pa and human voices -- highlights the seasonal changes in nature.

Legend Lin Dance Theater will perform Anthem to the Fading Flowers at 7:30pm tonight and tomorrow, and 2:30pm Sunday at the National Theater. Tickets range from NT$300 to NT$1,200 and are available at the CKS Cultural Center: (02) 2343 1647.