Same, same, but different

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Taiwan has become something of a modern dance foundry in the past two decades, producing loads of talented dancers or choreographers. Making a living as a professional here is another matter, which is why the National Theater’s New Productions of Emerging Taiwanese Choreographers program, along with its Young Stars, New Vision — Dance later this year are so crucial. This weekend and next, Taipei audiences will have the chance to see the work of some of Taiwan’s best young choreographers at the Experimental Theater.

The Emerging Choreographers program has been almost a year in the making, starting off with a competition last October that attracted almost 100 hopefuls. Led by choreographer and dance professor Ku Ming-shen (古名伸), a panel selected 10 men and women they felt represented the best of Taiwan’s dance world.

Some of the 10 are already established names, working with their own small troupes, such as Lin Hsiang-hsiu (林向秀), whose Lin HH Dance Company (林向秀舞團) appeared in the Experimental Theater in May, Chen Wu-kang (陳武康), the Eliot Feld dancer who is a member of Horse (formerly M-Dans) or Lien Ho (賀連華), who founded Genio Dance, and Sun Chuo-tai (孫梲泰), founder of 8213 Physical Dance Theater. Others are just beginning their careers, such as Huang Huai-de (黃懷德).

The program has been split into two parts, so to see all eight works you will need to go both weekends. This weekend features the works of Lien, Lin, Sun and a collaboration between Chen and Yeh Ming-hwa (葉名樺). Next week it’s the turn of Wei Kuang-ching (魏光慶), Su Shih-jian (蘇詩堅), Huang and a collaborative effort from Lai Wei-chun (賴韋君) and Tien Hsiao-tzu (田孝慈).

The works that will be performed are as varied as their creators — and their scores — ranging from minimalists solos to quartets to multimedia performances, although a common thread is the search for identity, be it on a personal, societal or national level.

For example, Lien will be dancing in her piece, Coming Home, which combines her passion for Flamenco with Aboriginal music sung live by Panai and Nabu. It is a heartfelt piece that transcends both language and culture. Wang and Yeh’s funky Dimmer, however, takes a lighter approach to the search for direction, set to four songs by Leon Redbone.

“Why Leon Redbone music? I love it, I love it. But the politically correct explanation is ‘that Taiwan is under the influence of American culture,’” Wang said in a phone interview.

“We tossed around a lot of ideas. Sometimes when I am not in Taiwan she came up with ideas, she [Yeh] chose the music — I gave her the music but she chose it. She came up with the name. Dimmer is the [light] switch that can make us see better. Movements are about looking for light,” he said.

Searching for direction is also the theme of Su Shih-jian’s piece, The Wind Blew. Su said the solo, which will be danced by Chou Meng-ping (周夢蘋), is about the conflicts he felt when he returned home from graduate studies in Los Angeles.

“When I graduated from the California Institute of the Arts, the school had changed my idea of my country, but when I came back, everything here seemed the same, yet different,” Su said. “How can I tell the people that Taiwan is very beautiful, just like the mind is beautiful, when the government is always building new buildings that focus only on the outer beauty, not inner beauty?”