Felines and flamenco

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This weekend dance lovers have the chance to sample two very different types of “indigenous dance,” both of which have a symbiotic relationship to the music used in the performances.

The first is the Neo-Classic Dance Company’s Land of the Clouded Leopard at the National Theater, which draws on the dances and music of the Amis. The second is New Flamenco Generation at Novel Hall, which features the precocious Miguel Fernandez — El Yiyo — who despite being just 13 years old has been hailed as the future of Spain’s flamenco culture.

The Neo-Classic Dance Company was founded 33 years ago by artistic director Liu Feng-shueh (劉鳳學), who is a legend in Taiwan’s dance world. She was one of the first to introduce modern dance to Taiwan, and beginning with her studio in 1967 and continuing on at universities, trained many of the nation’s top dancers, choreographers and teachers.

Her work has combined Western techniques, especially that of movement theorist Rudolf Laban, with Chinese classical dance and, in recent years, with the cultures of Taiwan’s Aboriginal tribes.

Liu’s career now spans 60 years, and to mark the anniversary she created a new work, Land of Clouded Leopard (雲�?m), which tells the story of two young Aboriginal baseball players who try to pursue their dreams in the face of adversity. Joining the dance company are nine Amis singers and 50 Aboriginal youngsters from three east coast junior high schools.

Liu also recruited composer Gerald Shih (史擷詠) and award-winning cinematographer Deng Wen-bing (鄧文斌) to join her creative team for this production.

While the songs of the Amis — and other Aboriginals — are becoming a trademark of Taiwan, flamenco music and dance are synonymous with Spain for many people, though Andalusian and Gypsy in origin.

Fernandez, nicknamed “El Yiyo,” comes from a Gypsy family and has been groomed it seems almost from birth to be a flamenco dancer. However, his formal training began six years ago in Barcelona with Bartolo (Manuel Jimenez), one of city’s most famous dancers. The youngster began performing publicly just a year later around Barcelona and began touring with his own group of musicians and singers in 2005.

This weekend’s performances at Novel Hall as part of its Dance Series 2009 are his first abroad. Joining him on stage will be his teacher Bartolo and dancers Yolanda Cortes and Jose Andres Cortes, along with musician/singers Joaquin Gomez (El Duende), Manuel (El Zambullo) and Juan Manzano (El Coco) — all of whom are famous flamenco artists in their own right.

While flamenco dancers study and rehearse, and there are well-known choreographers, at the heart of each performance is improvisation, and it is in this area that El Yiyo excels.

There are two other dance performances to note this weekend. The Sun-Shier Dance Company (三 十舞蹈劇場) will be performing The Reflection (重返宓若思) in the Experimental Theater, starting tonight. The all-woman company was founded by former Cloud Gate dancer Wu Pi-jung (吳碧容) and Chang Hsiu-ping (張秀萍) in 1997. The Reflection deals with the inner lives and thoughts of young women today and the images they project to the outside world. Given the name of the piece, it should come as no surprise that mirrors figure heavily in the staging.

Speaking of images and young women, the Pussycat Dolls are stopping in Taipei as part of their world tour. Their concert on Sunday night will be at the Taipei World Trade Center Hall 2, with tickets going from NT$1,200 to NT$3,600 (through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw). Why mention this concert here? It’s troupe founder Robin Antin’s choreography and the women’s bodies that attract Pussycat audiences more than their singing.— Diane Baker