Capital Ballet Taipei (台北首督芭蕾舞團) is marking its 20th year with a nationwide tour of its newest program, Ballet Sonata (舞言歌), which began on Saturday in Keelung and moves to Taipei’s Metropolitan Hall for two performances this weekend.
The semi-professional company, founded by
Hsu Chin-feng (徐進豐) and his wife Lee Shu-hui
(李淑惠), has built a reputation for works — created by Hsu and others — that combine classical ballet with themes that reflect modern life and conflicts in Taiwanese society. The term semi-professional is not a slur on the group’s enthusiasm but a fact of life.
Although the troupe was launched as a five-days-a-week class/rehearsal company, finances long ago reduced its scope to a three-days-a-week commitment. That the company has survived for 20 years is a testament to its members’ dedication.
This year’s program is made up of two very disparate works by Hsu, The Sound of Dancing and My Senses.
The Sound of Dancing is a classical 30-minute piece, set to String Sonatas No. 1 and No. 2 by 19th-century Italian composer Gioachino Rossini. What’s interesting about the score is that the two pieces were written over a three-day period when Rossini was just 12 years old.
There is no story line to the ballet; Hsu designed it to be more of an exploration of the eight individual dancers’ talents and movements. He is also credited with the design of the costumes and the set.
Hsu also did the set for the 28-minute-long My Senses, which is more an experiment in dance theater, supposedly inspired by a choreographer’s dreams.
In the dream, the choreographer’s senses and limbs (largely his feet and hands — literally) develop a life of their own, eventually taking on a nightmarish quality as they morph into a toothless mouth, an eye, a cataract, a burro and creatures that are meant to represent stereotypes of humanity. The costumes were designed by Weng Meng-ching (翁孟晴).
According to the program notes, the piece is supposed to be an allegory of Taiwanese politics, with reference to The Senator Was Indiscreet, a 1947 film by George Kaufman about a US senator who tries to blackmail his way into the presidency by using a diary detailing all the shady tricks his party has played for decades.
My Senses is set to Sergei Prokofiev’s Scythian Suite, Op. 20 and Chout Suite (Buffoon in Russian), both of which were originally composed for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe, although only the latter was ever used by the company.
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