Summer is approaching, bringing with it a very full dance card for Taipei area theaters that will see dance fans having to carefully choreograph their weekends if they do not want to miss some favorite performers and companies.
This weekend and next, audiences will have a chance to see the leaders of two companies taking a page from the other’s books.
The five-year-old Beitou-based Anarchy Dance Theatre (安娜琪舞蹈劇場) was founded by Jeff Hsieh Chieh-hua (謝杰樺) in 2010, taking its name from the title of the first works that Hsieh choreographed after graduating with a masters’ in dance choreography from the Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA, 國立臺北藝術大學) in 2007.
Photo Courtesy of Chen Chang-chih and Horse
The works that he created, both for Anarchy and elsewhere, have reflected his love of clean lines and structure — a holdover from his initial training in architecture, which he studied as an undergraduate at National Cheng-Kung University.
For Anarchy this has meant that there was one voice directing the repertoire — until this weekend’s show at Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Women (Lit: We, 我們), a collaborative effort that opens tonight on the second floor of the Fruit Wine Building (果酒禮堂).
Meanwhile, Su Wei-chia (蘇威嘉), one of the cofounders of the all-male dance collective Horse (驫舞劇場), has usually followed a more collaborative approach to creating dances, working with long-time friend Chen Wu-kang (陳武康) and other members of Horse on each project.
Photo Courtesy of Lin Pei-ying
However, for next weekend’s shows at the Experimental Theater as part of the National Theater Concert Hall’s 2015 Innovation Series-Dance, Su has gone solo, creating his first full-length work on his own for Horse, FreeSteps (自由步).
Both men said their new approaches have proved a challenge.
Hsieh was joined in creating Women by seven other dancers, some of whom are also choreographers in their own right: Tung I-fen (董怡芬), Chiu Yu-wen (邱鈺雯), Liu Chun-te (劉俊德), Lin Hsiao-yuan (林筱圓), Lee Yu-chieh (李宇杰), Nydia Liu (劉宸吟) and Chiang Chi-yang (江佶洋).
He said the idea was for each member not only to provide ideas, but to tackle the different non-choreographic elements as well, such as designing the music and costumes.
“We [each] try to contribute what we can,” he said.
“Each one led a section/concept and others contributed some ideas to finish the whole piece together. There are so many conflicts and arguments, but we are trying to work it out together,” Hsieh said.
It is an one-for-all, all-for-one approach that will also see Hsieh dancing in all four shows as well, instead of taking his usual seat on the sidelines.
Su will not be dancing in the five shows of FreeSteps, but there will be six women — Yeh Ming-hwa (葉名樺), Jiang Yu-lun (江侑倫), Chen Pei-rong (陳珮榕), Lin Pei-ni (林貝霓), Lai Si-ying (賴思穎) and Yang Yung-yun (楊曉韻) — plus Horse regular Huang Huai-te (黃懷德), who made a strong debut just last month with his first commissioned choreography for Cloud Gate 2 (雲門 2), Horde (暫時而已).
It is the first time that the 11-year-old Horse has employed female dancers.
Su, a graduate of National Taiwan University of Arts (國立臺灣藝術大學) said FreeSteps began with a work he created for his graduation project for graduate school. However, he credits the work of US choreographer Eliot Feld, a longtime mentor of both Chen Wu-kang and himself, has a source of inspiration.
“Since 2008, I have had closer cooperation with Eliot Feld and experienced personally the direct impact of his works. His choreography has the kind of magic power to move me without any utterance,” Su said, adding that the first time he saw a Feld dance was also the first time he cried while watching dance.
Watching Feld’s work made him feel free, even though he knew each step was carefully chosen after much consideration, Su said.
However, Su said he could not provide answers about his choreography or what FreeSteps means.
“Please do not ask me what freedom means. Do not ask me where freedom is. Simply switch off your mobile phones, get away from Wi-Fi and let your imagination roam… Then you will find the answers by yourselves,” he said.
The set of FreeSteps is designed to be a 3D canvas, with the dancers serving as brushes that bring color through movement to the stage through light projections.
Su turned to Taiwan-based French sound artist Yannick Dauby, who has been a frequent collaborator with Horse since 2008, to create the score for FreeSteps, a mix of natural, industrial and urban sounds.
Having Dauby on board will certainly be an advantage when Su and company take FreeSteps to Avignon, France, in July, though Horse’s works usually need little translation.
This is proving to be a busy year for Su, travel-wise. He and Chen Wu-kang took their 2 Men show to the Asia Pacific Dance Platform at the Hong Kong Arts Festival in March and will be taking it to New York next month.
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