One of the many things that audiences in Taiwan have to thank Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (雲門舞集) artistic director Lin Hwai-min (林懷民) for is his introduction of so many foreign choreographers and avant garde companies large and small.
Through the Novel Hall Dance Series programs that Lin curated, which ran from 1999 to 2013, Taiwanese were introduced to greats such as Pina Bausch, Saburo Teshigawara, Jerome Bel, Pichet Kluchun, the TAO Dance Theater (陶身體劇場), Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance, EDx2 Dance Company, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui — the list goes on and on.
However, British dancer/choreographer Akram Khan must have hold the record for most repeat invitations. Under the Novel banner he brought Kaash in 2002, in 2004 there was Ma, in 2007 it was Zero Degrees with Cherkaoui, then Gnosis in 2010 and DESH in 2013. He created Lost Shadows for a Cloud Gate production at the National Theater in 2007 and then reprised Gnosis with Taiwanese dancer Sheu Fang-yi (許芳宜) as part of her Timeless show at the theater in 2009.
Photo courtesy of Jean-Louis Fernandez
So it is only fitting that Khan and Lin should find their companies booked into the National Taichung Theater this weekend as part of its Fall for Great Souls (遇見巨人) series.
‘XENOS’
Cloud Gate will be appearing in the Opera House with its EXCHANGE collaboration with TAO Dance Theater at 2pm on Saturday and Sunday, while the Akram Khan Company will be performing XENOS in the Playhouse at 5pm on both days.
Photo courtesy of Lucas Kao
The London-born Khan is renowned for fusing the northern Indian style of classical dance, known as kathak, and contemporary Western dance.
He began studying kathak when he was a child, but did not see a contemporary dance performance until he was a 21-year-old university.
He formed his own company in 2000 to produce his solo works as well as ensemble pieces, and over the years he branched out to new genres, such as his stunning reinterpretation of the classic ballet Giselle for the English National Ballet.
Khan has said that XENOS is his last full-length solo work as a dancer, which is a shame because he is an incredible performer, intense and charismatic enough to carry complex shows on his own.
However, solo is a bit misleading, for although he is the only dancer, he is accompanied by five musicians — percussionist B C Manjunath, Clarice Rarity on violin, Tamar Osborn on saxophone, Nina Harris on bass and vocals by Aditya Prakash — while Mirella Weingarten’s striking set is almost a character itself.
XENOS was created to mark the centenary of World War I, and it explores the stories of the Indian soldiers, more than 1 million of them, who fought for Great Britain on the battlefields of Europe. They were strangers in strange lands, fighting a foreign war on the basis of the promise that Britain would give India self-government after the end of the war.
When Britain failed to keep its promise, the stories of these soldiers were largely forgotten.
The alienation created by war makes us strangers to ourselves and others, hence the title. “Xenos” means stranger or foreigner in Greek.
Khan, with the help of dramaturg Ruth Little and writer Jordan Tannahill, has woven a story about life, death, alienation, humanity and memories.
XENOS will be in Taipei next weekend at the National Theater as part of its Dancing in Autumn (舞蹈秋天) series and on Wednesday next week, Khan and Lin will give a free talk at the National Theater on XENOS, Khan’s works and their friendship.
‘BOUT’
Conflict is also at the heart of the Chang Dance Theater’s (長弓舞蹈劇場) latest production, albeit on a much smaller and more personal scale.
Bout mines the same source of inspiration as some of the troupe’s earlier works: sibling relationships, frictions and love, but that is only natural given the company is made up of four brothers who all graduated from Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA, 國立臺北藝術大學) dance program.
The Taipei-based company was founded in 2011 by the eldest brother, Chien-hao (張堅豪).
Second-oldest Chien-chih (張堅志) is artistic director, although Chien-kuei (張堅貴) and Ho-chien (張鶴千) are just as involved as their older siblings.
Bout, which won rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in August, was choreographed by Chien-hao, but unlike those shows, which featured just three of the Changs, all four brothers will be dancing this weekend.
Chien-chih was also dancing in Edinburgh, but with another highly rated production, Benson Tsai’s (蔡博丞) B.DANCE (丞舞製作團隊) production Floating Flowers (浮花), as he was one of the original cast members.
Chien-hao built Bout around the rituals and rhythms of the boxing ring, but as many of us will remember from our own childhoods, conflicts usually involved more wrestling than hitting — fewer marks for the parents to spot later.
As with their previous piece Bon 4 Bon, which was about the memories of growing up with brothers (or sisters) that frustrate and challenge you, but are still your strongest defenders, Bout shows how minor conflicts and play can all too easily turn into real slugfests, even if the only thing the winner might lay claim to is a soda or a bottle of beer.
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