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Silver lining finally appears for Cloud Gate dance troupe

Things are looking up for Taiwan's world renowned dance company, the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (雲門舞集), homeless since a fire destroyed their rehearsal studio, warehouse and production archives 10 days ago.

At a brief press conference yesterday morning in Tamsui (淡水), Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) announced the company would make the abandoned Danshuei Arts Education Center its new home.

Flanked by Cloud Gate artistic director and founder Lin Hwai-min (林懷民) and with a huge photograph of the blackened beams of the company's old studio in Bali Township (八里) on the wall behind them, Chou said the county government was happy to be able to help Cloud Gate during this difficult time.

He said it would take about six months to process the handover paperwork and that he would do his best to help the company during that time.

The toll that the destruction of the 16-year-old complex and the subsequent week and a half had taken on Lin was evident yesterday. He looked very tired, but relieved as he thanked Chou for his help and the county government for offering the center.

The hope is that the company will be able to make the facility its permanent home.

The two-story, square concrete building on a hillside above Hobe Fort and overlooking the Tamsui River and Bali, will need a fair amount of work before the company can move in, including the construction of a dance floor.

A moving date is months away since the company can't begin renovation until the paperwork is complete.

But there are large open rooms on both floors that could easily be turned into dance and rehearsal studios and several small rooms than could be converted into offices for the costume, design and production crews.

The Cloud Gate staffers on hand for the press conference seemed satisfied with the new location.

"It was a huge relief to find it, especially in such a short period of time," said Becky Chiou (邱淑凰), who handles public relations for the company.

Another expressed the hope that the campus-like setting could help turn the facility into the Taiwanese equivalent of Jacob's Pillow, a mecca for dancers and dance troupes in western Massachusetts since the 1930s.

Since the fire, dancers from both the main company and Cloud Gate 2 have been using space provided by the Taipei National University of the Arts and the Taiwan Cement Building in Taipei for classes and rehearsals.

The main company leaves for a two-month overseas tour the beginning of April.

When it returns in June, Cloud Gate will use a building at the Taiwan Human Rights Memorial park in Jingmei (景美), Taipei City, for a rehearsal studio until its new Tamsui home is ready.
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