Cloud Gate 2 (雲門2) returned to the Joyce Theater in New York on Wednesday night with the US premiere of the award-winning On the Road.
Choreographed by the troupe’s associate artistic director Cheng Tsung-lung (鄭宗龍), the piece won Cheng the Taishin Arts Award for Performing Arts in May last year and Best Group at Premio Roma Danza’s 1st International Choreographic Competition in July 2011.
The piece features elements from contemporary dance and Taiwanese religious rituals based on those of traditional temples, which Cheng hopes can offer audiences a unique way of experiencing two art forms and two cultures at once.
Photo: AFP
“It is clear and simple in the best way possible. You understand his intent from the moment you see it,” Joyce Theater executive director Linda Shelton said after Wednesday night’s show.
Shelton, who was a judge for for last year’s Taishin Arts Awards, was impressed by the piece, which she said merges light and shadow with rich and inventive movement.
Cheng said the inspiration for the piece, which fuses Eastern and Western elements, came to him in 2010, when he was literally “on the road” traveling in China’s Yunnan Province with two Cloud Gate 2 dancers, Chiang Pao-shu (江保樹) and Luo Sih-wei (駱思維).
Although the three men share similar backgrounds, they have different personalities, Cheng said, describing Luo as a perfectionist and Chiang as more laid back. Their similarities and differences helped Cheng to see different sides of himself, he said.
The score combines Taiwanese folk songs, traditional Naxi and Islamic music and Tom Waits songs.
On the Road is the second piece from Cloud Gate 2 to be put on at the Joyce Theater, where it will run through Sunday. The troupe made their New York debut in February last year, performing four works, including Cheng’s The Wall.
Cloud Gate 2 was founded in 1999 by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (雲門舞集) founder and artistic director Lin Hwai-min (林懷民) and prominent dancer and teacher Lo Man-fei (羅曼菲).
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS