More accurately called the "ticket purchase of the week," sales for the December premier of Cloud Gate's (雲門舞集) latest piece will likely go fast.
Acclaimed as "Asia's leading contemporary dance theater" by international media, the local group is famous for its extensive repertoire rooted in Asian myth and folklore.
Cloud Gate's stringent training includes meditation, Chinese Opera movement, modern dance and ballet, making its dancers as expressive as possible. The group's dancers have undergone tai-chi training since 1998 to give their bodies a supple quality which other dancers often lack.
For its latest piece, Cursive(行草), the dancers received two years of martial arts training in order to gain a command of their chi (氣). For the group's leader and choreographer, Lin Huai-min (林懷民), this training is meant to prepare his dancers for the subject of the piece: Chinese calligraphy. "In calligraphy, it's not the brush that writes the characters on paper, it's your chi," said Chen Yang-sen (陳仰聖), Cloud
Gate's program planner and publicity manager, in explaining Lin's concept for the piece.
According to Chen, no other dance group, either in Taiwan or abroad, has ever before touched upon this subject. This has led to the record-breaking number of invitations Cloud Gate has received from around the world - even before the choreography was finished.
Cursive will have its world premier on Dec. 1 at the National Theater before moving on to the Lyon Dance Festival in France and other international gigs. Tickets to the show are now available at the venue, Acer ticketing outlets or by calling the group at 2712-2102.
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