One of Taiwan's premier dance troupes, Legend Lin Dance Theater (
Legend Lin's performances in Madrid between Nov. 8 and Nov. 10 will mark the first time a Taiwanese troupe takes the stage at the festival, which this year will feature 61 groups from around the world putting on 220 shows. The troupe will perform its piece titled Goddess of Flowers, which was first staged last year at Taipei's National Theater.
Before the Madrid festival, Legend Lin will perform in Las Palmas on Spain's Canary Islands between Nov. 2 and Nov. 4 and will move to Lyon, France, after the festival for a week of performances at that city's House of Dance starting Nov. 11.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LEE MING-HSUN
In the six years since it was founded by choreographer Lin Li-chen (林麗珍), Legend Lin has risen to the forefront of international modern dance and is often mentioned in the same breath as Taiwan's critically acclaimed Cloud Gate Dance Theater (雲門舞集). The troupe's reputation is especially strong in Europe, where it was the first Taiwanese troupe to take part in the Avignon Theater Festival in 1998 and was honored with the audience choice award at last year's Lyon Biennial of Dance. The group had planned to travel to the US for performances in New York last month, but was forced to cancel because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Legend Lin stages relatively few performances compared to most other dance companies, which Lin, speaking in anticipation of the group's upcoming European tour, said was due to the intense and lengthy preparation time for each piece. "We don't try to put out a new piece once a year. We're not on a schedule like that. It may be 10 years, for example, before we're finished with Goddess of Flowers."
The slow pace of the troupe's performance schedule reflects the natural rhythms of Legend Lin's dance pieces, which frequently are described as modern folk rituals. Goddess of Flowers is a slightly haunting celebration of the forces of nature and of humans' various reactions to and interactions with these elements. The choreography communicates the participation in various ceremonies associated with the seasons and with nature to allude to a harmony achieved between body and mind, and humans and nature.
Unmistakable in Legend Lin's performances are elements of Taiwanese culture, which Lin seeks to emphasize and reaffirm. The costumes are reminiscent of Taiwanese Aboriginal ritual dress and the choreography is sparse, reflecting what Lin described as a uniquely Chinese aesthetic. "Our dances try to show the paradox of movement in stillness and stillness in movement," she said. In this way, the bodies of the dancers become linked to the concepts of space, time and transcendence.
The different thematic elements are intended to reflect the cultural movements taking place in Taiwan, but with their universal concerns of humanity and nature, the dances have stunned audiences wherever they are performed.
After returning from Europe, Legend Lin hopes to stage performances in Taiwan, possibly at an outdoor venue, which Lin said would be particularly suited to the troupe's dances.
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