One of the fun things about going to see university student dance performances is getting the chance to see young choreographers and dancers before they make a name for themselves. Taipei National University of the Arts has a record of turning out accomplished performers, and the school’s 12-year-old Focus Dance Company (焦點舞團) has played a large role in polishing that raw talent.
The company presents Seven (柒) at the university’s Dance Hall in four shows starting tonight, offering audiences a mixed bill of dances by two of the school’s teachers, one of its graduate students and two other young choreographers, all of whom are well-known in Taipei dance circles.
The title of the show comes from the seven performers. On their production blog, they say that seven is more than just a number, it is “also a story ... seven characteristics of different individuals, forming an ever-changing face of the organism.”
I’m not sure what that means, but judging by the photographs, one standout work will be Huang Yi’s (黃翊) The Slanting Man (傾斜的人). Huang, whose Body, Sound (身音) was such a knock-out for Cloud Gate 2 (雲門2) last year, won rave reviews for his two new works for that company last month. He has also contributed an updated version of his seminal work, Sound Body 2, for this weekend.
Cheng Tsung-lung (鄭宗龍), Cloud Gate 2’s resident choreographer, has contributed the title piece, Seven, while Yang Yu-ming (楊育鳴), a friend of Huang and Cheng’s from the Horse Dance Company (驫舞劇場), created Pan (泛).
Two members of the Taipei Crossover Dance Theater (台北越界舞團) who also teach at the school, Crossover director Ho Hsiao-mei (何曉玫) and dancer-turned-choreographer Zhang Xiao-xiong (張曉雄), created the final two works on the program. Zhang’s piece is entitled Autumn Song of the Yulin Ling (秋歌之雨霖鈴), while Ho’s piece translates as Hug Day (擁抱日子).
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