Taipei Folk Dance Theater (台北民族舞團) will bring an oasis of Zen-like calm to this hectic dance-filled month when it opens a three-city tour at Taipei’s Metropolitan Hall tomorrow afternoon.
The company’s latest production, the 90-minute, three-part The Blossoming Smile of Enlightenment (拈花微笑), was choreographed by founder-artistic director Tsai Li-hua (蔡麗華), Hsiao Chiin-ling (蕭君玲) and Hu Min-shan (胡民山) as a sequel to their Meditation Through the Flower (拈花) created in 2006.
All three drew on Chan Buddhist scriptures and legends surrounding the Buddha’s enlightenment 2,500 years ago. Tsai choreographed a very personal Smile (微笑), Hsiao contributed Fallen Flower (落花) and Hu’s piece is titled Emptiness (色空).
PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAN OUYANG
Tsai called her piece Smile because it was inspired by a stroke she suffered two years ago and the physical therapy she underwent to regain the use of damaged muscles, including the facial muscles needed to smile. Among the dancers in this piece is Chen Kuan-jui (陳冠叡), who frequently appears on TV variety shows as a “child dance prodigy.”
Meanwhile, Hsiao said her inspiration came from a tale in the Vimalakirti Sutra, which emphasizes silent meditation. It’s a seemingly light-hearted story about fairies that drop flower petals on all the earth, except for on Bodhisattvas. The fallen flowers are a metaphor for the struggles of daily existence that human beings must overcome.
Hu has built a reputation for minimalism over the years in his explorations of Chinese classical dance esthetics and traditions, and Emptiness appears to be a continuation of that approach.
Company veterans Li Wei-jen (李為仁) and Chang Meng-chen (張夢珍) lead a cast of 13 dancers.
The costumes were designed by Chung Tou-tou (鍾豆豆) and the lighting by Lin Li-chun (林立群), who have collaborated on several previous company productions, while Lin Jing-yao (林經堯) created the music and the video projections, which build on vibrations of both sound and light to create various nature-oriented environments for the dancers.
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