Choreographers are inspired by many things: a musical phase, a song, a book, a person or nature, social conditions or current events. Questions of identity and the Sunflower movement that emerged earlier this year during protests against the government’s handling of cross-strait negotiations and trade pacts are the inspiration behind the Sun-Shier Dance Theatre’s (三十舞蹈劇場) latest production, The Stranger & Ethics.
Chang Hsiu-ping (張秀萍), who founded the company in 1997 with Wu Bi-rong (吳碧容), said ethics is not a typical topic for dance, but the Sunflower movement made her question the development of communities, patterns of actions and what is considered “appropriate behavior.” Chang is not your usual choreographer either. With a masters’ degree in sociology, one can see why social movements would attract her interest.
She and Yu Huan-fu (余奐甫) collaborated on the choreography for Ethics (倫理學), one of the two pieces in the company’s production at the Experimental Theater in Taipei this weekend.
Photo: Courtesy of the Sun-Shier Dance
The second work, The Stranger (局外人) was choreographed by Wang Yihsiang (王怡湘).
■ The Stranger & Ethics (局外人＋倫理學), Experimental Theater ( 國家戲劇院實驗劇場), 21-1 Zhongshan N Rd, Taipei City (台北市中山南路21-1號) tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm.
■ Tickets are NT$500, available at NTCH box offices, online at www.artsticket.com.tw and at 7-Eleven ibon and other convenince store ticketing kiosks.
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