The dance productions around Taipei this weekend — aside from Cloud Gate Dance Theatre’s (雲門舞集) sold-out shows at the National Theater — range from a multi-media, multi-artist production to a triple-bill by female choreographers to a show inspired by the Dunhuang (敦煌) cave paintings in China’s Gansu Province.
It is perhaps appropriate that fans will have to travel a bit to see that last show: Jade Dance Theatre (肢體音符舞團) is in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋), at the National Taiwan University of Arts’(國立台灣藝術大學) theater, for two performances of Crescent Lake II (月牙泉二部曲-220窟), tonight at 7:30pm and tomorrow at 2:30pm.
The second episode of Jade Hua’s (華碧玉) Dunhuang series, Crescent Lake II, is a reflection on the conflicts between tradition and modernity.
Photo courtesy of Jade Dance Theatre
Like the first part, which premiered in November 2016 at the university, Quantum Dance — Crescent Lake (月牙泉), the costumes and set have been constructed largely from paper, Hua’s way of paying tribute to the ancient craft of papermaking that, like the cave’s famed frescos, is gradually disappearing.
Costume designer Weng Ming-ching (翁孟晴) and set designer Tsai Ying-han (蔡茵涵) have expanded upon their work for the first production.
Ticket prices range from NT$500 to NT$2,500 and available online at www.artsticket.com, Eslite ticket desks and NTCH box offices or convenience store ticket kiosks.
Photo: CNA
The other two shows are taking place at Taipei’s Songshan Cultural and Creative Park (松山文創園區).
This 11th edition of Young Stars New Vision (2018新人新視野) will be staged at the Song Yan Creative LAB in East Building 2F (松山文創園區 — 東向製菸工廠2樓).
The National Culture and Art Foundation has hosted the Young Stars New Vision since the program’s inception in 2008, when the shows were coproduced with the National Theater Concert Hall and staged at the National Experimental Theater. Over the past decade, including the move to the Songshan venue, the program has supported the work of 51 young choreographers, who created a total of 67 dances.
Freelance dancers and choreographers Wang Ning (王甯), Lin Hsiu-yu (林修瑜) and Chang Jing-ju (張靜如) were selected for this year’s program. All three will be familiar to followers of Taiwan’s contemporary dance scene, though they are still in the early years of building their choreographic portfolios.
Wang’s piece, a duet that she performs with Cheng Hao (鄭皓), is entitled The Other (丨丨).
Lin’s is called The Day (是日), which she choreographed for herself, old friend Hung Pei-yu (洪佩瑜) and Wang.
Chang’s piece, WE (我們) is set on six dancers.
The show runs a little over an hour-and-a-half.
Following this weekend’s performances, Young Stars New Vision moves to the B9 Warehouse at Kaohsiung’s Pier-2 Arts Center (駁二藝術特區) for two performances on Saturday next week and then to the Yunlin Performance Hall (彰化縣員林演藝廳表演廳), for one show on the afternoon of Dec. 1.
Tickets for the Taipei shows are NT$600, while the others are NT$400, available online at www.artsticket.com, Eslite ticket desks or convenience store ticket kiosks.
Just a short walk away, at the Eslite Performance Hall (誠品表演廳) on the B2 level at the Eslite Spectrum Shopping Mall, the latest production in the Eslite Crossover (誠品跨界) series, Sayon II (追), is being performed.
There are just about 25 seats each left for tomorrow night and Sunday matinees, priced at NT$800 and NT$1,000 for the multi-media interactive production that has been three years in the making.
The show’s artistic director, Tchen Yu-chiou (陳郁秀) recruited Huang Hsin-chien (黃心健), a new media artist and professor at National Chengchi University; designer and visual artist Akibo Lee (李明道); Anarchy Dance Theatre (安娜琪舞蹈劇場) founder Jeff Hsieh Chieh-hua (謝杰樺) and choreographer Lin Li-chuan (林立川), former Cirque du Soleil dancer Chang Yi-chun (張逸軍) and pianist Lu Chia-hui (盧佳慧), who served as musical director.
The show combines virtual reality, instant motion-capture technology, suspension work, video projection, music and dance. It runs about 90 minutes, with two intermissions.
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