The Taiwan Ballet Company (台灣芭蕾舞團), founded by Chuang Yuan-ting (莊媛婷), is just two-and-a-half years old, but it has big ambitions.
I missed its first program this year, a mixed bill presented at the Rose Historic Site (玫瑰古蹟) in downtown Taipei in mid-February, but the troupe earned praise from visiting British ballet choreographer/teacher/critic David Mead.
However, those who did not see that show now have a second chance this weekend, as the company is giving three shows of Flying (飛翔) at the Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center’s Experimental Theater.
Photo courtesy of Oraku Hiko
Like the February show, the works on the Flying program are a mix of Chuang’s own creations and classical ballet staples, plus a work by Chao Lee-wei (趙力緯) entitled Pinghsi (屏息).
She has created a program that mixes classical and modern influences, with music by European and Taiwanese composers.
The company will perform a version of the Grand Pas Classique, originally choreographed in 1949 by Victor Gsovsky to music from Daniel Auber’s Le Dieu et La Bayadere.
For Heaven (天), Chuang choose a piece of beiguan (北管) music, while for Heidong (黑洞), which is set on four dancers, she chose a movement from Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen’s 2009 Violin Concerto.
Chaung’s Flying (飛躍) is set on four dancers to the third movement of Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, while She is so beautiful (她～是如此美麗), is set to the third movement of Kaohsiung-born composer Tyzen Hsiao’s (蕭泰然) 1988 work, Violin Concerto in D major.
■ Tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center’s Experimental Theater (臺灣戲曲中心小表演廳 ), 751 Wenlin Rd (台北士林區文林路751號)
■ Remaining tickets are NT$600 and 800; available at the NTCH and Eslite ticket booths, online at www.artsticket.com and at convenience store ticket kiosks
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