The COVID-19 pandemic has been a disaster to so many artists, performers and dance, theater and opera troupes around the world, shuttering venues and tossing many people out of work.
However, it has also been a boon in some ways, as artists and companies explore new ways to connect with audiences through virtual performances, or provide grist for their creative process, inspiring new works.
While Taiwan has been spared some of the ravages and turmoil of its international counterparts, the pandemic has become a source of inspiration for many in the creative industry, including Luo Wen-jinn (羅文瑾), artistic director of the Tainan-based Scarecrow Contemporary Dance Company (稻草人現代舞蹈團).
Photo courtesy of Liu Ren-haur
For her latest work for the company, Hideout (巢), Luo returns to one of her favorite sources of inspiration: plumbing 19th and 20th century philosophy and literature to ponder the complexity of life in a 21st century crisis and the depths that people are willing to go to feel safe.
The work was created in collaboration with the musicians of Musica Lequio Pequeno, with stage design by Tseng Chi-ting (曾啟庭) and Sun Chia-hsuan (孫佳暄)
Luo cites a quote from French poet and dramatist Paul Claudel from his Position And Proposition: “We lack the wings to fly, but we still find the strength to fall.”
Photo courtesy of Liu Ren-haur
The piece also raises questions about what the different classes in a society truly feel, Luo said.
Hideout is set in a nameless, placeless colony, where the inhabitants roam about — uneasy, restless, and cut off from the outside world and their larger community, worrying if they will remain safe.
Luo challenges her five dancers — led by Li Pei-shan (李佩珊) — by having them explore a variety of materials and objects in their movements, from thick, carpet-like pieces of cloth to web-like drapes to lengths of flexible aluminum ventilation ducting.
Photo courtesy of Liu Ren-haur
French and German philosophers and writers might not be the most common sources of inspiration for choreographers, but Luo has a strong record when it comes to creating interesting, thought-provoking shows, from the Franz Kafka-inspired The Keyman (鑰匙人) and the Jean-Paul Sartre-inspired Dripping (詭‧跡) to Abyss, drawn from the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche and Hermann Hesse.
After this weekend’s shows at the Taikang Cultural Center in Tainan, the company will bring Hideout to the Taipei City Shuiyuan Theater for three shows starting on Dec. 5.
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