The lifetime achievement award is given out every five years. It was first established in 2004 by the organizers of the International Movimentos Dance Festival, who hoped the award would help to pay tribute to the most outstanding dancers and choreographers around the globe.
In presenting Lin with the award, the jury compared his achievements with those of George Balanchine, Maurice Bejart, William Forsythe and Birgit Cullberg, whose works are said to be of such high quality as to be “rarely seen in 100 years.”
“Lin liberated Taiwanese dance arts from Chinese traditions without breaking those traditions, and succeeded in linking a rich cultural heritage with the modern world of dance,” said the jury. It praised Lin for his broad understanding of both Asian and Western cultures, as well as trends in contemporary arts.
During his acceptance speech, Lin described the award as a surprising honor, saying he never imagined receiving the coveted prize because there are so many other talented dancers in Europe.
Lin thanked the people of Taiwan for their support of Cloud Gate over the past 36 years. He also thanked the 5,000 people from Taiwan and around the world who made donations to his troupe after its rehearsal studio in Bali, Taipei County, was destroyed by a fire in early 2008.
“Because I have 5,000 shareholders, I cannot retire, even though I now have a life achievement award,” Lin said.
He told the audience of more than 1,000 at the award ceremony that he will donate the 20,000 euros (US$27,150) from his Movimentos prize money to the construction of Cloud Gate’s new dance center in Damshui, Taipei County, which is expected to be completed in 2012. When the center is ready, Lin added, the audience is welcome to come to Taiwan and see Cloud Gate perform at its new home.
The ceremony concluded with “Wild Cursive”—a lyrical dance whose title and movements are both inspired by Chinese calligraphy—performed by Cloud Gate.
According to an ancient classic, Cloud Gate is the name of a ritual dance first performed some 5,000 years ago, making it the oldest recorded dance form in Chinese history. When Lin decided to found a dance company in 1973, the first contemporary dance troupe in any Chinese speaking community, he adopted the name by calling his group the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan. Currently, the company has about two dozen dancers. It has been on extensive overseas tours throughout Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia.
In the past 10 years Lin has worked tirelessly in promoting dance and cultivating talent in Taiwan. He founded the Cloud Gate Dance School in 1998 to bring the joy of dance to students, from ages four to 84. The following year Lin founded Cloud Gate 2 to foster young choreographers and to develop education and outreach programs through its performances, workshops, lecture-demonstrations and residency projects on campuses and grass-root communities in Taiwan.
Write to Jean Yueh at yueh@mail.gio.gov.tw