Taiwan’s Cloud Gate Dance Theatre will premiere its new production “Sounding Light” Oct. 1-4 at National Theater in Taipei City, with additional performances set for the southern and central cities of Kaohsiung and Taichung later the same month, according to the New Taipei City-based group.
Choreographed by Cheng Tsung-lung, who took over as artistic director after the group’s founder Lin Hwai-min retired last year, the piece reflects the new leader’s love of nature and examines the balance between an environment and its inhabitants.
According to Cheng, the production differs from his previous works “13 Tongues,” which drew inspiration from 1970s Taipei street life, and “Lunar Halo,” which focused on humans’ changing lives in a digital world.
The idea for “Sounding Light” formed when quarantining at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cheng said. Living in seclusion provided time to focus on nature’s sounds and how they related to movement, he added.
Founded in 1973 as the first professional modern dance troupe in Taiwan, Cloud Gate has cultivated a global reputation for innovative works incorporating local cultural elements such as calligraphy, history and Hakka and indigenous music.
Over the years it has embarked on international tours across Asia, Europe and North and South America while winning several prominent awards, including at the U.K.’s National Dance Awards in 2018. (SFC-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw