Taiwan’s renowned Cloud Gate Dance Theatre will bring its classic production “13 Tongues” by artistic director Cheng Tsung-lung on a five-week tour of the U.S. next month, the troupe announced Sept. 21.
During a press event jointly hosted with the Ministry of Culture in Taipei City, Cheng said the upcoming tour is very important to Cloud Gate after 70 overseas performances were canceled due to the pandemic in the past two years. This will also be the group’s first U.S. visit since Cheng became the artistic head in 2020.
MOC Minister Lee Yung-te said the road show signifies the restart of cultural exchanges between Taiwan and the U.S. after a hiatus of more than two years. The ministry is happy to support this meaningful development, he said, adding that the tour is expected to pave the way for more bilateral exchanges going forward.
Commissioned by the National Performing Arts Center under the MOC and based on Cheng’s childhood memories of Taipei’s Wanhua District, “13 Tongues” features choreography inspired by traditional religious rituals and folk songs, and reflects the vivacity of street life and imagination of people living in one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods.
The tour is scheduled to kick off Oct. 1 in Houston, Texas, followed by performances on Oct. 6 in Palo Alto, California; Oct. 14-15 in Chicago, Illinois; Oct. 20-22 in Washington, D.C.; Oct. 26 in Costa Mesa, California; and Oct. 29-30 in Berkeley, California.
Founded in 1973 by internationally acclaimed choreographer Lin Hwai-min as the first professional modern dance troupe in Taiwan, Cloud Gate is praised as Asia’s leading contemporary dance company.
The group has cultivated a global reputation for innovative works incorporating local cultural elements such as calligraphy, history, and Hakka and indigenous music. (SFC-E)
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