Dance

As introduced by the Taiwan Yearbook 2006:

Dance in Taiwan has become particularly diverse since the late 1960s. Early pioneers of modern dance in Taiwan include Cai Ruei-yue and Li Cai-e, who studied European-influenced modern dance in Japan and began performing in the 1940s. Though temporarily sidetracked by Chinese folk dance in the 1950s, modern dance was revived in the 1960s when local dancers and audiences were exposed to new styles through tours by American companies such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Paul Taylor Dance Company.

One of the first people to introduce modern dance to Taiwan was Liou Fong-syue, whom many today consider the matriarch of Taiwan dance. With dancers from her own studio, which was established in 1967, as well as students from the Department of Physical Education at National Taiwan Normal University, Liou brought modern choreography to Taiwanese audiences. In 1976, she formed the Neo-Classic Dance Company, which continues to perform today. Her choreographic style has been heavily influenced by Rudolf Laban, whose famous system of dance notation she studied in Germany in the 1970s. As a result, many of her works, such as Carmina Burana (1993), emphasize structural concepts of space and group formation.

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre

According to Chinese legend, Cloud Gate -- a ritual dance dating back 5,000 years -- is the oldest known dance in China. In 1973, choreographer Lin Hwai-min adopted this name when he founded the first ever contemporary dance company to be established in a Chinese-speaking community -- the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre.

Lin Hwai-min is one of Asia's most prominent choreographers and draws his inspiration from Asian cultures and aesthetics to create works with contemporary resonance. Most of Cloud Gate's productions, from the signature work, Legacy (1978), to subsequent works such as The Dream of the Red Chamber (1983), Nine Songs (1993), and Cursive Trilogy (2005), have been made into dance videos. Among them, Songs of the Wanderers (1994) was filmed in the Netherlands, Moon Water (1998) was filmed in France, and Bamboo Dream (2001) was filmed in Germany by RM Associates, London. These productions are available on DVD and have been televised in many countries since their publication.

Cloud Gate's rich repertoire has its roots in Asian myths, folklore, and aesthetics, but also brings to these age-old beliefs and stories a contemporary and universal perspective. Cloud Gate has made dozens of overseas tours throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and America and performances include those at the Next Wave Festival, Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festival, Lyon Biannual Dance Festival, Berlin Festival, the festival celebrating the 25th anniversary of Pina Bausch's Tanztheater Wuppertal, Sadler's Wells Theatre London, Deutsche Opera Berlin, and the Kennedy Center. Cloud Gate has been acclaimed as "Asia's leading contemporary dance theatre" (The Times, London) and "One of the finest dance companies in the world" (The Globe and Mail, Toronto). At home in Taiwan, Cloud Gate performs regularly throughout the country.

In 1998, the Cloud Gate Dance School was founded to introduce the joy of dance to students of all ages and Cloud Gate 2 was founded in 1999 to further tours in campuses and local communities and foster young choreographers in Taiwan.

Diverse Dance Styles

Since the 1980s, a number of smaller dance companies have started up, many of them founded by former Cloud Gate members. The most prominent among them is Lin Siou-wei's Taigu Tales Dance Theater, known for its meditative dances based on Asian philosophy. With an emphasis on poetic expression and soul-searching, her works are stirring and cathartic, often with a primitive quality similar to the modern Japanese dance form Butoh.

Another former Cloud Gate dancer, Liou Shao-lu, also studied with Liou Fong-syue early in his career and started his own group, the Taipei Dance Circle. Liou's best known work, Olympics, is based on an innovative technique in which dancers with oiled bodies spin and slide on an oiled floor to create a surprisingly poetic display of motion. In 1996, the play received the Ludwig Foundation's innovative choreography award for the performing arts.

The Dance Forum Taipei, founded in 1989 by Ping Heng, presents a wide mixture of styles, but is best known for works that combine postmodernism with a Chinese or Asian frame of reference.

Although ballet has held a less prominent position in Taiwan, there are several ballet schools and small companies. One of the better known is the Taipei Chamber Ballet, which presents annual summer performances choreographed by Yu Neng-sheng, the artistic director of Landestheater Coburg in Germany.

The works of Legend Lin Dance Theatre, founded and directed by Lin Li-jhen, are inspired by Taiwanese folk traditions. The theater's works, such Mirrors of Life and Anthem for Fading Flowers, were performed both at home and at a number of major European festivals.

In 2000, Taiwan was invited to perform at the French Lyon Biennial Dance Festival for the first time. Groups and individuals invited included Cloud Gate, Legend Lin Dance Theatre, Han Tang Yuefu Ensemble, U Theatre, and the performance troupe of the National Taiwan Junior College of Performing Arts, as well as artists Chen Jie-ren and Mei Ding-yan.