BEIJING, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Cloud Gate, a renowned modern dance troupe from Taiwan, will present "Send in a Cloud" to audiences in Beijing at the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) from Dec. 7 to 10.
This work of the well-known dance company made its debut in 2022. It has already been performed in Shanghai and will also be staged in Nanjing and Guangzhou before coming to the NCPA.
At a press conference held recently in Beijing, Cheng Tsung-lung, the current artistic director of the dance group, pointed out the uniqueness of this new work.
Unlike the previous dances of the troupe, the newly staged performance tells the stories of the dancers themselves, according to Cheng.
The dancers' costume boasts different colors, symbolizing their distinct emotions, and each dancer is paired with unique stage image settings, which display visuals created by the dancers themselves based on their own emotions, he added.
Aiming to deliver audiences a feeling of entering a wide and bright world, the new performance features J.S. Bach's cello suites played on saxophone.
Illustrating the name of the performance, Cheng hoped that this dance could "shine like a beam of light through a cloud, not only illuminating the dancers but also captivating every single member of the audience."
The "cloud gate" is said to be the oldest known dance in China, and believed to have existed during the time of the legendary ancestor Huangdi, or the Yellow Emperor. In 1973, Lin Hwai-min, a famous choreographer, adopted this classical name and founded the contemporary dance company.
Over the years, the dance troupe has integrated Chinese traditional culture, contemporary humanistic ideals, and a diverse dance vocabulary, crafting a unique style by blending Eastern and Western skills and elements.
In 2020, Cheng succeeded Lin as the company's artistic director.
For years, Cheng has been drawing nourishment from traditional Chinese cultural elements and gathering inspiration from cross-Strait exchanges.
During a trip to the Lugu Lake in southwest China, Cheng saw an elderly woman clad in ethnic clothes using a trendy smartphone. The stark contrast served as inspiration for his artistic creations.
"At that moment, I realized that tradition and modernity could connect in this way, in our everyday lives," he said.
Looking at the future of the troupe, Cheng said understanding traditional elements from the perspective of younger generations in order to promote innovation is his generation's responsibility, and all the dancers of the troupe will work together for this goal. ■
