Beyond Tradition: Finding New Voices in Old Spirits
Second in the 2015 Asia Pacific Forum Series
Dialogues on how Asian contemporary dance artists explore the issues of individual creativity, cultural heritage and identity through navigating the relationship between the traditional and the contemporary.
Taiwanese dance companies are renowned for their vibrant diversity and outstanding performances on international stages. They are frequently invited to important festivals all over the world and cross over boundaries to share resources and collaborate across countries.
This forum invited two renowned dance artists from South East Asia, Ramli Ibrahim and Pichet Klunchun, together with an important Taiwanese choreographer and artistic director of Legend Lin Dance Theatre, Lin Lee-chen. Together, they will engage in a thoughtful exchange, discussing the issues of individual creativity, cultural heritage and identity, through navigating the relationship between the traditional and the contemporary.
To deepen our connection with the Asia-Pacific region and establish friendly partnership through cultural affairs, the Ministry of Culture has launched a variety of exchange programs promoting Asian Pacific cultures, including the visits of Southeast Asian advisory committee, Southeast Asia forums, international cultural exchange programs, seminars by creative artists, and the 2015 Asia Pacific series which presents forum and workshops by Asia-Pacific contemporary dance artists.
We wish to promote Taiwan's soft power in culture and the arts through sharing our experiences and strengthening our affiliation with the Asia-Pacific cultural network. Besides open up dialogues between the artists from three different countries, this program also includes an educational component, inviting various faculties and students from dance departments across Taiwan, Taiwanese dancers and choreographers, and members of World Dance Alliance(Taiwan) to join in this meaningful event.
Keynote Speakers
Forum and workshops by three distinguished Asia-Pacific Contemporary Dance Artists: Lin Lee-Chen, Ramli Ibrahim and Pichet Klunchun
Described by international dance connoisseurs as one of the finest artistes of his generation, Ramli Ibrahim has set stages ablaze in venerated centres of dance from Konarak and Khajuraho to Paris and New York for more than three decades. Ramli's rigorous training in ballet, modern, and Indian classical dance reflects not only his diverse technical accomplishment, but also his multifaceted approach to the Arts ... (read more)
Pichet Klunchun bridges traditional Thai Classical Dance language with contemporary sensibility, while keeping the heart and wisdom of the convention. He trained in Thai Classical Mask Dance, Khon, from age 16 with Chaiyot Khummanee, one of the best Khon masters in Thailand ... (read more)
Lin Lee-chen attracted attention among the artistic circle already during the 1970s as a dance teacher and choreographer at Chang-an girls' Junior High School, where her dance productions - some involving as many as hundred performers- garnered national awards for five consecutive years and had an enormous influence on dance and theater productions in Taiwan. But it was her choreography and performance of Don't Forget Your Umbrella in 1978, her first solo production, that gained Lin widespread attention and earned her the reputation of being "An astonishing new talent in Taiwanese performance arts” ... (read more)
Opening Remarks
In contemporary art, dance holds a fairly important place especially in the prevailing languages of neo art and new generation. The transcendence of traditional art is the essential corner stone when it comes to initiating contemporary dance. And traditional art, with no doubt, originates from the wandering shadow and echo of the old spirits ... (read more)