Taiwan’s homegrown ballet movement
In Taiwan, ballet's roots predate the development of modern dance. However, in the past the majority of shows were Western classics, with local artists rarely creating Taiwanese ballet works. As a result, Taiwan has little ballet to truly call its own.
Hsu Chin-feng (徐進豐) noticed this issue early on and set about addressing it with his March 1990 founding of Taipei Capital Ballet (台北首督芭蕾舞團), a troupe that would focus primarily on the creation of new works. Over the years, Taipei Capital Ballet has been devoted to the creation and performance of both ballet and modern dance. Each year, to ensure the sustainability of the troupe, they work with rising stars of choreography from Taiwan and abroad, providing the choreographers with room to create, the troupe with greater diversity in its repertoire, and the dancers with breadth of experience and creative depth.
Since its founding, Taipei Capital Ballet has performed over 40 pieces, building on a foundation of ballet by exploring a variety of styles, including a spectacular merging of ballet with Taiwanese aboriginal dance. In a 2004 exhibition, the troupe even combined ballet with African dance and tango to rapturous reviews. The London-published international dance magazine "Dance Europe" even praised Taipei Capital Ballet for its innovative spirit and novel works. By combining homegrown forms of dance, local metaphors, and contemporary themes, Taipei Capital Ballet is creating ballet that Taiwan can truly call its own.