A state-of-the-art landmark lights up central Taiwan
A glistening landmark that took over a decade to construct, the National Taichung Theater is truly a monolith of modern architecture. Its maker is none other than the Pritzker-winning architect from Japan - Toyo Ito (伊東豊雄).
The National Taichung Theater boasts the world's first beamless structure, complete with irregular curved walls. The architectural feat earned praise from media commentators such as Reuters, who dubbed it "the world's ninth new landmark.”
Ito's unique vision, which set him apart from 32 other architectural firms that participated in the 2005 international design competition organized by Taichung City, was based on creating a "sound cave” with tubular voids and hourglass-shaped cutouts.
"The National Taichung Theater is not just a building that houses the opera. The entire architecture itself is an opera,” noted Ito. "One can feel the flow of air, sound, and light not only in the foyer, but within the restaurant, sky garden, and everywhere else in the building. One feels overwhelmed by the grandeur of a cosmic brilliance coming out of the architecture.”
Apart from serving as a multifunctional arts center offering theaters, exhibition venues, and concert halls, the opera house also offers an incubation site for creative entrepreneurs and several artist-in-residence programs. Bulareyaung Pagarlava (布拉瑞揚•帕格勒法), a noted Taiwanese choreographer of Paiwan heritage, is currently attached to the National Taichung Theater as resident artist.
Grand Opening of the Theater
Bulareyaung Dance Company
Originally from the Paiwan tribe of Taiwan, Bulareyaung is a professional choreographer who served as a principal dancer for Cloud Gate 2 and the Martha Graham Dance Company. He founded his own dance company in 2014 to show the originality and beauty of Taiwan's aboriginal peoples … (read more)
National Taichung Theater
Together with the National Theater and Concert Hall in northern Taiwan and the Wei-Wu-Ying Center for the Arts in southern Taiwan, the National Taichung Theater is part of the National Performing Arts Center that is seen as the key to the structural upgrade of the arts education and cultural environment in Taiwan … (read more)