Co-presented by the Taipei Cultural Center in New York (TCC) and Japan Society, two Taiwanese dance groups' will be performing at Japan Society's Contemporary Dance Festival: Japan + East Asia on Jan. 14 and 15.
The two Taiwanese dance groups invited to perform at the festival in New York include Incandescence Dance (告白熾造) and HORSE (驫舞劇場).
Mathematician-turned-choreographer Hao Cheng (鄭皓) from Incandescence Dance will present a solo performance combining monologues and dance titled "In Touchdown(觸底的形色)," using the stage as his chalkboard that explores quantum physics through repetitive circular motion. The work, first performed in 2019, uses quantum physics as an analogy for life in its portrayal of the choreographer's personal struggles and breakthroughs.
"FreeSteps - NiNi(自由步－一盞燈的景身)," created by the founder and choreographer of HORSE Su Wei-chia (蘇威嘉), is a solo dance project performed by Fang Yu-ting (方妤婷). In this project, audiences encounter dancers under street lights in the city, where all of the elements, including the temperature, lighting, and landscape at that time as well as passersby, become materials for the dancers' creation. The dancers' physical bodies stretch and curl in merriment or pain depending on the surrounding stimuli.
Now in its 19th installment, the Contemporary Dance Festival is presented as part of Japan Society's 2021-2022 Performing Arts Season, the dance festival features three North American premieres from Japan, Taiwan, and Korea in the highly selective program assembled by the Society's Artistic Director, Yoko Shioya (塩谷陽子).