"Fokus Taiwan (聚焦臺灣)," a series of dance performances by Taiwanese groups, will take place from February 9 to 11 at the Darmstadt State Theatre (Staatstheater Darmstadt) in Germany, showcasing the exquisite, elegant artistic connotation of Taiwan's contemporary dance.
Jointly organized by Staatstheater Darmstadt and Hessischen Staatsballetts, with support from Taiwan's Ministry of Culture and the Cultural Division of the Taipei Representative Office in Germany, five dance pieces that reflect Taiwanese artists' personal and social explorations include "FreeSteps - NiNi (自由步－一盞燈的景身)" by Horse Dance Theater (驫舞劇場), "Beings (捺撇)" by Shimmering Production (微光製造), "Timeless" and "Rage (怒)" by B.DANCE (丞舞製作團隊), and "Voyage (旅程)," a collaboration work by Europe-based dancers Chen Guang-xuan (陳廣軒) and Lu Mei-yun (盧美云).
To showcase the different aspects of Taiwanese culture through diversified forms, the event specially invites Deerland Tea, a German-based company specializing in Taiwan's specialty tea, to join forces with artistic director Sunny Yang (楊乃璇) of the Les Petites Choses Production to present a new site-specific performance.
"Fokus Taiwan" is curated by Bruno Heynderickx, the general artistic director of the Hessian State Ballet (Hessisches Staatstballett) who not only invited Taiwanese dancers to perform in Germany, but also organized multiple workshops related to painting and physicality. Through the interactive activities, it is anticipated that German artists can gain a deeper understanding of Taiwan.
As the largest theatre company in Darmstadt, the Darmstadt State Theatre annually hosts over 20 international art teams and organizes contemporary dance art platforms and festivals to connect international contemporary dance with local ecology.