National Taiwan University of the Arts: Emancipate & Millennium Dance
Two graduation shows, 25 short pieces, 23 of them by students. Plenty to admire, although some student works struggled and felt a little naive
Asia
A dance in the mists of time: Youth Ballet Ensemble Taiwan in Metaphor
Visually, it is insanely appealing and gorgeously lit. There are occasional, brief, brighter moments, but Metaphor is a dance in the shadows.
National Taiwan University of Sport Graduation Dance Concert: Jiu Sheng
Xinzhuang Culture and Arts Center, New Taipei City, TaiwanMarch 22, 2023 Taipei Elementary and Junior High School Talented Programme Annual Performance(臺北市度國民中小學藝術才能舞蹈班教學成果發表會)Chungshan Hall, TaipeiMarch 22, 2023 University dance departments in Taiwan are rather closer to conservatoires than those that exist in UK universities outside the main vocational schools. Their performances tend to reflect their individual ethos … Read more
Taiwan students in two evenings of top-notch dance: Focus Dance Company 2023
Two fine programmes both featuring a reworking of Ihsan Rustem’s super, tongue-in-cheek Bolero and Tsai Po-cheng’s (蔡博丞) new Dreaminess
Imagination made visible: Boris Charmatz’ Somnole
One man. One light. A bare stage. In a way it’s as minimalist as it sounds. But in another, anything but
L-E-V in Chapter 3: The Brutal Journey of the Heart
A feverish, pulsating, visceral dance in which salsa, voguing, rave and clubbing run up against balletic moments and more
A delicious confection: The Tokyo Ballet in The Nutcracker
Akira Akiyama allies strength with a lovely soft delicacy. She finds remarkable lightness is everything as she speaks with her whole body
Translating a divergent body
David Agudelo Restrepo on a work that asks how translatable is the disabled experience to those who do not inhabit bodies with such limitations
B.DANCE in The Cell: a mesmerising look at self conversation in a time of chaos
Riveting choreography. By looking at the madness we…have gone through, Tsai Po-Cheng invites the audience to let go, explore our deeper feelings
Dreams, determination, passion: Ballet in Tandem looks at the state of ballet in Taiwan
A look at the scene as it is through the eyes of the dancers past and present, while glancing back at some of the history of ballet on the island