Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture

Comments on the Finalist

Connecting personal nostalgia with Taiwanese local culture, CHENG Tsung-Lung, the artistic director and choreographer of Cloud Gate 2, brings together various talents in the fields of music, art, lighting, and image design, and combines a bodily quest of the self with the immersive experience and innovation of sound. The work opens up a world of iridescent light and sound that resembles a tableau of common people's life on stage, with multiple focuses presented in a parallel manner. Paired with the ambitiously creative images, music, and costumes, the interweaving vocals and physical performances of the dancers demonstrate vivid and bright colors, that is dazzling and bewitching. It is a journey that moves from a trance-like state towards ecstasy, representing and reconstructing the Taiwanese people's life from a certain perspective. (Commentator: YANG Mei-Ying)

Artwork Introduction

A legendary figure in the 1960s from Bangka, “Thirteen Tongues” was a street artist lauded for his remarkable acts portraying multiple roles, imitating characters of different sexes and ages while telling popular stories and anecdotes of the past and present. Every member in his audience could not help but being captivated by his performance. Choreographer CHENG Tsung-lung collaborated with musician LIM Giong to create the exuberant 13 Tongues. The work combined ancient songs from Hengchun and folk chanting with avant-garde experimental electronic music, and spanned the dimensions of physical and sound performance. On stage, the dancers stomped and clapped with rhythms, chanted Taoist mantra, whirled around and moved across the stage like an enchanted troop, presenting a bizarre spectrum of physical movements.

About the Artist

Established in 1999, Cloud Gate 2 was founded by the internationally renowned choreographer, Lin Hwai-min, founder and artistic director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, with the late choreographer LO Man-fei as its artistic director. After LO passed away in 2006, Lin acted as the company’s director for eight years until CHENG Tsung-Lung took post in 2014. The objective of Cloud Gate 2 is to nurture and cultivate choreographers, dancers, and a diversified audience, and has worked with outstanding choreographers, including Helen LAI, GU Ming-Shen, WU Kuo-Chu, Bulareyaung, CHENG Tsung-Lung, and HUANG Yi. These collaborations have created a rich repertoire of unique styles that feature the diverse and lively physical performance of young dancers. The dance theatre's annual season, "Spring Riot," is one of the most anticipated art events for Taiwanese audience. In 2016, National Theater and Concert Hall commissioned CHENG to create 13 Tongues, which premiered at Taiwan International Festival of Arts. The work received tremendously positive feedback and was invited to various international art festivals and theatres. Critics have stated that "Cloud Gate 2 is reborn ... into the Cloud Gate 2 that has truly grown from and embodied the essence of Taiwan."