• Date 2018.08.06
  • Venue Thinkers’ Theatre

Girl’s Notes—2018 Taipei Fringe Festival

SU Pin-Wen

Comments on the Finalist

Girl’s Notes touches upon the grand issue of putting feminism into real practice on stage in the artist statement of the work. In Taiwan in 2018, how does one respond to the diversified and multiple meanings of “feminism,” which was established a century ago and has permeated all classes, races and cultures worldwide? Throughout the performance, Su Pin-Wen balanced the book, History of Beauty, on her head and performed the general impression of an Asian girl’s elegant and refined physicality, or the demand of a girl’s nice, graceful demeanor imposed by Asian societies. However, while conforming to the norm, Su also invited the audience to look at her nude, which she showed with an equally elegant, undisturbed composure and a hint of embarrassment that aimed to mock girls’ bashfulness. By doing so, instead of creating strenuous conflicts, the work reverses the power relation between body and social norms through switching the object’s and subject’s positions and counteracting the notion of girls with “being” a girl.

(Commentator: Siraya PAI)


Artwork Introduction

Girl’s Notes, premiered at the 2018 Taipei Fringe Festival, is inspired by the same-titled female behavior instruction book published in 1984. Su Pin-Wen adopted a contemporary feminist perspective to create this dance and performed in the nude to demonstrate a pure state of the female body. As the choreographer of the work, she practiced feminism through her physical performance, exploring what constitutes “the female gender” and delivering her criticism of the book. The premiere took place at Thinker’s Theatre and guided the audience to read and reflect on different aspects of contemporary female behavior. In addition to the performance, Su also extended the work into a photographic project, entitled Nipple Shooting Program,which aimed to initiate further discussions about gender and was done with ten participants gathered through an open call. With personal interviews and field research, she was able to gain insights into how Taiwanese people have perceived body and gender and gathered their individual experiences.

About the Artist

Su Pin-Wen

First majored in philosophy in college, Su Pin-Wen later moved onto performing arts and received her MFA in Dance, Performance and Choreography from Taipei National University of the Arts. She is now Artistic Director of Kua Bo Dance Theatre. Since 2013, touching and improvisation have formed the base of her body training to enhance the ability of multidimensional senses, and she is currently developing a one-on-one method of “Touch Treatment.” Su’s works revolve around gender equality and feminist issues, perceiving dance in a conceptual way rather than only from an aesthetic viewpoint. Her works have been featured in various art festivals, including the 2018 Grasstraw Festival, Chiayi Dance Festival and Taipei Fringe Festival, etc.



Production Team

Producer:SU PinWen

Choreographer:SU PinWen

Dancer:SU PinWen


【Instant Fringe Encores】Lighting Designer:Ún Sìn Hiông