Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture

Comments on the Finalist 

The two choreographers, LIU Yun and LIU Jun-De, start separately from the traditional body techniques of martial art and guqin (Chinese zither) to deconstruct the programmed body techniques. They use two solo dances to resolutely demonstrate their attempt at re-exploring the origin of physical momentum and reconstructing the logic of body movement, creating the body language of a unique style. The “human,” symbolized by the dancers’ bodies, and the “object,” symbolized by wooden objects representing the natural environment – the zither and the drum or the boat and the island – constantly collide, challenge, merge, and interrupt, not only showing the audience the cumulative, developing creative process and the conversion of energy but also the thinking of “the Asian body.” It is a way of perceiving life: Humans do not exist in this world alone but in a constant state of co-existing and conversing with nature. (Commentator: CHEN Pin-Hsiu)

Artwork Introduction

Double Edges is a creative attempt of Bare Feet Dance Theatre’s long-term project to study the body. Through Double Edges, the dance company unfolds a space of dialectics of, dialogues between, and reflection on ideas about the body and life experiences. 

Through solo performances, the two creators of Double Edges have quietly, attentively, and self-reflectively faced their own life experiences to examine how guqin and martial art – two ancient Asian arts which they have respectively studied since they were young – have shaped and influenced their worldviews. This process has inspired them to create the two unique and mesmerizing solo dances in Double Edges.

About the Artist

Bare Feet Dance Theatre debuted its first performance in 2014. It has been supported by the “TAIWAN TOP” program of the National Culture and Art Foundation for six consecutive years (2019-2024). Bare Feet Dance Theatre has been dedicated to its “body in the field” project for years, in which the dance company travels to different regions to visit various folk rituals, traditional music ensembles, ceremonies, and even the natural world to perceive and reflect on the knowledge, body and spiritual context of an animistic universe, developing its productions based on the spiritual meaning of the land and culture as the core value.

LIU Chun-Te / Dancer-choreographer

LIU Chun-Te is now the rehearsal director and a dancer at Bare Feet Dance Theatre. He was also the selected artist for the 2022 National Theatre and Concert Hall’s “Partner Venues” project, for which he conducted the residency at the Mercat de les Flors in Barcelona, Spain.

Liu joined Bare Feet Dance Theatre in 2016, and has worked with the dance company on several productions, including The End of the Rainbow, Tsia̍h thóo, An Eternity Before and After, etc. Liu has built an interdisciplinary practice through dance and improvised zither performance. He has worked with many artists and dance companies in Taiwan, accumulating much performance experience. In terms of music performance, he has participated in the music band Ka Dao Yin’s album Four Characters, which won the 3rd Golden Indie Music Awards for “Best Jazz Album,” “Best New Artist,” and “Best Jazz Single,” as well as the band’s album Slow, which won the 25th Golden Melody Awards for “Best Crossover Album.”

LIU Yun / / Dancer-choreographer

LIU Yun is now a dancer at Bare Feet Dance Theatre, and was in SEAD – Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance from 2018 to 2019. 

Liu joined Bare Feet Dance Theatre in 2021, and has performed in the dance company’s various productions, including Tsia̍h thóo and An Eternity Before and After. She has accumulated much experience in international collaborations. From 2017 to 2019, she was a dancer at Ultima Vez in Brussel, Belgium; and in 2018, she received a scholarship from the ImPulsTanz – Vienna International Dance Festival. She has co-created and performed with multiple international artists, including German Jauregui (Spain), GN|MC (Spain), David Zambrano (Venezuela), Francesco Scavetta (Italy), Lisi Estaras (Belgium), and Jose Agudo (Spain).

Production Team

Choreographer/Dancer | LIU Chun-Te, LIU Yun

Dramaturge | CHOW Lin-Chih, KUO Liang-Ting

Artistic Director | LIN I-Chin 

Music Design | LAI Chih-Sia 

Producer | Ella Jhung, LIN Chih-Yang 

Production Assistant | Gina Chang 

Stage Manager and Carpenter | LIN Yu-Quan 

Still Photographer | HSU Ping, CHANG Chen-Chou, LIN Yu-Quan 

Videographer | Jason Yeh

Graphic Deisgn | LIN Yu-Quan 

Operation Consultant | Dennis Song, Tammy Lin 

Designed Collaborator | Ridge Studio 

Designed Body Repair Partner | CCHealth 

Production | Bare Feet Dance Theatre

Sponsor | National Culture and Arts Foundation (TW)