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Young Taiwanese choreographer pursues more international exposure
2009/09/15 16:42:16 |
By Lillian Lin
CNA staff writer
Whether he is on stage at the Taiwan National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center in Taipei or at the Joyce Theater in New York City, the young Taiwanese dancer Chou Shu-Yi always stands out.
Now, the choreographer/dancer has entered a new sphere, showing his talent in the Internet world, as his choreographic work "[1875] Ravel and Bolero" has been selected as one of 10 finalists in London Sadler's Wells Theater's Global Dance Contest 2009.
In the talent search program, the theater invites choreographers around the world to submit videos of original dance pieces.
This year, a panel of judges has chosen 10 finalists from more than 100 entries, and the finalists have been posted on the theater's Web site since Sept. 1 for viewers to vote for their favorite clips.
The 26-year-old Chou, who is currently attending a six-month resident artist program at the Asian Cultural Council in New York, told the Central News Agency that he was thrilled to know that his entry was one of the finalists in the competition. If the piece finishes with the most votes when the public poll closes on Nov. 13, Chou will be given the opportunity to perform in January 2010 in front of a live audience at the theater in London, a leading venue for international dance.
Bolero is a one-movement orchestral piece by French composer Maurice Ravel, who was born in 1875. Chou used the piece to choreograph a 25-minute work in 2006 when he was chosen to represent Taiwan in the Asian Young Choreographer's Project sponsored by Taiwan National University of Arts.
The entry that he submitted to Sadler's Wells Theater's Internet talent search program is a revised version that was shortened to meet the rules of the contest, he said.
"The famous melody which is repeated numerous times without change brings to mind the fleeting nature of time and and all the wonderful moments in life," Chou said. "I was moved by the sparking moments and, at the same time, extremely conscious of the passage of time."
A prolific choreographer, Chou has become a promising figure in Taiwan's modern dance circles over the past few years. His works have been twice selected for the National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center's "Young Stars, New Vision" program, an annual showcase of new ideas.
In 2004, one of his solo pieces entitled "Street Lamp" was chosen by the renowned Taiwanese dance company Cloud Gate Dance Theatre for presentation at an international dance conference featuring Cloud Gate's "Seed Choreographers Project."
After winning a gold medal at a national dance competition organized by the Council for Cultural Affairs in 2005, Chou and several young choreographers founded Taiwan's first all-male dance company "HORSE".
During a residency at Taipei Artist Village in 2006, Chou met French sound artist Yannick Dauby and they joined forces to create a devised performance that used environmental sounds, as part of the Digital Art Critic Prize program.
That experience helped to broaden Chou's artistic scope and spurred him to explore other possibilities. His multimedia productions soon gained recognition in Taiwan arts circles and he was invited by National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art in Taichung to present an original mutimedia performance of experimental music.
In 2008, Chou performed with the former principal dancer of the Martha Graham Dance Company, Sheu Fang-yi, in "37art" for Taiwan's Lafa Dance Company.
That same year, more opportunities for international exposure began to open up for Chou. He was sponsored by the Lo Man-Fei Dance Fund to attend an overseas choreography program and was also invited to work with French choreographer Thierry Bai to choreograph a collective creation "Bones", which was to be performed at the Joyce Theater in New York City by HORSE in early April.
The two performances of "Bones" earned the Taiwanese all-male troupe a good review in the New York Times. Arts critic Roslyn Sulcas called the group "talented and appealing" and said the production felt "both fresh and intriguing."
After the April performances in New York City, Chou joined the International Choreographer Residency program of the American Dance Festival at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Returning to New York in late April, he entered a six-month Asian Cultural Council residency program.
This year, he will go to France in October to attend a three-month residency program "Cite des Arts" in Paris. According to Chou, 2009 has been a year of rumination.
"The overseas residency programs allow me to experience different environments and to look at the relationship between my own existence and dance, and to understand how art is related to society," he said.
Full of vision, Chou said that he appreciates the overseas experiences particularly because they make him more aware of the possibilities in life that come with exploring. enditem /pc
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