'Bolero in Kaohsiung' dance tour to enter final leg

Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) The final leg of the "Bolero in Kaohsiung" tour will begin in mid-August with 15 shows over eight weekends, according to the tour's organizer.

Commissioned by the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts to promote performing arts in everyday life, "Bolero in Kaohsiung" is a three-year project by choreographer Chou Shu-yi (周書毅).

Chou and 14 dancers took the 30-minute dance show to 14 of the 38 districts in Kaohsiung in 2022 and 10 others in 2023, and will cover the remaining 14 this year, the arts center said in a statement released on Friday.

The first show this year will take place at Kaohsiung International Airport's observation deck at 5 p.m. on Aug. 17, according to the statement.

Chou created the "Bolero in Kaohsiung" dance show tour -- which has featured performances at temple squares, school sports grounds, parks and heritage sites across the city since 2022 -- based on his 2006 work "1875 Ravel and Bolero," the statement said.

"1875 Ravel and Bolero" was created by Chou with Maurice Ravel's one movement orchestra work "Bolero," which is known for the repeated melodies throughout the piece.

"Bolero" was one of the last works created by the French composer, who was born in 1875 and died in 1937, the arts center said in an introduction to its 2024 remake of Chou's work.

"The repeated melodies, akin to the passage and accumulation of life, capture the essence of 'living in the moment' through dance amidst gains, losses, joys, and sorrows," according to the arts center.

In 2009, Chou's work won the inaugural Global Dance Contest organized by Sadler's Wells, a leading global dance organization that operates venues in London.

Sadler's Wells Theatre staged two performances of "1875 Ravel and Bolero" in early 2010, before the production was featured in the Fall for Dance Festival in New York in October that year.

Chou then took "1875 Ravel and Bolero" on the road in his "Dance Travel Project," presenting the dance work at public spaces, such as train stations and on streets, with no stage equipment and lighting.

These public performances aimed to introduce modern dance to a wider audience in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau between 2011 and 2014, according to the arts center.

The choreographer was commissioned to recreate such a tour in Kaohsiung in the hope that by bringing performing arts to the general public, people who have not visited a venue or arts center may become interested in buying tickets and going to shows, according to the statement.

The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts said its special theatrical version of "1875 Ravel and Bolero" will show how the tour has breathed new life into the ever-evolving dance work with a new musical arrangement and the use of video.

Chou said in the statement that he hopes people who have seen or just heard of "Bolero in Kaohsiung" can show their support to the three-year project by buying a ticket to see "1875 Ravel and Bolero" at the arts center.

Two performances of "1875 Ravel and Bolero" will also be staged at the Opera House of the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts on Oct. 12-13.