KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, March 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- INXO Arts & Culture (L) Foundation is delighted to present Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan's FORMOSA to be staged at Istana Budaya on 16 & 17 March 2019.

Choreographed by Cloud Gates's founder and Artistic Director, Lin Hwai-min, FORMOSA premiered in Taipei on 24 November 2017. After touring Taiwan, the show went on to tour six US cities and Europe (Wolfsburg, Germany; London; Dresden; Paris & Lisbon) earlier last year, 2018. Kuala Lumpur will be FORMOSA's one and only stop in Southeast Asia in 2019.

FORMOSA is Lin's swansong choreography as he retires at the end of 2019.

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About FORMOSA:

In the 16th century, when Portuguese sailors first saw Taiwan from their decks, they saw an island thick with mountains and trees, rising from the sea. 'Formosa!' they exclaimed -- 'beautiful!' -- anointing the verdant place that would come to be known as Taiwan.   

In this 75 minutes' work, Lin uses his homeland, an island beset by earthquakes, typhoons and societal rifts, as a metaphor of the world we live in. While recorded indigenous songs, contemporary music, reading of poems about the land, and lore of the island serve as the soundscape; luminous projected images of Chinese character typefaces provide the visual backdrop.

The characters are mainly the names of mountains and rivers, cities and villages of Taiwan -- they interlock, overlap and merge in teeming thickets to evoke a host of stunning imagery.

Against the lustrous, transfigured sphere, dancers mingle in intimations of community, making tribal ritual and urban bustle seem as one and transforming the stage into a playground of love and life, together with all its tragedy, hope, violence, renewal...

Towards the end, blocks of characters drop onto stage, like landslides during an earthquake. Then the characters gradually fall apart into dispersed strokes and lines, implying that writing is a precarious vehicle for memories, which blur and recombine at the whim of history's wind.

A blue sea appears, only to wash the broken characters away in raging waves. The dancers exit, projection vanishes, leaving a white, empty stage just like as the dance opens.

                        

Co-produced by

- National Performing Arts Center - National Theater & Concert Hall (Taiwan)
- National Performing Arts Center - National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) (Taiwan)
- Sadler's Wells, London (UK)
- Theatre de la Ville, Paris (France)
- Carolina Performing Arts, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA)
- Movimentos Festwochen der Autostadt in Wolfsburg (Germany)

CLOUD GATE DANCE THEATRE OF TAIWAN

Cloud Gate is the name of the oldest known dance in China. In 1973, choreographer Lin Hwai-min adopted this classical name for the first contemporary dance company in the greater Chinese-speaking community.

The 24 dancers comprising Cloud Gate receive training in meditation; Qi Gong, an ancient breathing exercise; internal martial arts; modern dance; ballet; and calligraphy. Through Lin Hwai-min's choreographies the company transforms ancient aesthetics into a thrilling and modern celebration of motion.

Cloud Gate has toured extensively with frequent engagements at the Next Wave Festival in New York, the Sadler's Wells Theatre and Barbican Centre in London, the Moscow Chekhov International Theatre Festival, the Movimentos Festival (Germany) and the Internationales Tanzfest NRW directed by Pina Bausch.

Asia's leading contemporary dance theatre.                                     

The Times

No company in the world dances like Cloud Gate. It presents a distinct and mature Chinese choreographic language. The importance of this evolution in Asian dance is no less profound than the impact of Forsythe's Ballett Frankfurt on European classical ballet.  

Dance Europe

When you're talking about Cloud Gate, magic is not too strong a word.            

Time Out

LIN HWAI-MIN, Founder and Artistic Director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan

A writer-turned choreographer, Lin Hwai-min often draws inspiration from Asian cultures and aesthetics to create works with contemporary resonance. He founded Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan in 1973 and Cloud Gate 2 in 1999.

In 2013, he received the prestigious Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement. Previous awardees include Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Pina Bausch, and William Forsythe. Lin is the first recipient based in Asia.

Among other honors received by Lin Hwai-min are honorary doctorates from six universities in Taiwan and Hong Kong, the John D. Rockefeller 3rd Award, the Distinguished Artist Award from the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA), the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters from the French Ministry of Culture, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Movimentos Festival, Germany, and the Honorary Fellow Trinity Laban, London. He has also been celebrated by Time Magazine as one of Asia's Heroes.

Invited by the Rolex Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative, Lin Hwai-min is the mentor of dance for 2012-2013.

Information on Performances

          

TICKET PRICES:
RM128 | RM168 | RM268 | RM368 | RM468

Student Promotion:
- RM98 (Limited to Category RM128)
- Available for Students with valid Student IDs and school children 7-18 years old

5 in 1 Group Promotion:
- 25% Discount (Limited for first 30 members to Category RM368 & RM468)
- Available for HANDS Club Members [HCM] & Purple Cane Members [PCM] only.

TICKET PURCHASE:        
https://airasiaredtix.com/formosa

Booking Hotline:
+6012-779 8009 [For HCM & Students]
+6016-673 5938 [For PCM]

Enquiries:
www.fb.com/inxoartsandculture 
www.fb.com/handspercussion

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20190312/2400466-1