Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan
Dancer: WANG Wei-ming
Photo: YU Hui-hung
Photo: YU Hui-hung
Songs of the Wanderers
There is no happiness for him who does not travel, Rohita!
Thus we have heard. Living in the society of men, the best man becomes a sinner...
Therefore, wander!
The feet of the wanderer are like the flower, his soul is growing and reaping the fruit; and all his sins are destroyed by his fatigues in wandering.
Therefore, wander!
The fortune of him who is sitting, sits; it rises when he rises;
It sleeps when he sleeps; it moves when he moves.
Therefore, wander!
(The God Indra urges the life of the road upon a young man named Rohita in Aitareya Brahmana)
Golden rice rains down onto the stage, forms winding paths, invites the dancers in for a swim, and is eventually raked into an ever growing spiral. Choreographer Lin Hwai-min describes his Songs of the Wanderers as "a work about time", that tells the story of the quiet flow of existence and of human hardships.
The choreography is profoundly meditative, but its genesis is rather dramatic. It all began with an unlabelled cassette tape, given to Lin Hwai-min by a friend after a Cloud Gate Dance Theatre performance in Vienna. The choreographer was enthralled by the music on the tape but could not find any information pertaining to the singers it featured. Years later, he was rummaging through a small record store in New York when he heard the music from his tape, which he had always wished to choreograph, coming from the store's speakers.
The dance piece, set to the music of the Georgian Rustavi Choir, is closely linked to an event in Lin Hwai-min's own life; the story is based on a journey he made in search of Buddha that led Lin to Bodhgaya, the place of enlightenment. "On the bank of the Neranjra River, I realized for the first time in my life that Buddha was an ordinary mortal who also endured human confusion and struggle," Lin explained. "Out of his compassion, he practiced asceticism and meditation, and pointed out to us the path of salvation. Back in Taipei, I often remembered the cool bodhi tree, and the Neranjra River that ran quietly through time. I created Songs of the Wanderers with great ease, a work about practicing asceticism, the river's mildness, and the quest for quietude."
The Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan has done much wandering of its own, performing Songs of the Wanderers on stages throughout the world for years. Currently, Lin Hwai-Min and his dancers are rediscovering the piece through the addition of live music. The Rustavi Choir, lauded by UNESCO as a preserver of the oral and immaterial legacy of mankind, performed for the first time with the dance troupe at the Dresdner Musikfestspiele. The choir's powerful polyphonic song was extremely moving to both the dancers and the audience alike.
Thus we have heard. Living in the society of men, the best man becomes a sinner...
Therefore, wander!
The feet of the wanderer are like the flower, his soul is growing and reaping the fruit; and all his sins are destroyed by his fatigues in wandering.
Therefore, wander!
The fortune of him who is sitting, sits; it rises when he rises;
It sleeps when he sleeps; it moves when he moves.
Therefore, wander!
(The God Indra urges the life of the road upon a young man named Rohita in Aitareya Brahmana)
Golden rice rains down onto the stage, forms winding paths, invites the dancers in for a swim, and is eventually raked into an ever growing spiral. Choreographer Lin Hwai-min describes his Songs of the Wanderers as "a work about time", that tells the story of the quiet flow of existence and of human hardships.
The choreography is profoundly meditative, but its genesis is rather dramatic. It all began with an unlabelled cassette tape, given to Lin Hwai-min by a friend after a Cloud Gate Dance Theatre performance in Vienna. The choreographer was enthralled by the music on the tape but could not find any information pertaining to the singers it featured. Years later, he was rummaging through a small record store in New York when he heard the music from his tape, which he had always wished to choreograph, coming from the store's speakers.
The dance piece, set to the music of the Georgian Rustavi Choir, is closely linked to an event in Lin Hwai-min's own life; the story is based on a journey he made in search of Buddha that led Lin to Bodhgaya, the place of enlightenment. "On the bank of the Neranjra River, I realized for the first time in my life that Buddha was an ordinary mortal who also endured human confusion and struggle," Lin explained. "Out of his compassion, he practiced asceticism and meditation, and pointed out to us the path of salvation. Back in Taipei, I often remembered the cool bodhi tree, and the Neranjra River that ran quietly through time. I created Songs of the Wanderers with great ease, a work about practicing asceticism, the river's mildness, and the quest for quietude."
The Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan has done much wandering of its own, performing Songs of the Wanderers on stages throughout the world for years. Currently, Lin Hwai-Min and his dancers are rediscovering the piece through the addition of live music. The Rustavi Choir, lauded by UNESCO as a preserver of the oral and immaterial legacy of mankind, performed for the first time with the dance troupe at the Dresdner Musikfestspiele. The choir's powerful polyphonic song was extremely moving to both the dancers and the audience alike.
Photo: LIU Chen-hsiang
Photo: YU Hui-hung
Photo: Atsushi Iijima