Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan Returns To Chicago 10/28-29

One of Asia's contemporary dance companies, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, performs a Chicago premiere, presented by The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago. Performances are Friday and Saturday, October 28 and 29 at 8 p.m. at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph Dr., Chicago. Cloud Gate also will open The Dance Center's 2011-12 FamilyDance Matinee Series, presenting a family-oriented performance preceded by a free movement workshop with the artists Saturday, October 29 at 2:15 p.m. at The Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago.

Cloud Gate Founder and Artistic Director Lin Hwai-min's newest work, Water Stains on the Wall, is performed on a white raked stage (evoking rice paper) containing projected images of drifting clouds in different degrees of blackness. The projections look like flowing ink, creating spaces that are constantly shifting, reminiscent of Chinese classical landscape painting. Dancers are deeply grounded on the floor, yet appear to be floating on top of the white space, with music using traditional Asian instruments. Suggesting a long process of natural evolution, "water stains on the wall" is a popular Chinese metaphor representing the highest state in the aesthetics of Chinese calligraphy.

RESIDENCY ACTIVITIES
As part of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan's residency, Lin Hwai-min will give a pre-performance talk before each performance at 7 p.m., free and open to ticket holders. Company member Su I-ping will lead a DanceMasters class Monday, October 24 at 6 p.m. at The Dance Center. DanceMasters is a series of community master classes presented by The Dance Center's division of Community Outreach and Education (COE), in partnership with the Lou Conte Dance Studio at the Hubbard Street Dance Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Classes are for dancers at the intermediate level or higher.

CLOUD GATE DANCE THEATRE OF TAIWAN
According to legend, Cloud Gate is the name of the oldest known dance in China, a ritual dance of some 5,000 years ago. In 1973, internationally renowned choreographer Lin Hwai-min adopted this classical name for the first contemporary dance company in any Chinese-speaking community: Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan. Cloud Gate's rich repertoire has its roots in Asian myths, folklore and aesthetics, but it brings to these age-old beliefs and stories a contemporary and universal perspective. The 24 dancers of the company receive training from the West and the East, including Tai Chi Tao Yin (an ancient form of Chi Kung), meditation, martial arts, modern dance, ballet and calligraphy. With frequent appearances at international arts festivals, including the Next Wave Festival, Cloud Gate has received high acclaim throughout the world. Cursive: A Trilogy was elected as the "best dance choreography" of 2006 by Ballet-Tanz and Theaterheute, Germany, while Moon Water topped the list of best dance events of 2003 chosen by The New York Times.

FUNDING
The Dance Center's presentation of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan is funded, in part, by the Alphawood Foundation. Special thanks to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago.

THE DANCE CENTER
The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, named "Chicago's Best Dance Theatre" by Chicago magazine and "Best Dance Venue" by the Chicago Reader, is the city's leading presenter of contemporary dance, showcasing artists of regional, national and international significance. Programs of The Dance Center are supported, in part, Alphawood Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince, Sara Lee Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Arts Midwest, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, The Irving Harris Foundation and New England Foundation for the Arts. Additional funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Illinois Arts Council. Special thanks to Friends of The Dance Center.

The Dance Center's 2011-12 season continues with Merce Cunningham Dance Company (co-presented with the Harris Theater November 18 and 19 at the Harris Theater), Margaret Jenkins Dance Company (February 9-11), Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak (February 23-25), The Space/Movement Project with Rachel Damon/Synapse Arts and with Erica Mott (March 8-10) and Ballet Hispanico (March 22-24).

TICKET INFORMATION
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan appears Friday and Saturday, October 28 and 29 at 8 p.m. at the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Dr., Chicago. Single tickets are $25-65; subscribers who order tickets to three or more performances from The Dance Center's 2011-12 season save 20%. The FamilyDance Matinee takes place Saturday, October 29 at 3 p.m., with the free movement workshop beginning at 2:15 p.m., at The Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Admission is free for children younger than 12, $15 for adults. The DanceMasters class with company member Su I-ping on Monday, October 24 at 6 p.m. at The Dance Center is $15, $10 for students; space is limited. To observe the DanceMasters class, admission is $5. All programming is subject to change. The theatre is accessible to people with disabilities. For more information, call 312-369-8330 or visit colum.edu/dancecenter.

To post a comment, you must register and login.