Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, Taiwan’s premier contemporary dance company, is set to captivate audiences across North America with a nine-city tour from October 26 to November 30. The tour will feature the celebrated work 13 TONGUES in seven major U.S. cities and mark the Canadian debut of the acclaimed piece LUNAR HALO.
Following a highly praised U.S. tour in 2022, where 13 TONGUES garnered widespread acclaim, Cloud Gate returns to North America after a two-year hiatus. This tour, supported by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture and its overseas offices, will be the company’s 20th U.S. tour since their American debut in 1979. The U.S. leg of the tour includes performances in Ann Arbor, Blacksburg, Santa Barbara, Davis, Pittsburgh, Santa Fe, and Denver, while the Canadian stops are Banff and Montreal. 13 TONGUES will be performed in the U.S. and Banff, while LUNAR HALO will be showcased in Montreal.
Originally commissioned by the National Theater & Concert Hall, 13 TONGUES premiered at the Taiwan International Festival of Arts (TIFA) in 2016. Choreographed by Artistic Director Cheng Tsung-lung, the work draws on the vibrant street life of 1960s Monga, weaving together temple chants, night market sounds, and Hengchun ballads to evoke a sensory experience rich in Taiwanese cultural memory. International critics have praised the piece as “a cultural memory that fully shocks the senses.”
Choreographed in 2019, LUNAR HALO is a visually stunning work that utilizes LED screens and dynamic lighting to create a wild and eerie atmosphere. The dancers’ close-fitting costumes highlight their body lines, forming a beautiful yet unsettling, absurd, and bizarre microcosm. The piece was co-produced by the three centers of the National Performing Arts Center in Taiwan.
Founded in 1973 by the internationally renowned choreographer Lin Hwai-min, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre has been acclaimed as “Asia’s leading contemporary dance theater” (The Times) and “one of the best dance companies in the world” (FAZ). Since 2020, Cheng Tsung-lung has taken the helm as Artistic Director, continuing the company’s legacy of drawing from both Eastern and Western dance traditions, with works that engage deeply with local history, culture, and themes.
Cloud Gate: North America Tour 2024
For tickets and more information: https://www.cloudgate.org.tw/en/cg/latest-show
13 TONGUES
The flavours of Taiwan’s hustling, bustling street life, its people and characters, are richly conveyed in this heartfelt love letter.- Chris O'Rourke / The Arts Review
Ann Arbor, Michigan – Power Center, University of Michigan
October 26-27, 2024
Blacksburg, Virginia – Moss Arts Center, Fife Theatre
October 30, 2024
Santa Barbara, California – The Granada Theatre, Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts
November 2, 2024
Davis, California – Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts
November 7, 2024
Banff, Canada – Jenny Belzberg Theatre, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
November 12, 2024
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Byham Theater
November 16, 2024
Santa Fe, New Mexico – The Lensic Performing Arts Center
November 20, 2024
Denver, Colorado – Gates Concert Hall, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, University of Denver
November 23-24, 2024
LUNAR HALO
A luminously and bleakly beautiful take on the internet-infested 21st century-The Telegraph (2023 Best of 5 Dances)
Montreal, Canada – Théâtre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts
November 28-30, 2024