Review | Cloud Gate Dance Theatre choreographer Lin Hwai-min’s career celebrated after a life dedicated to dance
- Lin, 72, has led Taiwan’s Cloud Gate Dance Theatre for nearly 50 years, and put Asian dance on the international map, but he steps down later this year
- His iconic works are being performed at the Hong Kong Arts Festival as part of his farewell tour
The Hong Kong Arts Festival kicked off its 47th edition yesterday with a programme honouring a fellow veteran of the Asian arts scene: Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, Taiwan’s premier dance troupe, which was founded the same year as the festival.
The company has been led since its inception by the revered choreographer, writer and designer Lin Hwai-min, who has played a huge role in the introduction and development of contemporary dance in Asia and put Asian dance on the international map.
After nearly 50 years at the helm, the 72-year-old Lin steps down as artistic director at the end of this year and this programme looks back over his extraordinary legacy with extracts from some of his most iconic works.
Lin will be succeeded as artistic director by Cheng Tsung-lung, an artist he has mentored and nurtured, so major change is not on the cards for Cloud Gate. However, this farewell tour remains a unmissable opportunity to experience Lin’s inimitable art while the company is still under his leadership.
Lin’s uniquely Chinese style of dance, incorporating elements of qi gong, martial arts and calligraphy as well as contemporary dance and ballet, has won acclaim from audiences and critics worldwide.
The influence of calligraphy, in particular, can be seen in the continuous flow of movement, powerful accents and the convoluted shapes into which the dancers’ bodies freeze. This was at its most specific in the programme’s Cursive trilogy, Lin’s tribute to this great Chinese art form.