National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) (Taiwan) The Body of Forking Paths
Commissioned by National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) (Taiwan)
Film Producer / Miru Xiumuyi
Choreographer / CHOU Shu-yi
Director / Maurice LAI
Music Designer / WANG Yu-jun
Executive Production / Scarecrow Contemporary Dance Company
‧Duration : approximately 27 minutes
One is bound to face many unknown “forks” of fate along the path of life, hence the body manifests in multiple forms in this journey. At this moment, the paths of the “contemporary Taiwanese indigenous people” – whether dwelling in their tribes or in cities –are caught in the fractures and disassociation of this era.
In addition to preserving traditions and legends, new narratives are also being constructed. This is much like the native seeds of mountain flora, which take root and sprout locally before dispersing to blossom in different places. Some are even replanted in distant foreign lands. Their stems and leaves mingle and interlace, forming maps of the body that are conflicting yet harmonious and enriched with life.
Main Creator
Film Producer / Miru Xiumuyi
Born in 1973 with Atayal lineage from Mekarang Village in Jianshi Township, Hsinchu. Received her master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Art, Institute of National Kaohsiung Normal University. She is a producer, director, and manager of Scarecrow Contemporary Dance Company(SCDC), artistic director of Atayal Art and Dance Company, as well as an interdisciplinary contemporary artists and independent curator. In 2014, Miru was an Artist-in-Residence of Soulangh Artist Village (2014). And from 2015, base on the concept and elements of contemporary dnace Curated Interdisciplinary contemporary Art Project Exhibition at Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, TNUA (National Culture and Arts Foundation's “Curator’s Incubator Program at Museums”), Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts (Forum for Creativity in Art), Stock 20 Art Gallery, Taichung; Tainan Cultural Center, B1F Gallery and Outdoor plaza; and Exhibition at the hotel: The Place Tainan (Hotel) 6798 Gallery.
Choreographer / CHOU Shu-yi
Born in 1983, CHOU is a choreographer and dancer. His recent creations, in the forms of theatre, site-specific performance or dance video, question the value of life and reflect the status of an individual or a group in different social contexts, and create “a body vocabulary that belongs to Asia”. CHOU continues to seek new methods of creation, and potentials of cross-disciplinary collaboration using different mediums. His work Break & Break! won the Taishin Performing Arts Award of the 17th Taishin Arts Award in 2019.
Director / Maurice LAI
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Maurice has been actively involved in filming, dance, Chinese Opera and culinary art. Graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a Diploma in Technical Arts (TV/Film) in 1996 and Master of Fine Arts in Cinema Production in 2019. Maurice has been in documentary video shooting for movie and stage performance, video design and promo production. Maurice is currently Vice-chairman of Board of Directors and Coordinator (Technical Support) of Utopia Cantonese Opera Workshop, President of the board of directors of Unlock Dancing Plaza, theatre panel of Programme and Development Committee of Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department, and Jury member of The Hong Kong Dance Awards. He established HoShunKing Artistic Workshop in Taiwan in 2020.
Music Designer / WANG Yu-jun
WANG Yu-jun currently works as a singer-songwriter and composer who explores the border between music and sound, as well as their connection between performing arts, visual arts, space, film and literature. Keen on interdisciplinary exploration, she has developed a stereoscopic approach to shaping the sound of music. Her practice draws upon observations of everyday life and people, transmuting mundane and fleeting impressions into a sonic documentation of complex emotional shades. Yu-jun’s passion towards her craft is reflected in sharing indescribable moments of beauty with a theatre or black box audience, composing solo, or endlessly refining each note with her band.
Production Team
Commissioned by National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) (Taiwan)
Curator、Creative Director、Executive producer / Miru Xiumuyi
Concept creations、Choreography / CHOU Shu-yi
Director / Maurice LAI
Music / WANG Yu-jun
Performance / LUO Wen-jinn, LI Pei-shan, YANG Ya-chun, LIN Hsiu-yu, HO Chia-yu, SU Wei-chun and MENG Kai-lun
Costume design / JUBY CHIU
Camera / Maurice LAI, CHIU Chih-hua
Producer / KUO Shu-ling, KU Mei-ying, Giwas.Maray
Editing and post-production / Maurice LAI
Planning and execution / Scarecrow Contemporary Dance Company, Atayal Art and Dance Company
Photography / CHEN Chang-Chih
Graphic Design / CHEN Winder
Special thanks to Shanqing Farm House, Meihua Community Development Association, Jianshi Township, Hsinchu County, Meihua Elementary School, KO Chiu-mei, Wnping Batu, Amuy Yubay, Heidi YIP, CHANG ya-ching
The Body of Forking Paths is a dance film commissioned by National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) (Taiwan). It is presented as part of Dance en Scene by Esplanade, in partnership with National Taichung Theater (Taiwan), National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) (Taiwan) and Tai Kwun - Centre for Heritage and Arts (Hong Kong).