Austrian-based Taiwanese choreographer LIN Mei-hong, who has received much positive press feedback in both Austria and Germany, returns to Taiwan with a dance production based on two fairy tales. In The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid princess falls in love with a human prince and puts herself in danger to pursue him. Birthday of the Infanta by Oscar Wilde tells of a dwarf who falls in love with a beautiful princess and is mocked. LIN uses modern theater techniques to dissect the frustrations encountered in the pursuit of true love by the main characters in these stories, as well as their selfdestructive internal struggles when faced with cruel rejection.

The Little Mermaid was awarded the 2018 Austria Music Theater Prize. This is a modern ballet with symphonic movement. Lighting and costumes are also important elements in the interpretation of these stories and create a romantic fairytale-like setting.

LIN Mei-hong, Choreographer
LIN Mei-hong is currently artistic director in dance at the Landestheater Linz, Austria. She is a highly successful choreographer and opera director. One of the first Taiwanese choreographers to study in Europe, she attended the Accademia Nazionale di Danza in Rome, Italy and Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, Germany. Her cross-cultural experience has allowed her to develop a diverse and rich creative style. LIN has received much recognition in Germany and Austria. For example, her 2011 work Die Brautschminkerin was nominated for the German theater award Der Faust, making her the first Taiwanese to receive this honor. In 2018, The Little Mermaid was awarded the Austria Music Theater Prize.

Landestheater Linz TANZLIN.Z, Performance and Production 
The state capital of Linz was the European Capital of Culture in 2009 and aptly demonstrated that it is much more than just an industrial “steel city” on the Danube. Since 2013, Linz has had an impressive new cultural focus: the Musiktheater, the most modern opera house in Europe, as well as the ideal venue for staging operas, operettas, musicals and dance of the Landestheater Linz (Upper Austrian State Theatre). The new building combines the utmost quality in acoustics, ultimate comfort for the audience and state-of-the-art stagecraft.

Emotional, moving dance theater, inspired by the classics of world literature, by contemporary experiences, by spiritual encounters, complex inner worlds or political events, is the trademark of the company TANZLIN.Z under the dance director LIN Mei-hong.
 

Choreography / LIN Mei-hong

Performance and Production / Landestheater Linz TANZLIN.Z

Music / Alexander von Zemlinsky, Franz Schreker

Stage and Costume Design / Dirk Hofacker   

Dramaturgy / Ira Goldbecher

Video / Constantin Georgescu

Light Design / Johann Hofbauer