CHENG Tsung-lung, artistic director and choreographer of Cloud Gate, has created a new work, WAVES, to celebrate Cloud Gate's 50th anniversary. Collaborating with acclaimed digital artist Daito Manabe, known for his groundbreaking designs, including the 2016 Rio Olympics Closing Ceremony, they work together to imagine the unseen body. As waves carry both tangible objects and intangible elements, the production explores what the body conveys in forms of energy, traversing space, surfaces, and humans. By collecting and transforming digital data of dance movements using artificial intelligence, CHENG and Manabe challenge the boundaries of human cognition and offer a fresh perspective on how we perceive the world around us.

Artistic Director & Choreographer / CHENG Tsung-lung

From a street hawker selling slippers to an internationally recognized choreographer, CHENG Tsung-lung succeeded LIN Hwai-min as the artistic director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan since 2020. Incorporating folk steps, religious rites and Taoist chanting into a contemporary , his 13 Tongues (2016) has received raving reviews in the U.S, France, Germany, and China. CHENG has won top prizes in international choreography competitions, including the Premio Roma Danza International choreography competition, and became widely known in the dance world for breathtaking works inspired by the street life and folk religion that was part of his upbringing in the oldest commercial district of Taipei. He is listed as one of the “50 contemporary choreographers” by publisher Routledge, along with William Forsythe, Akram Khan, etc.

Artist, Programmer & DJ / Daito Manabe

Manabe launched Rhizomatiks in 2006 and is also a specially-appointed professor at Keio University SFC. His works span various fields and take a fresh approach to everyday materials and phenomena. However, his goal goes beyond creating rich, high-definition realism by recognizing and recombining familiar elements. Instead, his practice involves careful observation to discover and elucidate the inherent potentialities of the human body, data, programming, computers, and other phenomena. He explores the interrelationships and boundaries between the analog and digital, real and virtual, shedding light on their essential nature.

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan

Founded in 1973 by the internationally renowned choreographer LIN Hwai-min, Cloud Gate is hailed as "Asia's leading contemporary dance theater" (The Times) and "One of the finest dance companies in the world" (The Globe and Mail). With extensive global tours and regular seasons at home, Cloud Gate also captivates audiences in Taiwan's cities and villages through annual free outdoor performances, attracting an average of 30,000 people per show. In 2020, CHENG Tsung-lung succeeded LIN as the artistic director of Cloud Gate, and now, in 2023, the company celebrates its momentous 50th anniversary.

Choreography & Concept / CHENG Tsung-lung

Concept, Visual, Music & Program / Daito Manabe

Lighting Design / SHEN Po-hung

Costume Design / FAN Huai-chih

Perform / Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan

Co-production / National Theater and Concert Hall, National Taichung Theater , National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)