Dance en Scene, an initiative launched jointly by a heritage site and art centers—National Taichung Theater (Taiwan), National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, Esplanade (Singapore), and Tai Kwun (Hong Kong)—since 2021, brings together dancers and filmmakers to engage in a conversation through movements and camera lens. Artists and filmmakers are invited to express and explore themes of significance and site-specific inspirations and celebrate the diversity of culture of Chinese artists.

Show Time: 3/4 Sat. - 3/5 Sun. 12:00-18:00

Am I Here?

Home, is it permanent or fluid?

Home, a place that seemingly calls for one’s return. What remains of the traces of connection between people and spaces amidst the evolving environment spurred by development? 

Perhaps, the moment of one’s birth begins the exploration of an inextricable web of connections. Embarking on an introspective journey, Am I Here? reimagines childhood memories to ponder on presence and absence in exploring the notions of home and familial relationships. 

tiaen tiamen 

Zoning out, I plummet into a dream. All things thus become possible. 

Hunters, hundred-pacer, water elves, and eagles are woven into this fantasy world, in which nothing needs to be defined as before. Dancers slither like a snake, dive like an eagle, and gather and disperse like water—the boundary between dream and reality melts away, and only connections between the two remain.

Choreographer Bulareyaung Pegarlava joines hands with music director Aljenljeng Tjaluvie (ABAO) and graphic designer Reretan Pavavaljung for an otherworldy and transcendent experience through movement on film. Aljenljeng Tjaluvie uses electronic noises to scramble into an ambience of mountains and forests, constructing another world where reality and illusion constantly intersect each other. Graphic designer Reretan Pavavaljung utilises the imagery of glass beads to portray a recycling view of life, in which all beings are interconnected.

Swash

Humans are spray and sand. 

Did he affect you? Did you change him? 

What’s left? What’s taken? 

Inspired by how waves hit the beach, this work reflects the mutual and ever-continuing influence humans exert in relationships. Zooming in on the process of how influence occurs, the artist translated this into physical movements and stories.

Presence

Life is a constant change. We cannot change the past nor predict the future, whether in the fortune or the adverse, we can only live in the moment and gain the peace of mind.

A contemporary dancer is injured and can no longer dance freely. A tap dancer has lost all performance opportunities due to the pandemic. They are each facing a struggle of their own, but the sorrow is the same. What confines our mind is not the challenges we face, but how we weigh these difficulties and allow them to burden ourselves.

Focus on the present and listen deeply. Embrace and release.

• 【Video Introduction】Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay Am I Here

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• 【Video Introduction】National Taichung Theater  tiaen tiamen

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• 【Video Introduction】National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) Swash

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• 【Video Introduction】Tai Kwun - Centre for Heritage and Arts Presence

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