In addition to presenting his last program before retirement, Autumn River, LIN Hwai-min invited two choreographers－TAO Ye, Artistic Director of TAO Dance Theater, and CHENG Tsung-lung, LIN’s successor－to choreograph for each’s troupes in EXCHANGE. TAO’s 12 will be staged by Cloud Gate dancers and CHENG’s Multiplication by TAO dancers. LIN’s Autumn River will be performed by senior Cloud Gate dancers.

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan recently won the “Outstanding Company Award” of the National Dance Award, UK, while TAO Dance Theater was acclaimed by The Times as a “radical new presence” on the contemporary dance scene.

Three world premieres by visionary choreographers and performed by two celebrated companies, EXCHANGE presents heart-stopping moments of wonder you cannot miss.

LIN Hwai-min, Choreographer of Autumn River

LIN Hwai-min founded Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan in 1973 and has led the company to international prominence. Among numerous awards and honors he has received are Samuel H. Scripps /American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement; the John D. Rockefeller Award, New York; the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters, France, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Movimentos Dance Festival, Germany. He has also been celebrated by Time magazine as one of Asia’s Heroes. At the end of 2019, LIN will step down as the Artistic Director of Cloud Gate. CHENG Tsung-lung will succeed him to take the reins of the company.

TAO Ye, Choreographer of 12

TAO Ye founded TAO Dance Theater in 2008. Inspired by Oriental thought, he has developed “Circular Movement System” in combination with his minimalist dance works. TAO’s company was invited to perform at Lincoln Center Festival when he was aged 27, and has since toured more than 40 countries, winning high acclaims. From 2012 to 2014, he was a “New Wave Associates” artist with Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London.

CHENG Tsung-lung, Choreographer of Multiplication

From hawking slippers on the streets of Taipei in childhood, CHENG Tsung-lung has grown into the Artistic Director of Cloud Gate 2 since 2014. Inspired by the dynamics of street life, his breathtaking works have been acclaimed internationally as a fresh and unique voice. He will succeed as the Artistic Director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan in 2020 after LIN Hwai-min retires from the post, and lead the company touring across French, UK and Sweden.  

CLOUD GATE DANCE THEATRE OF TAIWAN

When you’re talking about Cloud Gate, magic is not too strong a word.－Time Out London

Cloud Gate is the name of the oldest known dance in China. In 1973, choreographer LIN Hwai-min adopted this classical name for the first contemporary dance company in the greater Chinese-speaking community.

The 24 dancers comprising Cloud Gate receive training in meditation; Qi Gong, an ancient breathing exercise; internal martial arts; modern dance; ballet; and calligraphy. Through LIN Hwai-min’s choreographies the company transforms ancient aesthetics into a thrilling and modern celebration of motion.

Cloud Gate has toured extensively with frequent engagements at the Next Wave Festival in New York, the Sadler’s Wells Theatre and Barbican Centre in London, the Moscow Chekhov International Theatre Festival, the Movimentos International Dance Festival in Germany and the Internationales Tanzfest NRW directed by Pina Bausch. Chosen by the Critics’ Circle, Cloud Gate won “Stef Stefanou Award for Outstanding Company” in the 2018 National Dance Awards, UK.

TAO Dance Theater

Abstract moves evoke a hallucinogenic universe.－The Guardian London

Called by The Times “a radical new presence” on the contemporary dance scene, TAO Dance Theater is one of most eye-catching companies in the world. It was founded by TAO Ye, DUAN Ni and WANG Hao in 2008. The artistic director TAO Ye has since created the “Numerical Series,” which has toured in more than forty countries and over one hundred arts festivals, receiving high acclaim. Among the venues TAO Dance Theater has performed in are Lincoln Center Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Sydney Opera House and Theatre de la Ville in Paris. TAO Dance Theater has received commissions from festivals and theaters in Europe; five of them came from Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, which also named the company a “Next Wave Associate” from 2012 to 2014.

Creative team

Autumn River 

Choreographer / LIN Hwai-min
Performed by senior Cloud Gate dancers

12 

Choreographer / TAO Ye   
 Performed by Cloud Gate dancers

Multiplication 

Choreographer / CHENG Tsung-lung 
Performed by TAO dancers