Cloud Gate Dance Theatre and the Ju Percussion Group will celebrate the dance troupe’s 50th anniversary by staging “Legacy,” a 44-year-old piece last performed by the two groups 20 years ago, their respective founders said in Taipei Tuesday.
“I will and am very much looking forward to it,” said the percussion group’s founder Ju Tzong-ching (???), talking about his reply to a text message sent by Cloud Gate founder Lin Hwai-min (???), asking the percussionist “Will you come and play the drums?”
After receiving Lin’s text message sent on April 26, 2022, Ju replied in the affirmative in just 74 minutes, according to Lin who showed reporters the text messages on his phone at a news conference to promote the upcoming “Legacy” tour on Tuesday.
Ju said he had played in 57 of the 174 performances of “Legacy” in Taiwan and around the world and each time felt the power of Lin’s first long piece based on the history of Taiwan.
“(I’m) very happy that we got Ju on board for the production,” Lin said, adding that Ju has not performed in public for six years, since becoming chairman of the National Performing Arts Center in 2017. Ju’s tenure at the arts center ended in April 2022.
The drumbeat controls the rhythm of the piece and synchronizes the breathing of the dancers and even the audience, Lin said.
Ju first performed “Legacy” with Cloud Gate on a tour of the United States in 1985, and in January the following year established the Ju Percussion Group, according to the choreographer who retired in 2019.
Performing “Legacy” has always been challenging, but the experience strengthens one’s confidence, Lin said.
Lin described “Legacy” as an “ever-evolving” work and said the 2023 version will not be the same as performances 20 years ago.
The piece reflects how Taiwanese society has changed and it is the responsibility of the performing artists to present old works to younger generations, many of whom have only read about “Legacy” in textbooks, he said.
First staged at a stadium in Lin’s hometown of Chiayi County on Dec. 16, 1978, more than 6,000 people packed the venue to watch the premiere of “Legacy,” after the U.S. announced earlier that day its decision to switch recognition to Beijing on Jan. 1, 1979, Lin said at a press event held on the same date in December last year.
Cloud Gate worked with several singers and composers on “Legacy,” including Chen Da (??), Chen Yang (??) and Lee Tai-hsiang (???), with the current use of music set by Lin and Ju, the choreographer said.
The 90-minute piece tells the story of people from China traveling across the treacherous sea to Taiwan and building a life on the island centuries ago, and ends with harvest and festive celebrations, Lin said.
The piece touched audiences in Taiwan and abroad, Lin said, because it shows a universal story of people overcoming life’s challenges, dealing with life and death, and building a life through hard work.
The six-stop tour of “Legacy” will begin with eight performances at the National Theater in Taipei on April 21-30, followed by three each at National Taichung Theater May 5-7 and National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts May 12-14.
Cloud Gate will then give two performances at Miaobei Art Center in Miaoli County on May 20-21, three at Chiayi Performing Arts Center May 26-28, and one at Taitung Art and Culture Center on June 10.
Ju and four percussionists will perform in four performances in Taipei and one each in Taichung and Kaohsiung, while five other members of Ju’s group will play in the remaining performances, except in Taitung, where there will be no musicians playing live because of the limits of the venue, the dance troupe said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel