TAIWAN FESTIVAL: HUNG DANCE - BIRDY Digital Programme

HUNG DANCE:

BIRDY

Taiwanese contemporary dance company Hung Dance present the UK premiere of ‘Birdy’.

19-20 Apr, 7:30pm

Running Time:

Approx 50 mins

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

Director / Choreographer

Lai Hung-chung

Sound Design

Hsu Chia-wei

Light Design

Tsai Chao-yu

Costume Design

Summer Lin

Performers

Cheng I-han, Lee Kuan-ling

The Audience Award winner for Best Choreography in Tanzplattform Bern, Birdy is a delicate duet which blends the movement of the human body, the flutter of birds, traditional Chinese opera and contemporary dance to create a truly memorable performance.

Its sensuous movement beautifully expresses the struggle to free ourselves from the cages we build out of our morals, beliefs, ideals and responsibilities, and the desire to follow our heart and chase our dreams.

Birdy is performed to an eclectic mix of electronic and Chinese classical music. The female dancer wears a long swaying pheasant tail feather head piece called Ling Zi which was often worn on warrior’s helmets in traditional Chinese opera to show the warriors’ strength and skill. Here it is used to create the image of a bird, an extension of inner feeling, and the desire to escape reality.

TAIWAN FESTIVAL

The Coronet Theatre proudly unveils the Taiwan Festival, marking the capital's inaugural celebration of contemporary arts and culture from Taiwan.

Over the course of 16 captivating days, the festival will showcase the talents of more than 30 contemporary visual artists, theatre-makers, dancers, and musicians from Taiwan, many of whom are making their UK debut. This unprecedented gathering of artistic voices will delve into a myriad of themes, including Taiwanese identity, post-colonial history, politics, and the complexities of human desire.

The festival's diverse program reflects Taiwan's rich cultural tapestry, shaped by a complex blend of historical influences and modern innovations. From its colonial past to its present-day achievements, Taiwan's journey is highlighted through the artistic expressions of its talented creators.

LONDON'S FIRST SHOWCASE OF TAIWANESE CULTURE FEATURING DANCE, MUSIC, VISUAL ART, PHYSICAL THEATRE, VR AND IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES

“I am delighted and honoured to witness the partnership between The Coronet Theatre, a renowned institution for contemporary arts in West London, and the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan. The Coronet Theatre has long been recognized for its unwavering dedication to showcasing the finest performing arts from around the globe.

The Taiwan Festival represents a significant milestone in this collaboration, as it continues The Coronet Theatre's tradition of presenting audiences with the best cultural experiences. By showcasing the richness and diversity of Taiwan's performing and installation arts scene, this joint effort not only enriches local audiences but also strengthens the cultural ties between Taiwan and the UK.

The immersive Taiwan programme, featuring dance, music, visual art, physical theatre, and VR experiences, promises to be a remarkable showcase of Taiwan's artistic talent. Furthermore, the two-week-long programme sets a remarkable precedent for future cultural exchanges and highlights Taiwan's role in diversifying the cultural landscape of the UK, as well as the power of collaboration in fostering mutual understanding and appreciation.

I extend my heartfelt wishes to The Coronet Theatre for a successful Taiwan Festival, and I hope that audiences will seize this exceptional opportunity to immerse themselves in the beauty and creativity of Taiwan's culture and arts.”

Representative Vincent Chin-Hsiang Yao Taipei Representative to the UK

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HUNG DANCE

Hung Dance is a Taiwanese contemporary dance company founded in 2017. Choreographer Lai Hung Chung serves as the artistic director, and the troupe’s name comes from the Chinese character 翃 , meaning to fly. The company has adopted four core elements in its development: Annual productions, the International Collaboration Project (ICP) , International Tours, and the Stray Birds Dance Platform.

At the core of Hung Dance’s annual productions are the works of Artistic Director, Lai Hung-Chung. His pieces are inspired by daily life, taking internal emotions and physical states and translating them into movement. He is perceptive to the subtle relationship between people and nature, and integrates elements of Tai Chi with contemporary thinking to cultivate a new dance vocabulary. In 2018, the short piece, Birdy, was developed into the dance company ’ s first feature-length work, Boundless, which was invited to premiere in Madrid, Spain at the Made in Taiwan – Taiwan en el Circulo, co-hosted by the Taiwan Embassy in Spain and the Circulo de Bellas Artes de Madrid. The work then returned to Taiwan to tour in Kaohsiung, Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Ivory Coast. The company ’ s second feature-length work was 2020’s See You, which premiered at Taipei’s Wellspring Theatre and was nominated for the 19th Taishin Arts Award.

International touring began at the founding of Hung Dance, with Lai Hung-Chung’s short pieces, Watcher and Birdy, winning 13 international awards. Following this success, the company embarked on an international tour that saw them perform in Europe, Asia, America, and Africa, with a total of 221 performances.

The ICP invites international choreographers to Taiwan to tailor-make new works for Hung Dance, allowing the dancers to learn dance vocabularies from different cultural backgrounds. The first international collaboration project was Out of Elegant, a work coproduced with Spanish choreographer Mario Bermudez Gil and performed at the Experimental Theatre of the National Theatre in 2020.

The Stray Birds Dance Platform (Stray Birds) project was created in 2018 to create a bridge and provide opportunities for young choreographers to publish works on the platform, connecting likeminded artists and establishing connections between choreographers and the international market. They opened applications to international works in 2022, deepening their international connections and fostering a positive, competitive environment.

From Taiwan since 1959

CHOU KUAN-JOU’S TOMATO

Following a hugely successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022, gifted dancer-choreographer Chou Kuan-Jou presents Tomato, a playful, provocative and experimental exploration of gender issues.

RIVERBED THEATRE

Riverbed Theatre present their immersive VR experience All That Remains throughout the festival, alongside the world premiere of taking it down and putting it up, a multi-disciplinary theatre collage blending movement, dance, opera and visual art. A poetic meditation on the work of Marcel Duchamp.

WORKSHOPS

Alongside the Taiwan Festival we present a series of free workshops with world renowned installation artist Cheng-Tsung Feng, artist and choreographer Chou Kuan-Jou and award-winning experimental theatre group Riverbed Theatre.

CHENG-TSUNG FENG

A major site-specific bamboo installation and exhibition by stellar Taiwanese artist Cheng-Tsung Feng, encasing the Coronet Theatre’s historical façade and taking over the interior spaces with his dramatic and intricate structures.

THE CORONET THEATRE

“For me, the artist is at the heart of the programme, and I work closely with the makers of the pieces I bring to London, sometimes watching and encouraging them for years. In this increasingly fractious world, I feel strongly that one of the greatest uniting forces is the international language of and desire of all of us to engage with art, whether as a maker or spectator.

My goal is to fill the theatre spaces – the Main House, Print Room Studio, and bar – with diverse and wonderful arts from across the world, celebrating all its many forms and the audiences who enjoy them”

Anda Winters Artistic Director & CEO

The Coronet Theatre is a risk-taking, international arts venue in a restored and re-imagined Grade II listed building in Notting Hill. Both its programme and the building’s restoration are curated by Artistic Director, Anda Winters.

Our year-round multi-disciplinary programme of world-class drama, dance, music, poetry and visual arts in our main auditorium and studio space welcomes our own productions as well as visiting artists, including many UK and World Premieres.

We offer memorable and often unexpected experiences to audiences, while supporting established artists and nurturing new talent. Our mission is to entertain, educate and excite UK audiences with the art and cultures beyond our borders.

THE CORONET THEATRE TEAM

ArtisticDirector&CEO

AndaWinters

GeneralManager

AndyMcDonald

SeniorProducer

HettyShand

FinanceManager

AndrewMichel

Company&ProductionCoordinator

EmmaSmith Producer

DaphneSeale

AssistantProducer/PAtoArtistic Director

LolaGabellini

AssociateProducer

CathyLewis

DigitalMarketingOfficer

RiccardoTitoPescini

MarketingManager(Freelance)

ElliotHall

PressRepresentative

SharonKean

PoetryCoordinator

MarionManning

AudienceExperienceManager

GiudiDiGesaro

BoxOfficeAssistant

IvanaDieli

Duty Managers

Francesca Battinieri, Adrielle

Feliciano, Maria LisbergJonasson, Sofia Bitelli

Front of House Staff

Brian Maitland, Andreane

Rellou, Ewa Emini, Sua

Tsubokura-Aguiriano, Maya

Giulivi, Hazel Townsend, Daniel

Camou, Elias Giulivi, Kelsey

Moebius, Thea Gavanski,

Aishani Ghosh, Eugénie

Bakker, Emma Laird-Craig,

Daniel Timoney, Cooper

Tweedie, Dominika Jarečná, Hamza Mullick, Dong Ting

Huang

Taiwan Festival Production Assistants

Mika Shirahama

Arthur Pai

Trustees

Linda Bernhardt, Mike Fisher, Mimi Gilligan, Jane Quinn, Anda Winters, Bill Winters (Chair)