[TPAC Campus Open Course] Lin Hwai-min’s Nomadic Journey with Cloud Gate

【Lecture 3】Lin Hwai-min’s Nomadic Journey with Cloud Gate

LIN Hwai-min started his career as a novelist and did not receive any formal dance training until the age of 23. At the age of 26, he founded Taiwan’s first modern dance company, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre. He taught himself choreography without any formal training, and infused his works with  the memories of Taiwan’s land and the spirit of its culture, creating contemporary dance pieces  marked by a distinctive personal style  that have been widely acclaimed internationally. Cloud Gate shares its dance  across Taiwan : from large cities  to small towns, and  brings its works to audiences around the world. In these lectures, LIN will detail the challenges, setbacks of creating his works, as well as the persistence  required to manage and operate the company. He will also make use of a large number of images to  illustrate how he drew on movement, music, and visual materials to transform text into captivating dance works. 

 

9/30 (Tue.) 19:00-21:00 

Anguish, Exploration, and Learning – LIN Hwai-min’s Dance DNA

Founded during a time of martial law, diplomatic isolation and a lack of professional theaters, Cloud Gate grew into Taiwan’s most iconic cultural beacon on the international dance stage. During this lecture, LIN will share how he departed from his roots and used dance as means of exploring the dialogue between history and society, unfolding the thoughts, struggles, and breakthroughs that shaped both his creative process and the management of a leading dance company. 

For this lecture, dance critic CHEN Pin-hsiu will serve as the host, leading the conversation with the speaker.

 

10/2 (Thu.) 19:00-21:00

Every Day Must Be a New Day - From The Tale of the White Serpent to Formosa

The artistry of LIN’s choreography has long earned the respect and praise of both dance critics and audiences. Yet, few have had the chance to delve into the motivation and evolution behind his works. In this lecture, accompanied by rarely seen video  footage, Lin will trace each dance’s origines and offer a glimpse into his creative process and strategies. 

For this lecture, dance critic CHEN Pin-hsiu will serve as the host, leading the conversation with the speaker.

 

10/5 (Sun.) 14:30-16:30

How the Body Tells Stories – The Dream of the Red Chamber, Nine Songs, and Portrait of the Families as Examples

Dance is the art of perception. Unlike text, physical movement does not “convey meaning in an easily defined way.” LIN who began his career as a writer, says it took him 20 years to wash away words and create  dance   grounded  in movements, imagery, and energy. However, his final major work before  retiring from Cloud Gate, Formosa, featured a stage filled with projected words. In this lecture, LIN will describe how he transforms “text” into dance through choreographic images and physical expression. 

 

10/7 (Tue.) 19:00-21:00

I Construct Mise-en-scène – Legacy, Moon Water, and Songs of the Wanderers as Examples

Transforming the stage, with all its spatial limitations, into an imaginary world through sets and  visuels is a central challenge for all creators. LIN  emphasizes that all stage sets must  serve the theme of the work and not overshadow it. In this lecture, LIN will share how he selects and  works with various media to create unforgettable  stage moments

 

【Workshop】In-Between Dramaturgy Workshop based on Jon Fosse's Plays

Jon Fosse was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2023. His plays are the starting point for this workshop, which explores the practice of dramaturgy. Participants will be invited to break free from traditional interpretative frameworks and create connections between text and the real world through the  lenses of time dilation and mise-en-scène. Moreover, the integration of cross-disciplinary collaboration will be explored to reshape the relationship between audience and performance. 

Dramaturgy originated in German theaters in the 18^th century. Since then, it has evolved into a range of practices and methods that reflect the growth of the performing arts ecosystem. Whether it involves text analysis, literary research, aesthetics consultation, curatorial work, or community connections,the core of dramaturgy  lies in building bridges of communication,  encouraging  exchanges, and opening up possibilities for collaboration and co-creation. 

Based on the theme of “in-between,” this workshop invites participants to step beyond their own perspectives and explore  the potential of encountering “the other.” Through co-learning and practice,  they will break  free from the conventional frameworks. Engaging in creative experiments, they will  uncover  new forms of expression,  open up fresh possibilities for seeing, interpreting and  being. 

 

10/4 (Sat.) 14:00-17:00 In-Between the Creation and the Listening – Rehearsal Room 5

Fosse describes his ideal writing state as simply sitting down and beginning to write. He listens, constantly listens,  with full attention concentrating on  hearing the work itself. But why does Fosse describe writing as “listening?” How can we understand his playwriting style and the subtle  state of being he portrays? Fosse listens to silence with openness and keen perception. What is the connection between this creative method and the practice of dramaturgy? How can dramaturg assist creative teams  in  transforming Fosse’s text into stage language? How does his  approach differ from  that of directors, designers, and actors? In the first session of this workshop, participants will be introduced to the characteristics of Fosse’s writing, be invited to delve into the mysterious and profound  world of his texts,  and explore how the dramaturg plays a role in collaborative creation. 

 

10/9 (Thu.) 18:00-21:00 In-Between the Active and the Passive – Rehearsal Room 5

What is dramatic action? Does  the absence of overt stage  movement, character conflict, or climactic scene  suggest  a lack of dramatic tension? Through Fosse’s repetitive lines and scenarios, how can a sense of deadlock or suspense be  generated on stage without falling into stagnant emptiness? Does the characters’ perpetual waiting  serve as a metaphor for the condition of existence ? How might dramaturg inform and shape the performances of actors? In this session, participants will physically explore the dramatic actions and character states described by Fosse through simple movement exercises, then  examine the  collaborative relationship between creators and dramaturgs : one that is horizontal rather than hierarchical. 

 

10/25 (Sat.) 14:00-17:00 In-Between the Original and the Reference – Rehearsal Room 2 

Starting from the text, how can we identify references that enrich the creative process? How  might we  move beyond  merely citing sources to instead transform them : developing  a new performance vocabulary in the process? Must the performed script remain faithful to the original or is it through a kind of betrayal of the playwright that a distinct artistic language can emerge? What are the similarities and differences in the playwriting styles of Fosse, Henrik Johan Ibsen, Samuel Beckett, and Harold Pinter? How can we bridge cultural distances  when interpreting contemporary Western texts? Starting from the characters, situations, settings, and symbolic objects described by Fosse, participants will be invited to imagine alternative interpretations,  explore multiple possibilities for performance, and examine layered relationships between original works and adaptations, creation and simulation, and reality and reproduction. 

 

12/4 (Thu.) 18:30-21:00 In-Between the Past and the Present-Rehearsal Room 4

In the perceived time of a theater performance,  does the narrative unfold linearly ? How can we allow  the narrative to flow on stage? How can we address ruptures in time and dislocations of time and space? What is the shared scene  perceived by both performers and audiences? Time is a central concept in Fosse’s works. He  evokes  blurred memories and captures fleeting moments through repeating cycles, imprinting the experience deeply in the minds of audience members. This session will begin by examining Fosse’s layered conception of time and explore how to develop, structure, shift, and repeat dramatic actions to shape stage narratives with transformative potential. 

 

12/5 (Fri.) 18:00-21:00 In-Between the Vast and the Minute-Rehearsal Room 4

What is the relationship between space and narrative? In an empty space,  how can we create atmosphere, dynamic energy, and  shift the audience-performance relationship? Within the confines of an artificial theater space, how can we  evoke the boundless, invisible  forces of the natural world? Steep fjords serve as a crucial motif in Fosse’s works. In this session, participants will explore the interplay between dramaturgy and mise-en-scène through body positioning , lighting shifts, and movement of props. They will also delve into Fosse’s elemental landscapes : ocean, waves, cliffs, wind, and clouds. 

 

12/21 (Sun.) 14:00-17:00 In-Between  the Unspoken and the Spoken(feat. LIAO Hai-Ting)-Rehearsal Room 1

Fosse creates a rhythm through pauses, interruptions, stillness, and silence in his dialogues. How can we respond to the breathing rhythm of his characters? What do the gaps and absences in his dialogue mean? How might we move beyond psychological interpretation and construct silence into an expressive language? In this session, participants will explore how words can become music and through the actual performance of sound and musical elements, listen to and engage with Fosse’s silent poetry. The session will also  consider the relationship between dramaturgy, sound and rhythm,  revealing how silence itself can be transformed into a tool for communication.

 

12/22 (Mon.) 18:00-21:00 In-Between the Body and the Existence (feat. TIEN Hsiao-Tzu)-Rehearsal Room 1

Starting with movements  drawn from everyday activities, participants will explore how stage actions emerge, develop,  shift, and  fade. Many of Fosse’s characters seem to exist on the threshold between wakefulness and sleep, consciousness and the subconsciousness, or life and death. How can the body be used to navigate this unsettled and ambiguous state of existence? How can we grasp the balance, or imbalance,  between external actions and internal states through practice? How can performance make the audience feel fully present,  in here and now? During this session, participants will be invited to  activate their senses and perception  in pursuit of authentic stage actions.  

 

12/23 (Tue.) 18:00-21:00 In-Between the Audience and the Performance-Rehearsal Room 1

Bringing together the explorations of writing, action, comparison, time, space, sound, and body in the previous seven sessions, in this final session, participants will be invited to curate a public presentation. Through  diverse  formats, including text, painting, music, reporting, dialogue, performance, interactive installation, and sound experiments, participants will share and discuss the research and questions they have developed over the past three months on Fosse and dramaturgy with both the public and professionals. The presentation will center on several key questions: How can Fosse’s scripts be interpreted across different disciplines? How can cultural boundaries be crossed to embody the universal values within his works? How might dramaturgy be applied in contemporary productions to  enable  experimental approaches and open up new possibilities? And in the context of Taiwan’s performing arts scene, what roles can a dramaturg play?

 

【Speakers Introduction】