Cloud Gate Dance Theatre: Cursive II (HD Excerpt)

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Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan's Cursive II, a sequel to Cursive, had its international premiere at the opening of the Melbourne International Arts Festival, right after its world premiere in Taipei in September 2003, where it won both the Critics' Award and the Festival Patrons' Award. After studying Chinese calligraphy masterpieces, choreographer Lin Hwai-min found that, despite the differences in styles, all the brush works share one common element: the focused energy with which the calligraphers "danced" during writing. He asked Cloud Gate Dance Theatre dancers to improvise by facing blown-up images of calligraphy and created Cursive. Although both works were inspired by the aesthetics of Chinese calligraphy, Cursive II is drastically different from its forerunner. Chinese believe there are five shades of black ink. While Cursive emphasizes the dark blackness with lots of vigorous attacks, Cursive II explores the lighter shades in a meditative mood, evoking the serene quality of porcelain from the Sung Dynasty. A dance performance work of delicate lyricism, Cursive II celebrates the elegance of calligraphy and the power of emptiness. A white floor and white backdrop create a stage that resembles a huge sheet of rice paper. As the dance unfolds, through lighting and slide projection, the colour on the backdrop gradually evolves from shining white to different shades of brown, just as ancient calligraphy scrolls aged over the centuries. Cursive II is a study of time. For the choice of soundscape, Lin Hwai-min has surprised many people by using John Cage's works. Simple and pure string music from the Western avant garde master -- himself also a student of Zen Buddhism -- engages in a beautiful dialogue with movements developed from Eastern age-old traditional body disciplines.