Lin Hwai-Min: Cloud Gate Dance

Lin Hwai-Min, an international renowned Taiwanese choreographer, famous of integrating Eastern culture with modern dancing and develop his own style from different cultures. Lin is the founder of the Cloud Gate dance theatre of Taiwan. “Clouds gate” is the oldest dance form in ancient China. “Clouds gate” was lost to the world, only the gorgeous name and legend leave. Holding the belief of bring the beauty of ancient Chinese culture back, Lin Hwai-min found Cloud Gate dance theatre of Taiwan, the first modern dance theatre in greater China. As Lin said, he wanted to perform works ‘composed by Chinese, choreographed by Chinese, danced by Chinese for Chinese audiences’. Since 1973, Lin and cloud gate received acclaim around the world. In 2001, Cursive debuts in Cloud Gate Theater. In 2003 and 2005, Cursive 2 and

“ Cursive is too concrete. We directly use too many calligraphy works.I think I can dig deeper into the inspiration of calligraphy.Therefore, I created Cursive II” [ 2,3Xiaoting, L., (1-9-2015). Anger. Southern Weekly,Retrieved from http://www.infzm.com/content/107002] Cursive II also called Pine Smoke. “Smoke makes a quite and transient atmosphere.”Lin Hwai-min said. “ ‘pine’ is the body; ‘smoke’ is spirit of dance. I hope audience can find an atmosphere of soft and white space ” [] The music used in Cursive II is from John Milton Cage Jr. Both Chinese critics and western doubt that if John Cage’s music can interpret eastern culture. Lin Hwai-min says “Cage has his own interpretation in I Ching and zen. ” [ ]It is not the first time Lin Hwai-min combine different culture. The Nine songs uses gagaku from Japan. In Song of Wanderers, which is story of Sakyamuni, Lin Hwai-min uses Georgia folk songs. Lin Hwai-min believes: “creation just likes adding salt in coffee. You have to let everything in to get new idea.”[Hwai-min, L., (11-12-2014). Creation is adding salt in Coffee,Retrieved