Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan

“When you’re talking about Cloud Gate, "magic" is not too strong a word.” - Time Out Founded in 1973, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan was the first contemporary dance company in the Chinese-speaking world. The company takes its name from the oldest known Chinese dance and seeks to combine traditional training with modern movement styles. Its dancers are well-versed in Qi Gong and meditation, as well as ballet and street dance. They have performed on stages around the globe and were recognized by The Times as “Asia’s leading contemporary dance theater.” The evening features Blue Hour / Beckoning: A Double Bill. Derived from the French phrase l'heure bleue, Blue Hour is inspired by a vision of the hazy blue sky glimpsed in the predawn darkness of New York. Beckoning draws from the Taiwanese street-dancing ritual of the Eight Infernal Generals (Ba Jia Jiang), creating a mysterious zigzag of body language that gives this abstract work a playful yet poetic quality.