renaissance of its ashes– An Experimental Work2018
Production
Following The Trilogy of Silent Island – “Silent Island” (2006), “Paradise of Silent Island” (2006), and “New Paradise of Silent Island” (2017), Hsiao-mei HO engages yet another new creative project, in an attempt to define performance with a broader perspective. Performativity condensed and crystalized in life by life ritual is employed in art performance. With the sense of alienation and falsehood existed in a proscenium-arch stage back in the days removed, the common emotions as well as collective memory observed in the ritual is to be fused to create a revolutionary language for performance art novel to the eyes.
renaissance of its ashes– An Experimental Work employs the barely-naked flesh and a crystal-clear stage design visually to portray the true hearts of men. All men, propelled by the lusts within, twist their bodies into postures impossible in terms of ergonomics. Through the attachment and detachment of body parts in different textures, the sense of agony, loss, and struggle in life are manifested, while life itself obtains the balance through ordeals.
Rooted deep in the ritual spirit and cultural heritage, the experimental work creates a non-canonical ritual ambiance via special stage devices, laser light and acoustic sound effects of new media for a showcase of bodies to the extreme to challenge the viewing experience of the audience. Time travel mixed with reality and fiction is produced to give off an atmosphere closer and true to life, while the audience are absorbed in the performance as its witness amidst the visualized ambiance where divinity and secularity manifest themselves side-by-side.
renaissance of its ashes– An Experimental Work continues to develop with each and every performance experience and reconnects the commonality and relationship between art performance and life through its creative attributes of “witness” and “experience” along with the audience's view experiences.
Production Team
School of Dance, Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA)
The TNUA School of Dance is equated with excellence in Taiwan and around the world. Since the establishment of the university in 1983, a world-class faculty of choreographers, performers, scholars and educators have led the program and facilitated the development of young artists. Throughout the years, TNUA alumni have gained respect and international acclaim as professional choreographers, dancers, teachers and researchers.
Choreographer/ Hsiao-Mei HO
Dean of the Dance Department, Taipei National University of the Arts. The 19th National Award for Arts. Artistic director of MeimageDance. Curriculum consultant at Cloud Gate Dance Theatre's studio.
HO's work “Camouflage,” commissioned by The National Theater and Concert Hall in 2015, was also performed at Beijing Dance Festival; at the same year, UCLA invited her along with the company to perform “Camouflage” shorter version and to promote performing arts at the Workshop for Department of World Arts and Cultures. In 2014, she choreographed for “Above Taiwan Concert.” Her choreography “My Dear” (2013) won the Taishin Arts Award, and “Beyond the Pale” (2011), and “Woo! Barbie” (2010) were nominated for the pioneering award supporting Taiwanese artists. In 2009, “Middle” was invited to perform at International Organization of Stenographers Theatre Architects and Technicians (OISTAT) in Seoul, Korea. In 2006, Hong Kong Dance Festival invited her to present “My Freud.” Her work “The Covered Picture” was invited to Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival in 2001. In 2000, she served as the rehearsal director for Cloud Gate 2; also, she was a dancer as well as visiting choreographer for Cloud Gate. In 1995, HO was invited to be the commission choreographer at the American Dance Festival.
Hsiao-Mei HO's early works were inspired by Taiwanese folk culture, exploring the cultural image of the Taiwanese and reflecting on the current social situation, using art as social commentary. Her works were often thought-provoking, reflecting Taiwan's turbulence and diversity, with its underlying silence and intensity. At the present stage, she is famous for using strong and unique visual effect on stage to present human inner thoughts in modern society.