Cloud Gate Dance Theatre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (Chinese: 雲門舞集) is a modern dance group based in Taiwan. It was founded by choreographer Lin Huai-min (林懷民) in 1973, and later he shared its management with his late protégé, Lo Man-fei (羅曼菲), a renowned choreographer in her own right.
Artistically, Cloud Gate blends its roots in Asian mythology, folklore, and aesthetics with a modern sensibility. Dancers practice and perform using such diverse movement disciplines and artistic approaches as tai chi, meditation, martial arts, modern dance, and ballet.
Known for its extensive international tours, Cloud Gate has performed in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America. The company also spends much of its time performing throughout Taiwan, and is generally acknowledged as the country's premier dance organisation. In recognition of its importance locally and internationally, on August 21, 2003, Taiwan's government proclaimed the day "Cloud Gate Day" and named the street on which the company's office lies "Cloud Gate Lane." This was the first time in Taiwan's history a day and place were named after a living artist or active artistic organisation.
The organisation has two branches other than its main dance company. One, called "Cloud Gate 2", tours communities and works with and helps develop young dancers and choreographers. It was founded in 1999. The other, Cloud Gate Dance School was founded in 1998 with a view to making dance education more broadly available.
