DANCE - CLOUD GATE DANCE THEATRE OF TAIWAN: BAMBOO DREAM

Described by The Times as "Asia's leading contemporary dance theatre", Cloud Gate's repertoire has its roots in the myths, folklore and. aesthetics of the East but, in ArtisticDirector Lin Hwai-min's choreography, age-old beliefs and stories are brought intocontemporary and universal perspective, Like Songs of thee Wanderers and Moon Water, Bamboo Dream takes its inspiration from China, but a more varied pace and a freer, more emotionally expressive style replace the breathtakingly slow, meditative beauty of the earlier pieces.

In China, the evergreen bamboo. survives even the bitterest of winters. Symbolising integrity and epitomising elegance, it plays a part in many ancient tales. Buddhist legendhas it that Kuan Yin,  goddess of mercy, lived in a bamboo grove. A bamboo grove wasalso traditionally the place where renowned scholars would meet to compose poems anddrink wine. The Seven Sage3 in the Bamboo Grove, set at the time of the Jin Dynasty (265- 420 AD), tells of a group of students who retreated to live in a bamboo grove as a protest against society's corruption. Lin Hwai-min's inspired aid exquisitely beautifulchoreography does not narrate a single bamboo story but draws on these, and others, tocreate an abstract and lyrical piece of dance theatre.

Bamboo Dream is divided into a series of scenes that follows the course of the seasons; Morning Mist, Spring Breeze, Summer Heat, Autumn Path, When Rain Stops, At Midnight and Snow. There are solos, duets, trios and stunning examples of the ensemble-work in which Cloud Gate excels. Groups move not with the precise concord of a corps de ballet but like an exotic and sublimely co-ordinated, many-limbed creature,  It is performed to a combination of melodies improvised  by Chinese flute player Huang Sheng-kai and music by the Estonian composer Arvo Part. Austin Wang's stage design, strikingly lit by Chang Tsan-tao, creates an enchanting setting for this studio recording.