Contemporary dance double bill by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, with 'Blue Hour' and 'Beckoning', at Kingsbury Hall.
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan comes to Kingsbury Hall on Tuesday, November 17, with a double bill titled Blue Hour/Beckoning. It's a contemporary dance program that puts two distinct pieces on the same bill, and the two couldn't be more different in where they come from.
Blue Hour takes its name from the French phrase l'heure bleue and is inspired by the hazy blue sky that appears in the predawn darkness of New York. Beckoning looks toward Taiwan, drawing from the street-dancing ritual of the Eight Infernal Generals, known as Ba Jia Jiang. Between them, you get a glimpse of two very different places—one a quiet New York morning, the other a traditional Taiwanese ritual—both told through dance.
To understand the company, it helps to know how they work. Founded in 1973, Cloud Gate was the first contemporary dance company in the Chinese-speaking world. They take their name from the oldest known Chinese dance and blend traditional training with modern movement: the dancers work with Qi Gong and meditation alongside ballet and street dance. They're known for drawing on classical literature, folklore, and calligraphy, and for a style of fluid, meditative movement and visually striking stagecraft. The Times has called them "Asia's leading contemporary dance theater," and Time Out said "magic" isn't too strong a word for their work.
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It's a long way from Taiwan to Salt Lake, but the company is touring this double bill through the U.S. The performance is at Kingsbury Hall on Tuesday, November 17, at 7:30 PM, with tickets ranging from $18 to $65.
