Giannandrea Poesio

Moving pictures

Dance Umbrella<br /> Cloud Gate Theatre of Taiwan, Barbican Theatre Cabane<br /> P3, University of Westminster

issue 17 October 2009

Dance Umbrella
Cloud Gate Theatre of Taiwan, Barbican Theatre

Cabane
P3, University of Westminster

Cloud Gate Theatre of Taiwan is not new to the UK dance scene. Yet, as stressed in an inflated, self- celebratory programme note, Wind Shadow marks a neat move away from the performance formulae seen in their previous productions. Created in 2006 by Lin Hwai-Min in collaboration with the visual artist Cai Guo-Qiang — who played a significant role in the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics — the work strives to be an example of ‘moving installation art’. As such, it comes across as a series of moving pictures that both surprise and shock the viewer with moments of incomparable lyricism and powerfully unsettling imagery. There is a constant game of chiaroscuros, enhanced by the presence on stage of dancers all clad in black, who ‘play’ the shadows of other dancers, against a varied background of visual ideas and pure old theatre magic.

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in