新聞中心 NEWS - 2016 TIFA 台灣國際藝術節

2016 TIFA 台灣國際藝術節 感謝您熱情參與!!!

2016TIFA台灣國際藝術節，在53天的期間，共有來自12國的藝術家，參與了20檔節目51場的演出，周邊相關活動計38場，欣賞演出及參與周邊活動的觀眾總人數達53,258人，節目總售票率達97%，在51場演出中，有44場節目票房達100%，臉書有128,437個讚的鼓勵！

您的支持就是我們的動力，希望邀請您填寫線上問券，您的寶貴意見將會提供未來規劃TIFA台灣國際藝術節之參考，填寫截止日為4/30(六)。

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本新聞稿於2016年4月14日發佈

攝影:周嘉慧

2016 TIFA台灣國際藝術節即將於本周閉幕，閉幕之作為加拿大導演羅伯．勒帕吉的作品《癮•迷》，被國際媒體讚譽為「世上最閃耀的劇場巫師！」的導演羅伯．勒帕吉，來台作品包含2007年《安徒生計畫》與2010年《眾聲喧嘩》，受到台灣觀眾熱烈喜愛。

世界最閃耀的劇場巫師   劇場作品第三度登台演出 加拿大導演羅伯•勒帕吉（Robert Lepage）縱橫劇場卅年，不論在任何戲劇形式都多才多藝，導演作品跨足劇場、電影、歌劇、新馬戲與演唱會等領域，他優異的戲劇創意及嶄新手法，使他獲得來自世界各地的肯定。他同時也是個專業的演員，許多重要獨角戲作品，都是他自編自導自演的創作，包含這次來台演出的《癮•迷》Needles and Opium，這齣於1991年推出的首演版，就由他自己擔綱主角。獨角戲一直是羅伯•勒帕吉擅長的演出形式，也是他私心偏好的表現模式，不只具備了某種私密性，與觀眾建立的親密關係，也招喚出劇場獨有的魔幻時刻。

會重製這齣相隔25年的製作，羅伯•勒帕吉表示，除了加拿大影視紅星馬克‧拉布黑契(Marc Labrèche)的要求，他同時是這一次重製版的主角，他更認為經過25年的時光淬鍊後，能夠沉澱出更不同的作品靈魂。羅伯•勒帕吉認為：『這齣戲首演與新版有著25年的距離，這25年的時光會讓你變成另外一個人，而在主題上，對愛，對上癮，對世界的議題，也會產生不同的看法。』他認為有些東西，當事人只有在事過境遷後很久，才會真正瞭解，尤其是涉及愛的感覺與關係衝突時，更需如此，因此這個版本的《癮‧迷》將更深入更成熟。他說：『雖然這是在第一代網路瀏覽器、社群媒體及911事件發生之前就完成的劇本，但劇中主角所敘述關於存在的問題，反而更加不受時空侷限。』

時空交錯的敘事手法  三度空間的視覺幻象 《癮‧迷》採用時空交錯的手法，故事描述1949年法國詩人導演尚•考克多在紐約與美國爵士樂好手邁爾士•戴維斯在巴黎，以及現代的時空中加拿大魁北克演員羅伯，他們同時經歷了情感上的折磨與毒品的沉淪，這三條平行發展卻又相互交織的故事線，以完全相異的風格展開，呈現出他們既獨特卻共有的生命歷程。

羅伯•勒帕吉說：『此劇的結構以三位失去愛情的男性為主。在第一版本中，三段交叉的故事份量並不平均，兩位白種人的角色都有台詞，而且以活生生的人物出現；然而邁爾士‧戴維斯卻以一個無聲、平面的影像呈現。因此這次我覺得必須邀請其他演員上台飾演這位著名的小號手。』因此這一次重製的演出與第一版最不同的地方在於，他邀請了黑人演員衛斯理‧羅伯森三世(Wellesley Robertson III)來詮釋邁爾士‧戴維斯這個角色，希望讓這個人物更加立體，也更具人性。

在舞台設計方面，不同於著重拼貼效果的第一版，此次更強調舞台立體感的延伸，在劇場中營造出三度空間的視覺幻象，隨著劇情的推演，搭配出大量的投影效果，讓場景千變萬化，一下是旅館房間，一下是紐約街頭。舞台上不停旋轉的空心立方體，不僅有效地變換場域，暗示角色內心失衡的狀態，更刻劃出他們無法擺脫情感糾纏的苦楚。

羅伯•勒帕吉說『你也許會說這個獨角戲不適合大型劇場，但在這些年來我發現，一群觀眾一起觀賞獨角戲時，反而最能感受到孤寂。』

攝影：張震洲

2016TIFA台灣國際藝術節楊輝《邊界》為國家表演藝術中心國家兩廳院製作，並與國家表演藝術中心衛武營營運推動小組、法國新東向藝術聯盟（Réseau A l'Est du Nouveau / Théâtre Louis Jouvet Rethel / Théâtre d'Auxerre, France）共同製作，邀請國際知名操偶師楊輝從大時代小人物的故事出發，運用三層帷幕舞台、多條時空軸交錯，打造壯闊恢弘的史詩美學。4月8日至10日於國家兩廳院全球首發登場。

我，是誰？ 如果落葉要歸根，那麼何處是我家？ ㄧ個被殖民者，因殖民母國的戰爭，被捲入異國戰場，彼時，ㄧ個逃過劫難的青年，失去原生的土地，在純真的生命上找到新的希望。他們身不由己、無可奈何，生存在歷史的浪潮中，推擠著往一個未知的方向前進，當時局再度變天，他們的身分再次翻轉，跨越時空交錯再次相會。

《邊界》以「邊境」與「漂流」為主題，探討歷史的洪流下人的「關係」及「身份」，從兩個主要故事軸延神-台籍日本兵與東北流亡教師，反映一個時代，人類所共同經歷的生命情感及時代變遷流轉。楊輝說：「靈感來自二次世界大戰後的故事，很多人不得已離開家鄉，一生顛沛流離，讓我深受感動，這當中有大陸有歐洲有台灣，這是屬於全人類的故事，雖然描寫血淋淋的戰爭，但在人的基點講情感、講人性。」

當代布袋戲大師 楊輝的掌中人生 楊輝目前旅居法國，為大陸漳州布袋戲世家第五代傳人。父親楊勝，被尊為「北派布袋戲宗師」，對於台灣布袋戲有深厚影響，布袋戲界大師李天祿亦曾參考楊勝布袋戲京劇唱腔及身段元素，發展成「外江戲」的劇種表演。楊輝一生歷經文革巨變、失去親人而長期漂流在外，因此創作中總有歷史的痕跡與脈絡可循，看楊輝的作品也同時看到他人生的縮影。但也因這樣的漂泊，讓楊輝吸取了各國現代戲劇手法，跳脫傳統布袋戲的框架，精巧地結合多媒體素材與東西方劇場元素，發展出楊輝自成一派的獨家當代布袋戲美學。

這次演出運用三層帷幕舞台，以多層次的電影手法，展現歷史的深度，創造出深淺自如、彈性多元的時空向度，從一點到一線、一線到一面，多條故事軸交錯發展，營造超寫實的偶戲風格，時而相互交疊時而彼此對應，交互編織成大時代下的歷史縮影，也投射了小人物的角色個性與細膩情感。楊輝說：「三層活動幕的好處，可以走出一兩千年的時間，能寫意地代表不同場景，像電影畫面跳接，還能瞬間變成一個房間，可實可虛，可大可小，這樣舞台等於無限。」

享譽國際 全球首發 楊輝曾以一齣單人布袋戲《北京劇院之景》巡演於亞洲、北美、南美、歐洲等，至今已二十五餘載，邀演不斷。2009年與瑞士洛桑劇院合作《操偶師的故事》，自述時代變局和漂流經歷之題材，巡迴超過兩百場，足跡橫跨紐約、巴西、西班牙、德國、台灣、香港、比利時等地。2013年與瑞士洛桑劇院創作第二部偶戲作品《牛仔褲》，講述全球化及資本主義所帶來的剝削及貧窮問題，演出後佳評不斷。2015年單人偶戲《茶館》，巡演法國、德國、瑞士等。此外，楊輝亦於歐洲最重要且歷史最悠久的偶戲學校─法國沙勒維爾‧梅濟耶爾國際偶戲學院(ESNAM)的指導教師。

近年來兩廳院持續拓展國際關係與視野，除與國際團隊與單位共同製作節目，亦積極參與國際表演藝術組織、藝術節及藝術市集，有意識地扎根並延伸國際網絡觸角，推薦更多國內優質節目至國外演出。這次全新跨國製作《邊界》從台灣首發，國際巡演則預計於2017年5月於法國開始。日內瓦偶戲節藝術（Théâtre des Marionnettes de Genève）總監Isabelle Matter、法國巴黎偶戲劇院（Le Mouffetard - Théâtre des arts de la marionnettes）總監Isabelle Bertola、伯斯國際藝術節（Perth International Arts Festival）藝術總監Wendy Martin、西安音樂廳曹彥總經理、香港劇評梁偉詩及北京新京報編輯陳然特別來台欣賞此次演出。

2016年4月將於國家兩廳院、衛武營藝術文化中心籌備處演出，由國家兩廳院全球首發，看掌中縮影如何演繹這屬於全人類的故事～

攝影/周嘉慧

由國家兩廳院主辦，眾所期待的2016台灣國際藝術節，每年皆引進介紹國際舞蹈演出，今年也不例外。強勢橫掃國際現代舞壇的作品《SUN》，由英國侯非胥˙謝克特現代舞團（Hofesh Shechter Company）所演出。4月8日至10日於國家戲劇院演出。為了讓台灣舞者有更多機會與國際接軌，兩廳院也特邀侯非胥．謝克特現代舞團兩名資深舞者為台灣舞者進行專業課程，從暖身開始，逐漸進入舞作體驗，完整體驗侯非胥．謝克特創作美學，受到台灣舞者熱烈支持，目前課程已經報名額滿。

英國現代舞的全年亮點演出 台北的愛舞觀眾對侯非胥謝克特想必不陌生，2012年他曾的作品《政治媽媽》，曾讓看過的朋友直呼「太棒了，非常震撼！」暌違四年再度來台，帶來 2013 年作品《Sun》，15名表演者在黑暗與憤怒世界中，隨著精準的節拍跳躍，撞擊地面、相互搏擊，展現出世界儘管黑暗，在混亂與迷霧裡，最終顯露一道明亮光芒。就算面對太陽，仍然無懼的生命力量。謝克特除了編舞外也參與音樂設計，造就了極為出色的舞台演出效果。沙德勒之井藝術總監艾力斯德˙史柏汀(Alistair Spalding) 就曾表示「侯非胥在沙德勒之井的作品毫無疑問是全年的亮點之一，並紮紮實實地確立侯非胥在英國舞蹈界的頂尖地位。」

狂野不羈的舞步 搖滾偶像般的能量 侯非胥的舞者都有著扎實的芭蕾基本工，卻在舞臺上展現極為狂野不羈的舞步，流露毫無所懼的性格，也有許多跳躍、翻滾與衝擊的動作，然而在這樣強烈的動作中，侯非胥也會在其中穿插一些溫柔細膩的雙人或獨舞舞段，也許正因為剛中帶柔，充滿反差的衝突創造出不可思議的魅力，使侯非胥的舞蹈深得年輕舞迷的喜愛，英國舞評人形容謝克特的作品為「具有搖滾偶像般的能量」！

音樂如同文本撒在空中 侯非胥謝克特的舞作一向注重音樂性的表現，在《SUN》的演出中也不例外，舞團在注意事情中提醒觀眾本演出「含有炫光、極大音量」，從小學習音樂，也曾任鼓手的侯非胥如此表示：「我認為對舞蹈而言，音樂是強大而重要的工具。」音樂對侯非胥而言像是某種身體的原始呼喚。侯非胥形容音樂為「將文本撒在空中」，並觀察觀眾的心靈將如何受音樂所影響。侯非胥˙謝克特畢業於耶路撒冷舞蹈音樂學院（Jerusalem Academy for Dance and Music），他便加入了以色列巴希瓦現代舞團（Batsheva Dance Company）。侯非胥曾在以色列及巴黎學習打擊樂，除了以舞者身份參與演出之外，他也為其他編舞家的演出進行音樂設計，有極為出色演出效果。

侯非胥橫掃國際舞壇，連連奪得國際舞壇重要獎項，如：2008年英國舞評人全國舞蹈大獎最佳編舞獎，2009年德國Movimentos 國際舞蹈節最佳新人獎等。巡演足跡更遍及雪梨歌劇院、巴黎市立劇院、首爾LG藝術中心等國際各大表演廳。值得一提的是，2010年侯非胥也獲世界經典名品愛馬仕（Hermes）青睞，獲邀擔綱愛馬仕音樂沙龍（Salon de Musique）國際藝術演出編導，與法國巴黎國家歌劇院首席男女舞者Marie-Agnes Gillot與Jeremie Belingard於台灣的廣藝廳演出，僅有受邀VIP才有機會欣賞。

英國侯非胥．謝克特現代舞團《Sun》現正於兩廳院售票系統售票中，一樓高票價座位有限。4/8及4/10演出之後，將於大廳舉辦演後座談，愛舞觀眾朋友，請把握機會！

演出資訊 英國侯非胥．謝克特現代舞團Sun 4.8-9(Fri.-Sat.)19:30 4.10(Sun.)14:30 國家戲劇院 National Theater

Experimental Theater at the National Theater, Taipei

April 2, 2016 David Mead

Eighteen months ago, I described Arthur Pita’s telling of Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of The Little Match Girl as an absolute joy. Seeing it again brings exactly the same response. The story of Fiammetta Russo, the young girl struggling to sell her matches on Christmas Eve so she can afford some food and shelter, is still sad and heartrending, yet warm and uplifting in equal measure.

Pita relocates the story to a cold and snowy Santo Stefano sul Tuscio, an imaginary Italian city brought to life by Yann Seabra’s set, a mix of the full-size and miniature. Wandering its streets, fresh-faced and light on her feet, Faith Prendergast was a delight as the Little Match Girl. Always vulnerable, and despite her travails, her youthful optimism shines through. Her dance in particular is reminiscent of Onna White’s choreography for Carol Reed’s film of Oliver Twist, full of sharp turns, snappy heels and free leaps. Despite the story being shifted to Italy, Seebra’s great costumes too hint at a Dickensian world.

Many of Andersen’s stories have dark sides. This is no different and Pita doesn’t shy away from the crueller aspects. Although briefly befriended by a lamplighter (Paul Smethurst), with she dances are duet that makes some creative use of his pole, everyone else seems against young Fiammetta. The townsfolk turn off their lights when she knocks on their doors, and she’s set upon by two match boys who bully her, they assault and rob her, taking her shoes and matches, and tying her to a lamppost.

Apart from Prendergast, everyone plays multiple roles, switching costumes and character brilliantly. Worst of all those Fiammetta has the misfortune to run across are the unpleasant Donnarumma family. Dressed up to the nines, they have everything – except any charity for the Match Girl. Although they start off looking quite humorous, the slightly grotesque threesome really are an unpleasant piece of work. There’s a bit of a hint of Cinderella and her two ugly sisters as the Match Girl is picked on. Worst of the family is the spoiled brat of a daughter, Angelica (Valentina Golfieri). Unfortunately for her, the Match Girl makes the mistake of being a bit too persistent in trying to sell to them

Having died in front of her grandmother’s grave, the ghost of her grandmother rather emerges from the gravestone and takes the Match Girl – not to heaven – but, in an unexpected twist, to the moon. Here, Pita has great fun with an Apollo mission-style lunar module and a radio-controlled lunar buggy. The smiles of the audience only increase with a gentle, neat weightless duet for Hank the easy-going astronaut and heroine. Those smiles turn to laughs when the departing lunar module refuses to start. It’s amazing what a match can do!

From the corner and surrounded by numerous instruments, composer Frank Moon keeps up a great combination of live and pre-recorded music and sound effects using mandolin, electric violin, beatbox and goodness knows what else, always helping carry the story along. With his black shadowed eyes, black topper and dark coat, he also adds another layer of interest.

While this enchanting gem of a show is of course suitable for children, it’s not a solely children’s show. It will reach out and touch everyone

David Mead is at the National Theater, Taipei for Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Milonga April 3, 2016

Sensual, physical and virtuosic, beautiful even; that’s tango, Argentina’s national dance. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s starting point for Milonga is just that, a milonga, one of those social dance evenings held in late-night clubs and bars in Buenos Aries. Attempting to give tango a modern-day twist, he tosses in a couple of contemporary dancers and some film. The dancers are wonderful, Tim Van Steenbergen costumes for the women are glamorous, the live music by Szymon Brzoska and Fernando Marzan, performed by an on-stage quintet is good if not exceptional (where is Piazzolla when you need him?). Yet, while there are high points, far too often it struggles to hold the attention.

The show is largely made up of duets and occasional ensemble numbers that rather start to merge into one another. Sure, there’s lots of dazzlingly fast and intricate footwork, feet flicking and licking the floor, legs corkscrewing and scissoring, bodies meeting. It is interesting to a point, but too often I struggled to find any emotion in all the flashiness of it. We are told tango is passionate and about relationships; not here. Things get such that one starts to look forward to the next interlude with film or photographs. There are three of these, presumably intended to break the show up, but for me the sights of everyday Argentinian streets past and present started to hold much more interest than most of the dance.

The best moments are when Cherkaoui and the dancers (who had significant input to the choreography) dare to be a little different. Milonga reaches its summit in an interesting dance is for three of the men. Although very much dancing with each other, and supporting each other, there’s a bit of sense of competition as German Cornejo, Martin Epherra and Claudio González dazzling with their virtuosity. Intended or not, there is actually some historic truth in this. In late 19th-century Argentina, men significantly outnumbered women, and men dancing with each other while waiting for a female partner, or in line at a brothel, was quite common.

Another dance for three mixed male-female trios is nearly as good, and a near-vaudeville slapstick routine brings some smiles.

Two contemporary dancers, Silvina Cortés and Damien Fournier, appear as outsiders in the milonga. Their clearly tango-inspired modern dance many not be intimate in feeling, but does provides an interesting counterpoint. One long duet in which Cortés rarely touches the floor as she is lifted and wound round and over Fournier’s shoulder, back, legs and lap is especially impressive.

Cherkouai and the dancers do give us an end to remember. As the tricks fade away and the dance slows down, finally the very personal emotion between the couples starts to reach across the footlights.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that what Cherkaoui has produced with Milonga is big-theatre entertainment, pure and simple. Maybe I was expecting too much, but in doing so he has removed tango from its roots in intimate venues, and removed its ability to communicate feeling and intensity to those watching. There is no depth to it. Perhaps also, it’s a dance rather better and maybe even only truly experienced first-hand.

David Mead reports from the National Theater, Taipei March 26, 2016

‘Crossover’ is a much used term in theatre arts, perhaps overused, but it’s hard to disagree when it’s applied to Taiwan’s Contemporary Legend Theatre (當代傳奇劇場) led by Wu Hsing-kuo (吳興國). The company has long been noted for its blending of traditional Chinese Opera with Western classics in a modern, contemporary way that moves tradition forwards. The company’s first production back in 1986 was of Macbeth (as The Kingdom of Desire, 慾望城國), since when there has also been Hamlet(as War and Eternity,王子復仇記), King Lear (李爾王) and The Tempest (暴風雨). In this, the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death, and the 30th of the company, it seems natural to return, but for the first time with a comedy: A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

In approach and design, Wu avoids trying to present the play as some sort of vivid reconstruction from any particular time. In most of the costume and music it has been translated into something very much of Taiwan, and of today. It’s an adaptation and interpretation that’s remarkably successful.

While having to translate must surely help get round the issue of Shakespeare’s 16th-century language, Chang Ta-cheun’s (張大春) libretto also reinterprets the Bard cleverly and creatively. Much faith has been kept with the text despite some abbreviation. If the projected English is anything to go by, very little has lost in translation. The dialogue remains full of astute and perceptive observations of human nature but Chang also works in any number of contemporary political references, satire and jokes that the audience lapped up. Best of all, though, he manages to keep much of the rhythm of it. All very Shakespearean indeed.

The complex plot is left untouched, but there’s some extra work for Bottom (Lin Chao-hsu, 林朝緒) and his jolly band of amateur thespians (reduced here to five; there being no Snout). In a prologue that got the audience well and truly onside (although I suspect they were anyway) before the curtain had even risen, they jovially discussed how wonderful it was to be in the National Theater and what an impressive place it was. There was even a touch of audience participation as they gleefully encouraged everyone to yell back answers to questions, which of course they did with gusto. I suspect that, and some of the later bawdy goings on might not be that far from how the play might originally have been viewed.

And what fun they had when it came to their home-spun version of Pyramus and Thisbe, the play within a play that takes up most of Shakespeare’s Act V. Everything that could possibly go wrong did. Star of that show without a doubt was Snout played by Wei Zhu-qiao (魏竹嶢), here described as a mason, playing the very complaining wall between the two lovers. Toss in a few timely jokes (when a hole is punched in it so that Pyrumus and Thisbe might talk, we see the builder has used some old cooking oil cans in there too) and some cutting remarks from Wei Hai-min’s (魏海敏) increasingly bored Hippolyta and it was absolutely hilarious. I don’t ever remember laughing so much at Shakespeare that I had tears running down my face, but I did here.

Bottom in particular is not all played for laughs, though. There is a more complex side to him. When he is turned into an ass, such is the pathos that, far from wanting to laugh at his situation, you feel rather sorry for him.

Other moments of humour abound. When Egrus (Huang Yi-hao, 黃逸豪) is recanting the story, telling how Lysander wooed Hermia, the love note puts in an appearance as a paper aeroplane. When the humans wake up from Puck’s spell, well let’s just say things get a little bawdy for a moment before both couples are ‘caught in the act’! The subsequent fight between the men is a wonderful bout of false bravado; a bout of fisticuffs where neither really actually wants to hit the other. There are yet more laughs at the wedding when the guards celebrate by letting off poppers before, with another nod to the modern-day, they all whip out their mobile phones and start snapping away.

Generally getting in the way and generally making mischief was Puck, a full of energy, over-exuberant and impish imp if ever there was one. Former Cirque du Soleil performer (Billy) Chang Yi-chun (張逸軍) brought some of that to the show, surprising everyone by making his first entrance with a sequence on a corde lisse. Forever zipping in and out of proceedings his later ‘transport’ included in-line skates with wings at the back (think Hermes) and a skateboard. The audience wasn’t entirely safe either, Puck taking great delight in sprinkling fairy dust and getting up to other antics (along with the rather excitable, slightly naughty fairies) in the stalls through the interval.

The production actually has more than a hint of musical theatre about it in that large parts are spoken dialogue interrupted by songs that are sometimes operatic in style, but sometimes ballads that would not be out of place in the West End; and of course, there’s a little bit of Mendelssohn. Much credit must go to composer and conductor Owen Wang (王希文) for blending the different styles so successfully; not easy given the different approaches and practices of Chinese musical drama and opera and Western musical theatre.

Of the young human lovers, Kong Yueh-tzu’s (孔玥慈) Hermia clearly has quite a stubborn streak in among all that innocence, while Jolin Huang (黃若琳) brings some comic flair to Helena, ever-devoted to Demetrius despite everything. Chu Po-cheng (朱柏澄) as Lysander and especially the long-haired Jing Huang (黃勁棠) as Demetrius are the sort of good-looking hunks any human female might fall for. Huang in particular has quite a stage presence.

Presiding over the mayhem, or at least attempting to, Wu’s Theseus has a grand bearing. His heart is in the right place though as he spends his time trying to keep his subjects, and especially Hippolyta, happy. As the couple argue, the initial distrust between them is plain. Although the bickering continues, by the end it’s all much more good natured as love wins out here too.

The costumes (by Kang Yen-ling, 康延齡) are a riot of colour and rich in detail. Those for Theseus and Hippolyta are very Chinese Opera-based: golden finery for him and dazzling purple, red and orange for her. Hermia is a vision in a pink, light green and sky blue long dress. Helena is in white and light blue. Things slowly get more modern as the show continues. When we reach fairyland, Oberon appears in white, Titania in shimmering, glorious gold, but best of all are those when we return to Athens after the misadventures in the woods. Theseus and Hippolyta both appear in stylish black and white numbers that could have come straight out of a top-drawer, glamorous production of My Fair Lady. Hippolyta’s hat would grace any Ascot opening day!

Stage designs by Chang Wei-wen (張維文) neatly manage to shift us from Athens to fairyland and back again without crowding the stage with set. His use of a cut out that doubles as the moon and a window through which we first see the changeling boy (six-year old Zhang Yong-xuan, 張詠媗, who already sings beautifully) was very effective. His forest is all boughs and hanging fronds.

Wonderful, wonderful stuff and the most fun I’ve had with Shakespeare in years.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Contemporary Legend Theatre can next be seen in Hsinchu (June 25), Taichung (July 1) and Tainan (July 16).

Choreographer Lai Tsui-shuang’s newest work employs a device that captures the kinetic energy of the dancers and transforms it into sound

Germany-based Taiwanese choreographer Lai Tsui-shuang (賴翠霜) returns to Taipei’s Experimental Theater this week as part of the Taiwan International Festival of Arts (TIFA).

Her troupe, Lais Creative Dance Theater (賴翠霜舞創劇場), will perform her latest work, Sound, Body, Memories (發聲) for four shows, starting tonight. The company was just at the theater in October last year with Blackout (記憶出軌), a collaboration between Lai and German dancer/choreographer Michael Hess that explored the issues of aging and losing memories.

The National Theater has invited her to create new works for its small theater twice before, as part of its New Idea Dance series, with Drawer (抽屜) in 2011 and Home Temperature (家‧溫 ℃) in July 2013, but this is the first time she has been asked to be part of a TIFA program.

After graduating from the Chinese Culture University in 1995, Lai moved to Essen, Germany, to study for a diploma in dance at the Folkwang Hochschule or Folkwang Academy. She danced with the Folkwang Dance Studio in Essen from 1998 to 2000, then joined Daniel Goldin’s troupe in Munster for three years, followed by a year with the dance troupe at the Staatstheater Kassel, before striking out on her own as a freelance dancer and choreographer in 2004. She founded her own company in 2011.

As should be expected, given her training and career, Lai’s choreography and productions show the strong influence of the late Pina Bausch, another Folkswang alumni and a dominant force in German dance theater for several decades.

Although most of her professional life has been spent in Europe, Lai has created pieces for several Taipei-based companies over the years, especially the Assembly Dance Theatre (組合語言舞團), and been nominated for a Taishin Arts Award five times. She won in 2009 for Surround.

Performance notes:

WHAT: Sound, Body, Memories

WHEN: Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm, tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm

WHERE: Experimental Theater (國家實驗劇場), 21-1 Zhongshan S Rd, Taipei City (台北市中山南路21-1號)

ADMISSION: Tickets are NT$600, available at NTCH box offices, online at www.artsticket.com and convenience store ticket kiosks. The only tickets left are for tomorrow’s matinee

Much of her work focuses on social issues, including environmental protection, and in recent years she has explored topics related to memory and physical movement.

Lai said this weekend’s show, Sound, Body, Memories, aims to physically decode the remains and echoes of memories, such as those evoked by listening to our own bodies — beating hearts, the sound of breathing, the creaking of aging joints — combined with the sounds of the city.

She wants to know what happens if we lose those sounds, lose the memories of them — do we lose the feelings that are attached to them as well?

Set on five dancers, and performed to an electronic score, complete with a live DJ, Sound, Body, Memories sees the dancers encountering and responding to pure sound, acting as both receivers and transmitters and blurring the boundaries between technology and the human body. However, are the dancers reacting just to what they are hearing — or feeling — from the sounds, or are they also responding to memories triggered by those sounds?

To make the sounds for her production more three-dimensional, Lai collaborated with Frank Ching Ying, who has created a multichannel sound system for the Experimental Theater that uses a sensor to capture the kinetic energy of the dancers’ bodies and translate it into more sound.

Sound, Body, Memories runs for 60 minutes, with no intermission. The only remaining seats are for tomorrow’s afternoon showing.

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Roland Auzet and Arushi Mudgal in SAMA Experimental Theater at the National Theater, Taipei March 19, 2016 David Mead

Percussion is becoming something of a theme in this year’s dance presentations at TIFA. There was more of it in SAMA, a collaboration between two artists of very different backgrounds: noted odissi dancer, Arushi Mudgal, and French composer, percussionist and theatre director, Roland Auzet.

‘Sama’ means a state of equilibrium or balance, and it is certainly true that the two art forms do come to that position over the course of the work’s sixty minutes or so. At first there’s a sense that Auzet is sounding Mudgal out. Both seem intrigued by the other, but she in particular seems wary as she dances to his beat.

Like all building relationships there are moments of agreement and disagreement, of accord and discord, of frustration and satisfaction. Slowly and surely, the two come to appreciate each other. The relationship between the two performers and the two art forms building to a point where they harmonise and come together as equals to form something interesting and new.

Mudra (stamping) is an important component of odissi and much of the dialogue takes place between the sounds made by Mudgal’s feet and that created by Auzet. As the evening progresses, the conversation gets increasing playful. Sometimes it’s fun to watch, as in a pas de six of sorts between Auzet’s two hands and two feet, and Mudgal’s feet, all lined up in a row like six dancers. But better still, we see that they are having fun too. The longer it goes on, the more the music and dance become like a joust between two great friends.

Long-haired and gently graceful, Mudgal is a remarkable dancer. Dressed in a turquoise tunic, she also has wonderful stage presence. Her technique is mesmerising. The first things that strike one are her incredibly expressive hands and forearms. In her opening dance they have a marvellous lightness whether beating gently like birds on the wing, or simply floating in the air. Her wrists can twist and turn in ways that seem barely possible.

While it has much in common with other classical Indian dances, odissi is a particularly sensuous form. There’s much curvaceous use of the torso, and we see that increasingly as SAMA goes on, and especially in the wonderful upbeat final dance.

Auzet does create sound with the palms of his hand and his feet, but it’s his finger percussion that is particularly memorable. His digits move with the lightning speed of a top pianist playing a fast, complex. It’s perhaps at its best in a duet in which she sings and he drums – at first in turn as if the pair are having a conversation, and then later together in harmony.

To say that Auzet merely provides musical accompaniment for Mudgal is to oversimplify things, though. He is very much part of the action. His drumming is played out on the various bespoke musical instruments and geometric shapes dotted around the stage. Every now and then he shifts something, more than once sending it crashing to the stage with a resounding bang. Each object brings new tones, percussion from a new perspective. There’s a huge 10-foot rain stick (a rain log is perhaps a better term), and best of all a giant wooden wheel that rolls on from the wings, strange sounds emanating from within. After it arrives, Mudgal stands in it as if it was some chunky circus cyr wheel, but her demeanour is almost one of regality; she is queen of this domain.

There are times when the dialogue falls away and the attention drifts, and while Auzet’s percussion is unusually made, I’m not entirely convinced it’s as contemporary as is made out. Still, the end ofSAMA is worth waiting for. Auzet forms the various blocks into s stage on which Mudgal dances to a mix of contemporary recorded music and his live drumming and voice. Her dance is expansive as if some freedom has been found. It is a real East meets West moment. What is striking is how well the two go together. Different, yes; mutually exclusive, definitely no.

David Mead is at the National Theater, Taipei for Cloud Gate 2 in 13 Tongues March 13, 2016

For his first whole-evening work for Cloud Gate 2 (雲門2), artistic director Cheng Tsung-lung (鄭宗龍) turned to memories of his childhood and a story his mother used to tell him when he was a child.

‘Thirteen Tongues’ was a 1960s Taipei street artist in Bangka (Wanhua), the oldest and once most prosperous part of the city. Acclaimed for his storytelling and relating of anecdotes, he was especially noted for the genius with which he portrayed multiple roles as he did so, male and female, old and young. He could also sing and peddle goods. He was what you might call a ‘character’.

While Cheng’s 13 Tongues (十三聲) draws on the man and his time, wisely he does not attempt to tell his story; to recreate the person or the time per se. Rather, his dance focuses on atmosphere as it brings forth the bustle, the energy, the noise and the colour of the streets of the period – and indeed the man. While far from being My Nostalgia, My Songs (我的鄉愁，我的歌), like that work of Lin Hwai-min’s (林懷民), 13 Tongues is a personal and private memory given life via a contemporary recollection and outlook.

The initial slightly ghostly images (lighting by Shen Po-hung, 沈柏宏) and sounds create an aura. A single bell is rung as the cast stand as if in some ancient photograph. When it bursts into action, the stage is filled with screams and shouts. The hubbub of the street is there for all to see. It’s busy, very busy, and everyone seems to have a story to tell, everyone seems larger than life. The monotone colour palette helps create a sense of distance, as if what we are seeing is not real but indeed a series of fragments of a past reality.

Lim Giong’s (林強) soundscape helps enormously. A combination of experimental and electronic sounds interspersed with Nakashi music (popular street music during the Japanese colonial period), snatches of folksong (actually from Hengchun in Southern Taiwan), hints of street theatre, and suggestions of the everyday, it helps transport you to the time. Unfortunately, it loses its grip towards the end, though, when it sounds increasingly like nondescript and totally unmemorable pop, complete with heavy beat. Anything but unfortunate is Cheng’s decision to have the dancers clap, stamp, chant and sing. Asking dancers use voice, and especially sing, is so often a recipe for disaster so poorly is it performed, but here everyone was excellent, and it appeared to be done without resorting to microphones.

Like the music, the dance itself references tradition, the everyday and the modern with hints of martial arts movement in among gesture, modern and contemporary dance. There are people busying themselves on the streets, arguments, religious processions and relationships. It’s not difficult to see dancers as people going about their business, including street sellers, beggars and thugs. The action is often concentrated on one part of the stage, which magnifies the effect. Even for someone who wasn’t there, Cheng manages to create the sense that this is what it was like. It’s so effective, you can almost smell Guangzhou Street.

It’s not all hectic. Cheng neatly inserts quieter moments that include a gorgeous solo from one of the women that’s full of intensity; all expansive movement and full of sharp turns.

As the memories get stronger, so colour starts to appear among the monotone visuals. Based on sketches by art designer He Jia-xing (何佳興), Lin Bing-hao (林秉豪) produced a series of costumes that use lots of bright blues, reds, yellows and pinks that show up fluorescent under the lights, a reference to the fact that outdoor theatre in Taiwan used to use such tones to get around the lack of lighting. It is striking, although more so when used sparingly (as initially when one of the women in a blue number with red and yellow ribbon-like swirls appears unexpectedly from among everyone else) than later when everyone dons such colours. Perhaps it’s the way they are lit, but they seem more modern than past, or perhaps it’s just a modern take on the past (how we see the past is, after all, shaped by the present – and vice-versa).

There’s colour in projections too, if a little overdone. They do get rather psychedelic in the final moments. It rather felt and looked like someone had just a little too much time on their hands and couldn’t stop themselves using it. The projections also include a somewhat enigmatic swimming koi carp. Presumably there is meaning, but it’s very ambiguous; maybe a reference to the fish seen swimming in temple courtyard pools. Again, I’m not convinced.

13 Tongues is not perfect. A little judicious pruning might not come amiss, especially towards the end, and perhaps having some local knowledge helps, but it is a fascinating and engaging reflection of what was. Although Cloud Gate 2 don’t tour abroad hugely, I suspect the very local theme, and the way the sense of time and place is projected, might just make this a winner overseas.

13 Tongues continues on tour to the Chungshan Hall, Taichung (臺中市文化局中山堂, March 18-19), Chiayi Performing Arts Center (嘉義縣表演藝術中心, March 25-26), and the Dadong Arts Center, Kaohsiung (高雄市大東文化藝術中心, April 1-3).

National Theater, Taipei March 5, 2016 David Mead

Back in 2004, French choreographer Christian Rizzo was left asking whether a deep emotion he felt at a performance in Istanbul was caused by the short burst of folk dance itself, or the void that was left when the dancers exited the stage. Why, he wondered, did he feel such empathy with that very precise moment and with that form of dance? The result is d’après une histoire vraie (based on a true story), a dance here for seven men (originally for eight) and two musicians.

It’s a dance with a slow fuse, if one is being honest, maybe sometimes a little too slow, although it has much of interest, and the final joyful explosion is a delight.

It starts in silence. A dancer appears, removes his shoes, and moves slowly. One by one, the others join him. They pair up and break apart. Torsos undulate slowly as if picking up hints of some vaguely remembered rhythm as residues of a dance experience long past, long hidden, slowly and surely makes its way to the surface and to consciousness. The movement itself, although very clearly prompted by Eastern European folk dance, has something of a contemporary edge. The dreamy mood is enhanced greatly by Caty Olive’s fading half-light.

There is much pushing up from the floor, much raising of one arm. Occasionally, a dancer stands apart, or more disturbingly falls and lies motionless as if dead, but they are always get up or are picked up again. Increasingly, folk influenced footwork appears, arms are wrapped around each other’s shoulders as the dancers make a line or a circle that forms and then dissolves.

Some sections are overlong and the movement repetitive. And while the detail changes through sections, the basic ideas come round again and again. However interesting those ideas might be – and you can’t argue with the fact that Rizzo communicates what he sets out to, the attention does occasionally wane a little.

The cast don’t have a classic dancer appearance. Indeed, in their T-shirts, jeans and unkempt long hair and beards that take one back to 1970s rock groups, they look scruffy. And yet, they have a strange elegance. The dance is physical but there is no machismo. There’s certainly a sense of camaraderie and common cause as those memories bubble forth.

That fuse does eventually reach its target as they dancers break into a joyous freedom. They are alive. The have found what they were looking for. They bounce with energy as they eat up the stage. There’s a sense of fun and excitement. It’s all a bit like children playing with innocence that only children can. They even smile!

For the second weekend running, dancers and drummers combined on the National Theater stage, and for the second weekend running they coalesced wonderfully. This was percussion of a very different nature to that from U-Theatre, however. Here, drummer-composers Didier Ambact and King Q4 keep up a stream of tribal rhythms that eventually build into an explosion of sound more akin to rock. The mid-work section where they had the stage to themselves proved to be one of the highlights of the evening.

Christian Rizzo’s ‘d’apres une histoire vraie,’ at the National Theater this weekend, deconstructs and reinterprests all-male folk dances from Turkey, Greece and the Middle East

French artiste Christian Rizzo has returned to Taipei and the National Theater for the third program in this year’s Taiwan International Festival of Arts line-up.

The festival got off to a rousing start with last weekend’s sublimeLover (愛人), U-Theatre’s (優人神鼓) collaboration with German composer Christian Jost and the Rundfunkchor Berlin, which set the bar high for the rest of the festival programs, with expectations high for tonight’s sold-out performance by the National Symphony Orchestra’s (國家交響樂團) ofMahler’s Sensational Sixth.

Rizzo has a strong track record in Taipei, with residencies at the Taipei Artist Village (台北國際藝術村) in 2006 and 2007, and two shows in the Experimental Theatre: How to say “Here”? for Dance Forum Taipei (舞蹈空間) in 2008 and b.c, janvier 1545, Fontainebleau, which was part of the National Theater Concert Hall’s Dancing into Autumn series in October 2012.

The 41-year-old is something of a Renaissance man, having studied visual art in Nice, before taking a turn as a rock musician in Toulouse and starting a clothing line and then moving into the world of dance and art installation. He established his dance company, l’association fragile, in 1996 with the aim of exploring dance, fashion and visual art — and pretty much everything in between.

This visit sees one of Rizzo’s creations on the main stage of the National Theater for the first time — d’apres une histoire vraie (“based on a true story”). There will be just two performances, on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

The 2013 work, which premiered at the Festival d’Avignon, was inspired by a visit to Istanbul in 2004, where at the end of a show he attended, a group of men suddenly jumped onto the stage, performed a folk dance and then left.

Performance Notes

What: d’apres une histoire vraie

When: Tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm

Where: National Theater (國家戲劇院), 21-1 Zhongshan S Rd, Taipei City (台北市中山南路21-1號)

Admission: NT$500 to NT$2,500; available at NTCH box offices, online at www.artsticket.com.tw and at convenience chain store ticketing kiosks

Performed by eight men, accompanied by percussionists Didier Ambact and King Q4, d’apres une histoire vraieweaves together elements of traditional male-only folk dances from Turkey, Greece and the Middle East even as it deconstructs them. The work features repetitive looping and swirling, the friendly comraderie of the dancers contrasting with the sometimes agressive drumming of the two musicians.

Like many of Rizzo’s creations, the show has drawn mixed reviews — with viewers divided by a willingness to let him develop his ideas at his own pace or frustrated and bored by his unwillingness to provide easy answers. However, having seen How to say “Here”? and b.c, janvier 1545, Fontainebleau, d’apres une histoire vraie is probably worth taking a chance on.

The show runs about 70 minutes. There will be a pre-show talk beginning 30 minutes before each show in the lobby of the National Theater and a post-show discussion on Sunday.

Christian Jost, U-Theatre and the Rundfunkchor Berlin at the National Theater, Taipei February 28, 2016 David Mead

Directed by U-Theatre (優人神鼓) founder Liu Ruo-yu (劉若瑀) with music composed by German composer Christian Jost, performed by Taiwan’s U-Theatre and Berlin’s Grammy Award winning Rundfunkchor Berlin, Lover is a fascinating and totally absorbing East meets West meeting and look at that most eternal of human emotions: love.

The 50-strong choir’s near liturgical singing of texts from ancient Chinese love songs and 20th-century poems by American Edward Estlin Cummins, at times seemed to transform the National Theater into a cathedral. It was impossible to make out the words (texts were thoughtfully provided) but that didn’t matter. When combined with the Zen-inspired drum rhythms, the atmosphere created was heady indeed. Add to it choreographed taiji sanshou (太極散手) movement by U-Theatre drumming master Huang Chih-chun (黃誌群, Adan) that depicts different aspects of love and desire, and  desire, and the result was spellbinding.

In the Cummings-poems, which form the second, third and fourth of the six-part, 70-minute, work, the relationships are clear. There’s even a sense of a story. In the second part (text from May I feel said he), a couple split up as the man is attracted to and meets another woman. Both women are dressed in scarlet dresses, but his new partner’s is brighter, as indeed is she. The sense of meeting for the first time and of sounding each other out is clear while, to one side, the first woman dances out her pain and anguish at losing him. In the third part (I like my body when it is with your body), the attraction grows stronger, while the fourth (In spite of everything) is a more delicate and subtle reflection on their meeting. Here there is much nestling of heads against one another, and from one couple a slow, serene, fluid duet full of tenderness, their arms forever reaching around each other as bodies intertwine.

The Chinese poems used in the opening and closing sections, use nature as metaphors. The dance is similarly more uncertain in meaning. The text of the first, Guan ju (關雎, ‘guan’ call the ospreys) from the 11th to 7th-century anthology Shi Jing (詩經, Book of Songs) indeed speaks of ospreys and of water plants in the river. The dance, for two men and two women, the latter in startlingly beautiful pink dresses, is at times explosive (like birds taking flight, maybe), at times slow and meditative (on the river perhaps). The Han Dynasty poem By Heaven (上邪) closes the show. A prayer for eternal love, it speaks of streams that run dry, of snow in summer and of thunder, but makes the point that love lasts “until the earth merges with the sky;” the now returned two performers in red dancing as a stylized curtain of white feathery fabric descends and embraces them.

The sections are brought together via the symbolic image of a river; a blindfolded man with a long rod, a master, a boatman perhaps, guiding us through the work. As with all love, all relationships, it is a river of many moods, one that sometimes runs smooth but at others tumbles and cascades, when it does, his rod quivering with all the force of the accompanying pounding drums.

Jost combines the choir and drums so magnificently they sound natural bedfellows. He clearly respects both cultures, and indeed gives both moments on their own, most notably in the wordless fifth section. Unexpected moments surprise. Huge gongs are used for small sounds; the biggest drum is made to sound tender; and although percussion and voice work largely in harmony, there are moments when the soaring elegy of the choir is torn up by the drums, who appear to yell “enough!”

The action all takes place against a black background that somehow seems to draw you in even more. For that, top marks to noted Taiwanese theater designer Lin Keh-hua (林克華). The excellent costumes are courtesy of in-vogue London-based Taiwanese designer Johan Ku (古又文), perhaps best known previously in dance for his designs for Kafig Company’s Yo Gee Ti (有機體), a Taiwanese-French collaboration for the 2012 TIFA.

A great way to open the eighth Taiwan International Festival of Arts (TIFA, 台灣國際藝術節).

Lover has now finished its run in Taipei, but can be seen on March 5 and 6 at the Hong Kong Arts Festival (www.hkartsfestival.org).

春天來了，看戲的季節到了！繼日前香港藝術節開幕後，一年一度的TIFA（台灣國際藝術節）也將於本月底拉開序幕。今年的台灣國際藝術節以「聲歷奇境」為主題，邀請多個國際重磅藝團赴台獻藝。小編訪問了藝術節的策展團隊，讓他們來給讀者講講今年有什麼好介紹。 文：香港文匯報記者 尉瑋 圖：台灣國際藝術節提供

對台灣國際藝術節的策展團隊來說，從2009年開始的TIFA，是每年台灣的演藝盛事，節目的挑選總要經過上百回的腦力激蕩。今年藝術節以「聲歷奇境．與世界更接近」為主題，希望跨越演出形式的界限，展現創意的無限可能。瀏覽TIFA的節目單，不乏亮眼的大師名號。戲劇方面，有歐利維耶．畢與吳興國分別演繹莎翁的重量級文本《李爾王》與《仲夏夜之夢》，加拿大劇場大師羅伯．勒帕吉則將帶來作品《癮．迷》。舞蹈方面，曾於2014年以《怒滾狂舞》震撼香港文化中心大劇院的侯非胥．謝克特將二度赴台，演出舞台效果強烈的《SUN》；法國鬼才藝術家克里斯汀．赫佐則沉澱10年後再發聲，新作《依據真實》從自身經驗出發，在現代舞中糅合東方儀式性，呈現獨特質感；近年來在國際舞壇炙手可熱的西迪．拉比，則在《米隆加》中重現布宜諾艾利斯深夜酒吧的社交舞會，感性撩人；雲門2的藝術總監鄭宗龍則從聲音發想，以60年代的華西街為主題，創作《十三聲》，描摹台灣的土地記憶。至於音樂節目，國際巨星安娜．涅翠柯、台灣「國家」交響樂團、朱宗慶打擊樂團、王心心等都將陸續登場，從古典到現代，從磅礡的樂隊交響到喃喃的古調吟唱，各種韻味，你總能找到心頭好。

攝影/李佳曄

《米隆加》由近年席捲全球舞壇的編舞家西迪‧拉比，與阿根廷舞者及音樂家共同創作，重現布宜諾艾利斯深夜酒吧的社交舞會，4月1日至3日即將在國家戲劇院上演。

作品即將第三度來台的西迪．拉比，每次都令台灣觀眾驚艷於他的多元可能性，2007與編舞金童阿喀郎‧汗合作的《零度複數》，2015年與少林寺武僧合作的《空間》Sutra，還曾經與流行音樂教父麥可．傑克森（Michael Jackson）、行為藝術教母Marina Abramovic、英國透納獎得主雕塑藝術家葛姆雷（Antony Gormley）、佛朗明哥舞蹈女皇瑪麗亞．佩姬絲（María Pagés）等共同合作，激發創意。非舞蹈科班出身的西迪．拉比，卻以天賦的柔軟身體與一身雜學，成為歐陸多位編舞家的寵兒，他從不自限，在舞蹈肢體上不斷探索，從與不同類型舞者的合作中激盪創新；作為編舞家，他也秉持同樣的態度，跟不同領域、國籍、體型、年紀、技巧、語言和不同背景的表演者合作，舞作內容更是多樣，同時具有悲劇與喜劇、神聖與世俗、個人與文化、信仰與精神的元素，而這些元素到後來都在他獨特的幽默感與巧妙的安排下，融合成一個和諧的整體創作。

阿根廷籍排練指導同時也是探戈明星奈莉達．羅德里奎茲表示：「在阿根廷，人人都會跳探戈，每個年紀、每個人都有自己的跳法！探戈表現了人類的各種情緒、憂傷、快樂、痛苦、憤怒，充滿了戲劇的變化！」，她同時也表示非常榮幸能與西迪‧拉比合作，她認為西迪‧拉比非常瞭解探戈的精神，在探戈與現代舞的結合有了很好的掌握，西迪‧拉比與阿根廷探戈好手共同合作的機緣來自一位旅居歐洲阿根廷探戈居中牽線，雙方一拍即合。

西迪‧拉比創作《米隆加》時，在探戈這項舞蹈傳統上，加入了現代元素。從小深深傾慕於探戈的舞蹈形式，西迪‧拉比如是說：「探戈最吸引我的是舞者之間永恆的擁抱。當一對探戈舞者跳舞時，我們感覺到兩人之間催眠似的對話，直覺地連接彼此，合為一體。如果這樣也存在我的舞蹈風格中，那它就是根植於舞者間的肢體碰觸，而這在探戈是與生俱來的。」

西迪‧拉比《米隆加》由10位阿根廷舞者、2位當代舞者與阿根廷五重奏，共同演繹交融於21世紀的新舊探戈，一場屬於西迪拉比的探戈。英國衛報：「西迪‧拉比最動人的演出！」

演出資訊 西迪‧拉比╳英國沙德勒之井劇院 Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui ╳ Sadler’s Wells London 《米隆加》m¡longa 2016/4/1-3(Fri.-Sat.19:30, Sun.14:30) 國家戲劇院

攝影:張震洲

2016TIFA台灣國際藝術節《賣火柴的小女孩》The Little Match Girl由國家兩廳院主辦，邀請葡萄牙籍編舞家亞瑟．皮塔 Arthur Pita帶來經典作品《賣火柴的小女孩》，該劇改編自大家所熟悉的經典童話《賣火柴的小女孩》，宣傳起跑即熱賣，將於4月1日至4月3日在實驗劇場為觀眾帶來精采演出！

獲獎無數 新生代編舞家亞瑟．皮塔 葡萄牙籍編舞家亞瑟．皮塔(Arthur Pita)於2012年為英國皇家芭蕾舞團首席男舞者Edward Watson量身打造挑戰形象的《變形記》，一舉摘下奧利弗獎、南岸天空藝術獎、國際舞蹈評審團獎。亞瑟．皮塔(Arthur Pita)舞蹈作品具有超現實主義的魅力，他亦擅長打造適合闔家觀賞的親子舞蹈演出，演出大獲好評的《賣火柴的小女孩》為亞瑟．皮塔(Arthur Pita)於2013年聖誕節所編導的親子舞蹈劇場，隔年並成為沙德勒之井劇院(Sadler's wells Theatre)的聖誕節慶節目，連演3週，受到觀眾們的熱烈喜愛。

除了受到觀眾喜愛之外，這齣由亞瑟‧皮塔(Arthur Pita)所執導的《賣火柴的小女孩》，媒體界好評不斷，如:英國雜誌《The Observer》讚譽該劇為”神奇、像寶石般美妙的創作”(“Magical. Wonderfully inventive. A gem”)、英國雜誌《TIME OUT》評論它”毫不費力地達到有趣與感性”(“Funny, emotive and effortlessly moving”)及英國雜誌《THE SPECTATOR》CRITIC’S CHOICE亦稱讚《賣火柴的小女孩》”完美地引人入勝。令人不禁發出讚嘆！”(“Perfectly spell-binding. An utter delight!")，由此可見該劇受到媒體熱烈關注並讚譽有加。今年年初亞瑟．皮塔(Arthur Pita)更與知名編舞家西迪·拉比(Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui)合作，在巴黎歌劇院推出舞劇《新胡桃鉗》，一樣受到許多媒體及觀眾的引頸期盼。本次TIFA台灣國際藝術節首度邀請到亞瑟．皮塔(Arthur Pita)來到台灣演出，絕對值得期待!

原創音樂結合舞蹈 重塑安徒生童話面貌 演出改編自丹麥童話故事家安徒生寫於1846年的經典童話《賣火柴的小女孩》，由英國薩福克郡Dance East舞蹈中心委託葡萄牙籍編舞家亞瑟‧皮塔(Arthur Pita)，打造適合闔家觀賞的親子舞蹈音樂劇。故事講述一位小女孩在闔家團圓的歡樂聖誕夜，在街上兜售著火柴。飢寒交迫的她藉著擦燃火柴取暖的同時，擦燃出心中夢想的生活，並看見她最親愛的奶奶。小女孩最後跟著奶奶上月球，用她的火柴幫助火箭發不動的太空人。亞瑟‧皮塔(Arthur Pita)巧妙地運用舞蹈、歌唱及原創音樂，轉換了原著批判十九世紀社會窮苦人民悲慘遭遇的沉重調性，以溫暖樂風及細膩肢體揭示了助人為善的寓意，並讓原本悲傷的童話故事有了溫馨的結局。這次舞台設計相當有趣，增添許多機關道具之外，當小女孩遇見太空人時舞台上將出現巨大月亮，亦為本劇一亮點。

2016TIFA台灣國際藝術節《賣火柴的小女孩》將於本週五4月1日至4月3日在實驗劇場為觀眾帶來七場精采演出！

攝影：周嘉慧

雍容的低迴 深情的聲線   展現無懈可擊的巴爾幹之聲

國家兩廳院主辦的2016台灣國際藝術節，4月1日至2日即將獻唱的是來自波士尼亞的超凡女聲－艾密拉‧梅頓賈寧。她被媒體讚譽為巴爾幹半島的比莉‧哈樂黛，聲線宛如絲般圓滑，也似石頭渾厚，將在演奏廳帶來具有獨特韻味的巴爾幹之聲。

繼承傳統融合現代  深情唱進靈魂深處　 今年的台灣國際藝術節唯一歌手艾密拉‧梅頓賈寧，她出生於波士尼亞首都－塞拉耶佛，成長的年代傳統音樂正風行當地，其中sevdah的流行與普及，讓它成了艾密拉生命的一部分。「sevdah」源自土耳其文，意為「愛戀、嗔痴、慾望」，是波士尼亞音樂文化中不可或缺的一部分，她從母親身上學到了最動人的曲子，深深著迷於波士尼亞與赫塞哥維納口述傳統，更讓她立志在其中找尋獨特嗓音，以將其豐富面貌發展至極致。

「sevdah」這種類型的歌曲是非常女性的，多強調失落的愛情與孤寂，她運用巴爾幹半島民族音樂融合當代音樂元素如爵士樂，使用傳統民族樂器及口琴、古典吉他、大提琴，融合新舊，為這已有百年歷史的音樂增添新意，詮釋出肆無忌憚的情感強度，深情唱進靈魂深處。

全球樂評五顆星推薦的聲音  巴爾幹之聲魅力世界　 艾密拉2003年錄製首張專輯《Rosa》(Snail Records, 2005)，不但在英國與歐洲獲得樂評肯定，更入選各大「年度最佳專輯」排行。2009發行爵士音樂節現場演出的專輯《Live》、以嶄新風貌呈現波士尼亞、塞爾維亞等地傳統音樂的《Zumra》以及2014最新專輯《Silk and Stone》，皆獲得全球樂評一致推薦。艾密拉被英國《觀察報》The Observer讚譽為「東歐最出色的女歌手」，全球巡演所到之處，獲得樂迷們熱烈迴響，成功將這種融合當代音樂風格的傳統曲風，透過她雍容渾厚的嗓音，深植到聽眾心中。

本次來台演出，艾密拉將帶來歷年演出的精選曲目，並搭配吉他、低音提琴，以三重奏的演出形式，用她擅長的sevdah音樂，說出自己與家鄉的故事，唱出世界之聲。