Cloud Gate brings to mind the supposedly pearly gates of heaven in all its pure, blinding glory. It breathes of clarity, fluidity and serenity. It is the oldest known dance in China – and Lin Hwai-min earned a Lifetime Achievement Award for deciding to share it with the world in 1973 by creating the first contemporary dance company in a Chinese speaking community.
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Wait, we need to backtrack. A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD for starting a dance company?
It turns out that at the time what Taiwan needed more than anything was a cultural spark. And the flame just grew until it defined Taiwanese culture. But history lesson first.
If Taiwan and China were on Facebook, their relationship would surely be listed as “it’s complicated”. In 1945, Taiwan was a territory of the Republic of China (ROC). Then the Chinese Civil War happened and the ROC lost to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It relocated its government to Taipei, Taiwan.
Taiwan is the island next to mainland China.
The rest of the world followed the PRC’s victory by recognizing the PRC officially as “China”. How did they do this? In 1971, the other countries gave the PRC “China’s” seat in the United Nations and kicked the ROC out. Now Taiwan is left in an awkward area between being part of ROC, a territory of PRC, or an independent state. The rest of the world isn’t quite sure how to address this either so everyone is friendly toward Taiwan, though not straightforward in labeling it. This is the “political situation” of Taiwan.
This world class dance company formed 2 years after the PRC joined the United Nations at a time where Taiwan, as well as its inhabitants, was trying to discover its identity. Lin Hwai-min made Cloud Gate a symbol of the country. In fact, he is seen as “a kind of cultural ambassador for Taiwan” according to Yatin Lin, a professor of dance studies at Taipei National University of the Arts.
From a new $22 million Cloud Gate Theater to a street now known as “Cloud Gate Lane” to an asteroid discovered in 2010 by National Central University, Taiwan also named Cloud Gate to Cloud Gate Liveried Aircraft on China Airlines, the troupe of 24 dancers seems to represent Taiwan as international ambassadors. Mr. Lin recognizes this by saying, “I often remind the dancers that when they are onstage, they are often the only Taiwanese people that a lot of people get to see that are actually labeled as Taiwanese.”
A culture, a region, a people are all defined by the art of dance. Who would have thought dance could transcend artistic boundaries into politics? I believe that this expansion of the art of dance is a necessary step that should be more prominent in the future as well. In response to the hidden filth and corruption of the Gilded Age, artists pushed America to fight for justice and protection under the law. Photographers like Jacob Riis and cartoonists like Thomas Nast used art to communicate with the large, often illiterate and foreign-speaking, immigrant population in a way they could understand. Dance can be just as expressive with an equally as powerful impact on people. Especially with the massive network of social media, a dance can spread through a Vine or Youtube video to become a global sensation. This was evident in the popularity of the Ice Bucket challenge last year and the way the spread quadrupled the money donated to the ALS Association to $115 million.
Taiwan is getting more recognition though its dance company. The Cloud Gate Dance Theater is remarkable, with a natural essence to its dance and a foundation of self-discipline, inner strength, and harmony within the body, mind, and spirit. This stems from the training all the dancers receive in a meditation called Qi Gong which consists of breathing exercises, internal martial arts, modern dance, ballet, and calligraphy. From the clips I have viewed, the performance is truly breath-taking.
After considering the background and training of Cloud Gate Dance Theater, the art seems more fiery than I originally thought.
Thanks to Amy Qin, the writer of the September 11, 2015 New York Times article, “Cloud Gate Dance Theater: A Roving, Bounding Symbol of Taiwan” that brought Cloud Gate to my attention, I am also aware of the dance company’s performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music this week from September 16-19. They are opening the annual New Wave Festival by premiering a 2013 work “Rice”. For more information, click here.
“A culture, a region, a people are all defined by the art of dance.” I really liked what you said here because this is definitely something to stop, think about, and research more about this. Art can be and is very powerful, so for it to “define” a new country’s culture, it just shows how art can further express to the world someone’s – or in this case, a whole nation of people’s thoughts, feelings, and culture.
I also agree with you that the art of dance should become more used and expanded because dance is a very effective form of conveying a certain message or expressing someone or something. It has a very powerful impact on people.
Hopefully, the art of dance will be used a lot more in many different situations to affect a lot of people in the future.
Isn’t it interesting how dance can represent a group of people? If I listed dance types (hip hop, salsa, square dancing, bollywood, etc.), you would have an image of the types of people and cultures they each represent. Dance is so intricately woven into culture and yet sometimes it feels like a lost art with less people that are interested in learning different styles. Is this tied with the mixing of cultures or a declining appreciation for the arts (as Ahmed posted about this week)?
It’s really fascinating how art can connect people and give them identity. Golden Gate not only made Taiwan known to the rest of the world, but also gave Taiwanese people a sense of self worth and unity. Living under such uncertain political circumstances must take a huge toll on the Taiwanese population so having even one thing to represent them can make all the difference.
I really found your piece interesting not only for its content, but also in the way that you wrote about it. You really caught my attention when you said “Wait, we need to backtrack”, and you’re right; It is pretty amazing that this Cloud Gate dance company received a Lifetime Achievement award. And even beyond that, it’s even more amazing how powerful the art of dance is… So powerful that it helped shape Taiwan’s identity!
Every time I think of diplomacy and foreign relations, I think of bureaucrats in suits sitting around a desk at 2 in the morning arguing. I really enjoyed how your post brought a new perspective to what constitutes as diplomacy. The Taiwanese posses a strong national identity heightened by the fact that many of the island’s people left communist China when the PRC took control in favor of a democratic government. There must be a lot of frustration within the country who’s people hold a national identity that isn’t internationally recognized. Rather than turning to violence as many people have done in the past, channeling that frustration into dance and impressing the people of other countries is a great way to achieve international acknowledgment. By identifying as Taiwanese, Cloud Gate introduces the Taiwanese nationality to foreigners and just might be the means to solidifying its international position as a country.
I really love how you included the history of Taiwan to help us understand more why Cloud Gate’s achievement is so significant. It is so interesting that through dance, the people of Taiwan won their identity and dignity. I never thought art can be tied together with politics. But with the media today, art can definitely be a strong tool to identify the problems in society and influence society.
I find it so interesting that something as common in America as a dance group can have such a large influence on a culture in a different country. I love your reference to Facebook when explaining Taiwan’s history, saying that the relationship between China and Taiwan would be labeled as “it’s complicated”. Your explanation of Taiwan’s history definitely helped the reader understand the main idea of the article. I also agree that art is another way of influencing people’s opinions and views.
This post is a manifestation of dance as an expression. It can spread a message effectively to the public. One thing I liked about the article is how you put the dance in context of history. However, I would suggest adding a clip of what the dancing look like and explain on how it represented the taiwan identity. Looking pass that, I appreciated the description of the training that the dancers received.
It has never occurred to me that when a type of dance is mentioned, a certain region or culture also pops up in my head to go along with the dance. As you mention in your article for Taiwan, this dance company, “Cloud Gate” represents Taiwanese people and a lot of their culture. With just pictures, one can see the magnificent lights, movements, and hard work that is put into each and every performance. I can certainly see how a dance group can represent the whole of Taiwan. If I was Taiwanese it would also be an honor for me to be represented by people who work so hard and put so much effort into creating this beautiful scene that portrays the soul and culture of Taiwan. This was a terrific article and a good read. The links were also very helpful in allowing me to engage in the subject of the article first hand.
What a thorough and detailed post… You answered all my questions I had while reading it! I really appreciated the format and interactive aspect of your writing as well. It was a nice, easy, informative read. It’s truly incredible how such an art form built the identity of a whole country and brought societal unity along with it. This shows just how important the influence of art is on our everyday lives and the possible impact it may have on the world. I love that it was in the form of dance, because it’s not just a painting or writing on paper but it is a physical human performance and that adds to personal weight of the practice.