Five Decades of Arts and Culture in Taiwan

This photo, taken at a rehearsal for the revival of Legacy for Cloud Gate Dance Theatre’s 50th anniversary, shows Lin Hwai-min posing with dancers who had performed in the work over the years. It is testimony to how the company’s own legacy has been passed down from generation to generation. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

—“Cloud Gate’s Cheng Tsung-lung: Drawing Inspiration from Wanhua” (August 2023) 

Contemporary Legend Theatre’s staging of a Peking Opera version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to celebrate its 30th anniversary was a manifestation of Taiwan’s eclectic culture. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

—“Contemporary Legend Theatre: Peking Opera à la Mode” (June 2016)

Tjimur Dance Theatre, one of the few professional dance companies in Taiwan to feature Indigenous body language, has been invited to perform around the world. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan) 

—“Tjimur Dance Theatre: Interpreting Paiwan Culture’s Body Language” (February 2021)

Inspired by a legendary street performer from Taipei’s Wanhua District, Cloud Gate’s 13 Tongues brought together a group of new-generation artists from the worlds of theater, music, and design to bring the colorful tapestry of street life to the stage in a perfect union of the physical and the vocal. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

—“A Perfect Union of Body and Voice” (April 2016)

Performed entirely in Taiwanese, Our Theatre’s Macbeth: Paint It, Black! integrated music, dance, and martial arts movements. With surtitles in both English and Romanian, the play astounded audiences at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

—“Our Theatre: Roots in Chiayi, Eyes on the World” (July 2017)

Frenetic youthful vitality and combative streetwise determination come together with explosive results in the drumming performances of the Chio-Tian (Jyou-tian) Folk Drums and Arts Troupe. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

—“Beating Out the Rhythms of Life: Jyou-tian Folk Drum and Arts Group” (August 2006)

“Drumming amid one’s silence” is the ideal that U-Theatre wishes to convey. Through drumming, the audience also partakes of the power of their purification. (photo by Jimmy Lin) 

—“U-Theatre: Purifying Minds Through Drumming” (June 2008)

U-Theatre’s open-air stage on Mt. Laoquan in the Muzha area of Taipei’s Wenshan District is a precious place where troupe members can open their hearts and shout to heaven and earth; it is also a place of creative inspiration. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

—“U-Theatre: Purifying Minds Through Drumming” (June 2008)

Legend Lin Dance Theatre’s Anthem to the Fading Flowers is a work in four parts about the changing of the seasons and the natural cycle of life. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

—“Tripping the Slow Fantastic: Legend Lin Dance Theatre” (August 2015)

Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group’s production of Grand Immortal of Penglai featured the troupe’s “leading male” performer Sun Tsui-feng and “clown role” actor Chen Sheng-zai, among others. (photo by Zhang Suqing)

Rom Shing Hakka Opera Troupe is forever bringing out captivating new productions, not only representing the traditional moral values that underpin Hakka theater but also incorporating livelier elements that cater to modern tastes. Every performance is a triumph. (photo by Kent Chuang)

—“Revitalizing Hakka Culture: The Rom Shing Hakka Opera Troupe” (November 2019)

Named by the Ministry of Culture as a “preserver of important traditional arts,” Chen Hsi-huang has continued to lead the Chen Hsi-huang Traditional Puppet Troupe while tirelessly working to pass down his art. (photo by Kent Chuang)

—“A Living National Treasure: Master Puppeteer Chen Hsi-huang” (February 2019)

At the Taiwan Pasiwali Festival, members of the Bulareyaung Dance Company spread charismatic energy both on and off the stage. (photo by Kent Chuang)

—“Dancing All the Way Home: The Bulareyaung Dance Company” (November 2020) 

For Cloud Gate Dance Theatre’s 50th anniversary, the troupe staged Legacy, one of founder Lin Hwai-min’s early signature works. (photo by Jimmy Lin)