East-West cultural attraction and collision
In 2017, Chang was selected by the Asian Cultural Association to do a six-month artist’s residency in New York City. He collaborated with Korean, Thai and Cambodian dancers to choreograph and perform a work entitled Boundary.
“All the time, my eyes had been focused on Europe and the US, but thanks to that residency, I discovered that Southeast-Asian culture also has great depth.”
The sense of an unfinished journey prompted Chang to reorient himself toward Southeast Asia. In 2018, he won a place in the Overseas Art Travel Program with a project to explore contemporary and traditional dance in Taiwan and Thailand. He worked in Thailand with Kornkarn Rungsawan, a Thai female dancer, and together they composed a duet.
“In Kornkarn I recognized traits unique to East Asia.” These familiar traces stimulated Chang to scrutinize the connotations of dance in a deeper way, contemplating how to use the body as a medium to strike a balance when the traditional and contemporary collide.
During the one-and-a-half-month project, while capturing video images of dancing, walking, standing still and conversing that reflected the inertia and repetition common in daily life, Chang happened upon the theme for his duet, entitled “Routine.” Due to differences in cultural background and interpretations of body movements and dance traditions, the contrast between East and West led Chang to a deeper understanding that the essence of dance lies in conveying how we are tempered by life.
Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes
The four brothers have performed together overseas many times. Although they were influenced by their mother and all came to love dance, each developed distinct fortes. Chien-kuei, the third-born, is the head of the dance troupe, second-born Chien-chih serves as artistic director, and big brother Chien-hao and their youngest brother Ho-chien are both resident artists. Each performs his specific duties and respects the others.
Having undergone the baptism of the Overseas Art Travel Program, Chang Chien-hao came to the realization that seeking one’s inner essence is one of the most down-to-earth sources of inspiration in dance. One of the brothers’ earlier dance works, Bon 4 Bon, told the story of childhood and adolescence as the brothers grew up, in moving performances that resonated with audiences. Now the quartet describe their mutual relationships as full-grown adults. “We want to express the contradictions inherent in close yet competitive relationships between brothers.”
For more than half a year now, they are once again engaged in group rehearsals for a finely crafted dance set. “We are all dancers. We are ruthless competitors in the workplace, but in terms of our shared lineage, we are inseparable, loving siblings.” Through their dancing, the wisdom of empathy is expressed, and introversion and extroversion alternate constantly.
In addition to dance, the troupe has also joined forces with partners in other domains, such as theater, circus and new media. Chien-hao, whose eyes were opened thanks to participation in the overseas program, constantly reminds himself that via dancing, he must examine life’s experiences and setbacks in order to rediscover his inner self and creativity.
“This is the lifelong gift given us by our mother.” Cherishing her patient cultivation, and cherishing the emotional bond between brothers—such is the troupe’s destiny.